NYC mayoral frontrunner criticized for skimpy plan on public-school improvement 

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist nominee for New York City mayor, is under fire from left-leaning media outlets for failing to offer specifics on improving the city’s beleaguered public-education system.

“Mamdani has largely stuck to broad promises to invest in schools rather than advancing detailed ideas about what those investments should look like,” lamented Alex Zimmerman, reporter for Chalkbeat New York.

“The next mayor will inherit a school system that faces many pressing challenges, including elevated rates of chronic absenteeism, falling enrollment, and reading and math proficiency rates that cleave along lines of race and class.”

Safety concerns, lack of ‘rigorous’ instruction top reasons for leaving schools

As previously reported by The Heartlander, the city’s public-school enrollment has continued its downward trajectory before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 41% of survey respondents leaving schools cited the desire for a “more rigorous education” than could be found in the public system.

Additionally, safety concerns featured prominently among those removing their children from former schools.

“I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to put my children through this,’” said a former city resident regarding school metal detectors. “My children are so happy now. They’re like, ‘Mom, we don’t go through metal detectors. Mom, there’s no fights like that.’ Because school is supposed to be a safe haven.”

Meanwhile, more than a third of the city’s enrolled students regularly skipped classes in the 2023-24 academic year – even though taxpayers spend more than $36,000 per pupil, regardless of whether they attend.

“New York is now spending $89 billion annually on public education – more than the GDP of Croatia – yet academic outcomes remain flat,” said Lindsey​​​​ Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. “Fewer than 3 in 10 eighth graders can read proficiently – a statistic that should keep New Yorkers up at night.”

Chronic absenteeism in the Big Apple jumped from 26.5% in 2018-2019 to 34.8% in 2023-24 – a trend Burke attributed to policies set by teachers’ unions after the pandemic.

“Teachers’ unions de-emphasized the importance of coming to school after COVID, which sent a signal to students that attending class was optional,” she said. “This continues to have devastating effects on student learning outcomes.”

‘A vision of education to be held accountable to’

However, Mamdani has avoided addressing these and other public-school challenges on his campaign website, which “devoted a single 168-word paragraph to K-12 education,” according to Chalkbeat.

“Pressed on his plans to improve schools on Thursday, Mamdani did not outline any specific policy initiatives,” Zimmerman wrote.

Jonathan Collins, professor of political science and education at Columbia University Teachers College, also highlighted the lack of details in Mamdani’s educational agenda.

“As a leader, putting forward a vision of education to be held accountable to is really important,” he said. “It’s September – the runway is getting shorter.”