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Before becoming the chancellor of the nation’s largest school system last month, Kamar Samuels was a superintendent, first in Brooklyn and then in Manhattan, where he developed a reputation for his listening skills.
Now Samuels plans to embark on a five-borough tour to hear from students, parents, and educators on how to better include them in the decision-making process, especially when it comes to his main priorities: safety, academic rigor, and integration. Other Education Department staffers will be on hand to answer questions about special education, enrollment, language access, and more, officials said.
Each borough will host two sessions, one on a Tuesday and one on a Saturday. After the 10 sessions wrap up, the Education Department plans to release a report based on the feedback gathered during the events’ roundtable discussions as well as a “long-term roadmap” for the city’s school, officials said. It’s something of a rite of passage for new chancellors, who have previously embarked on similar listening tours and issued reports about what they heard.
“These conversations are about fundamentally changing how we make decisions by ensuring that those closest to our students have a real seat at the table,” Samuels said in a statement.
Several controversial topics will likely come up, including Samuels’ record of merging schools as a way to tackle low enrollment and integrate students from different backgrounds. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has indicated his support for bolstering diversity in New York City schools, which is one of the nation’s most segregated school systems.
Samuel’s approach to gifted and talented programs is also sure to attract heated debate. When he was in charge of Brooklyn’s District 13, he helped several schools move away from gifted programs, responding to a groundswell of support from families who were concerned about the relative lack of Black and Latino students in such classrooms, and he instead encouraged schools to create International Baccalaureate programs, bringing academic enrichment to entire schools rather than just a subset of classes.
Mamdani has also expressed wanting to rethink the city’s gifted programs, particularly the practice of admitting students into the programs in kindergarten. Most programs across the nation start when kids are older, and in recent years, New York City has opened new programs starting in third grade.
Several parents and educators who have worked with Samuels are quick to point out that the chancellor is unlikely to simply take something away without providing other compelling options. In Manhattan’s District 3, which he most recently oversaw, Samuels tried to tackle enrollment declines in Harlem — where a large percentage of families go to charters — through mergers along with bringing new programs.
Michelle Lee, who sits on the parent council for Manhattan’s District 3 and formerly served as PTA president at Anderson, a gifted and talented K-8 school that draws students from across the city, said parents were leery when Samuels took the helm of their district.
But when Samuels held a town hall for the school to discuss bringing back screens for the middle school, families were “pleasantly surprised” that he wanted to engage with them.
“I think he sees the validity of why there is a segment of the student population that needs to have accelerated learning, and he understands that,” Lee said. “He does believe in providing opportunities for children and different types of learners.”
But she also had some suggestions about ending gifted for kindergartners in favor of starting in third grade: Few parents would want to pull their children from their elementary school for a program lasting third to fifth grade, she said. They would, however, potentially consider a third through eighth grade program, allowing them to skip the middle school application process.
It remains to be seen whether Samuels’ can translate his listening approach from a more local level to the system writ large and how he’ll be able to synthesize feedback from families with competing needs from 1,600 schools across the city.
Meghan Dunn, District 13’s superintendent who had been Samuels’ deputy superintendent when they started pursuing the International Baccalaureate, said the idea grew out of conversations with families.
Dunn said Samuels was intentional about cultivating relationships with families — in his capacity as a fellow parent of children in the school system and as a superintendent. “He called it,” Dunn said, “the playground superintendent.”
Here’s the schedule for the chancellor’s listening tour, dubbed, “Our Schools. Our Future: Conversations with the Chancellor:”
Staten Island, Feb. 10, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
New Dorp High School, 465 New Dorp Lane
Manhattan, Feb. 24, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, 260 Pleasant Ave.
Brooklyn, Feb. 28, 10:30 a.m. to noon
Thomas Jefferson High School, 400 Granville Payne Ave.
Queens, March 7, 10:30 a.m. to noon
Channel View School for Research, 100-00 Beach Channel Dr.
Bronx, March 10, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Bronxwood Prep Academy, 921 E 228th St.
Manhattan, March 14, 10:30 a.m. to noon
MLK Jr. Educational Campus, 122 Amsterdam Ave.
Queens, March 17, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Queens Innovation Center, 53-16 Northern Boulevard
Brooklyn, March 24, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
John Dewey High School, 2471 Stillwell Ave.
Bronx, March 28, 10:30 a.m. to noon
Roosevelt Educational Campus, 500 East Fordham Road
Staten Island, April 11, 10:30 a.m. to noon
Curtis High School, 105 Hamilton Ave.
Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
