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When Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City, he vowed to gather community feedback on how the public schools are working. His chancellor, Kamar Samuels, has 鈥渢asked with creating customized proposals to accelerate the work of building a stronger school system, rooted in academically rigorous, safe and integrated schools.鈥�

So I asked the members of my what they wanted to say to this administration. They responded with recommendations for curriculum, discipline, technology, afterschool programming and teacher quality. 

Maria K. spoke for hundreds when she wrote, 鈥淚鈥檇 strongly urge to reconsider eliminating G&T programs for grades K-2. 鈥� If the objective is equality, then programs should be expanded, and underprivileged groups should be given wider access.鈥�

鈥淐reate more of what is in demand rather than redistributing what already exists among different socioeconomic and ethnic groups,鈥� Adam C. concurred. 鈥淩einvest resources in schools that provide what families are specifically looking for: specialized high schools, academically screened middle and high schools, and high-performing zoned middle and high schools.鈥�

鈥淓veryone should have a default, large zoned high school that provides tracking by academic subject,鈥� former Citywide Council on High Schools member Rachel Fremmer said. 

Regarding the quality of educators, one parent wished, 鈥淚 would LOVE for all teachers to have education on how to recognize when a child is bored or struggling in school.鈥� S. Meng from Queens suggested, 鈥淪urvey which districts have higher percentages of lower-level students and employ better teachers with higher pay for that district to bring up the overall level average.鈥�

鈥淲e need highly qualified teachers who hold themselves to the same academic standards we expect our children to meet,鈥� agreed Natalie Iarko. 鈥淭eachers should model strong writing, communication and subject knowledge. My son’s pre-K teacher wrote in all lowercase with no punctuation. We need higher expectations for those entrusted with educating our children.鈥�

鈥淭eachers have given up on chaotic classrooms,鈥� lamented CN. 鈥淜ids do whatever they want while the teacher attempts to teach until they all give up and watch cartoons together. I’ve spoken to many parents, and we are uniformly disappointed in the lack of discipline in school. It is basically low-value childcare. I went to low-ranking public schools in Queens, and even we got yelled at for clowning around in the classroom. Why won’t teachers discipline anymore?鈥�

鈥淧arents should be given the ability to formally evaluate teacher and administrator performance annually,鈥� a Manhattan mom proposed. 鈥淭hese evaluations should be part of broader performance evaluations for school faculty and officials, tied to compensation and career advancement.鈥�

鈥淪trengthen discipline for both teachers and students,鈥� Acel M. contributed. 鈥淚f a teacher is not performing, make it easier to replace or downgrade or terminate them. Bad behaving kids should be disciplined and be expelled as a last measure.鈥�

鈥淪afety is important,鈥� J.C. stressed. 鈥淚n my son’s elementary school, there were children who were violent (repeatedly starting fights, etc.) and were simply moved to another classroom instead of detention or expulsion. As my son was the victim of this, I would like to see safety/protection measures for the victims of school violence, especially at the middle and high school levels.鈥�

But families weren鈥檛 merely concerned with what happens during the school day.

鈥淓very elementary school should offer afterschool programs such that parents don鈥檛 have to pay extra for childcare coverage until 5 p.m. every day,鈥� one mom chimed in. 鈥淲orking parents need this essential support.鈥�

鈥淥ur kids need to have opportunities to be creative, work with adults and other kids and heck 鈥� PLAY,鈥� Helen K., Queens mom of two, insisted. 鈥淣YC schools need to admit that the adoption of individual devices and online learning platforms for students is a failed experiment. In our middle school, there is rampant non-educational use of their devices. Let parents opt out of devices and online platforms!鈥�

H.D. suggested: 鈥淏ring back pen and paper coursework and tests!鈥� Then, on another note, offered, 鈥淪hare resources among neighborhood schools such as for music. Third Street Music School has partnerships with some schools. A more citywide effort would be great.鈥�

Finally, 鈥淎 Black mother from District 9, Bronx,鈥� summarized, 鈥淪chools don鈥檛 need blame 鈥� they need thoughtful, targeted investment. If children face more obstacles outside the classroom, then inside the classroom they should have the city鈥檚 strongest teachers, experienced principals, enrichment programs, arts, music, science, tutoring, counseling and the resources that help children thrive. Retain experienced teachers, support school leaders, expand tutoring and enrichment, and focus on long-term student success.鈥�

The parents have spoken. The mayor and chancellor have promised to listen. Will they follow through?

Mom Carin Rosenfeld already has concerns. 鈥淚 would like transparency regarding the process itself. How were [working group] participants selected? How were families and educators notified? What efforts were made to ensure broad representation rather than participation by only those already connected to political or educational networks? If City Hall and the chancellor truly want to hear from constituents, the process must be open, widely publicized, accessible and transparent from the beginning, not limited to a select group of stakeholders whose identities and selection criteria are unknown to the broader public. Public engagement in NYC education feels performative rather than substantive. If more parents truly knew what was happening in our schools, there might be a full-scale parent uprising!鈥�

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