Covering NYC public schools for @chalkbeat.orghttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3mkpriv5i4224This piece makes some sharp critiques, but the argument that more school spending pushes families to leave NYC is puzzling, + discounts the ways NYC's school budget already serves as social safety net, incl: ~$2B for free 3-K/Pre-K, >$600m for free meals, free dental/vision at 100s of schls, etc. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Apr 2026 13:58 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpriv5i4224https://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3mkhv5tfy4s2qScoop! NYC Chancellor Kamar Samuels is pulling four controversial proposals from Wednesday's PEP vote: - Opening of 'Next Gen,' the city's first AI-focused HS - Closing middle schools at P.S. 191 and Manhattan School for Children - Relocating Center School https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/04/27/kamar-samuels-pulls-ai-high-school-manhattan-middle-school-closure-plans/27 Apr 2026 10:43 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhv5tfy4s2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3mj33zu246s2pMayor Mamdani announcing at a press conference today that the "default model" for the new free 2-K program will subsidize child care 8am-6pm, year-round, in contrast to the default of 8am-2:20 pm, September-June for the 3-K and Pre-K programs.09 Apr 2026 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj33zu246s2phttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3miexz2rxak2vLast week, Dylan Lopez Contreras returned to his Bronx high school after 10 months in ICE detention. It was a day full of joy, and also inescapable reminders of the threat of immigration enforcement still facing Dylan and his classmates: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/03/31/dylan-returns-to-ellis-after-ice-detention/31 Mar 2026 20:05 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3miexz2rxak2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3mhqzmecufk2fNYC is about to release a long-await AI policy for schools. But over the past 2+ years, as AI use has grown, schools have had to figure out their own approach to confronting AI. Here's what some are doing + what the city might learn from them: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/03/23/schools-develop-ai-policies-awaiting-city-guidance/23 Mar 2026 21:41 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhqzmecufk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3mhdyxbisgc2jAfter 10 months, Dylan, the first NYC high school student detained by ICE in Trump's 2nd term, has been released. https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/03/18/release-of-dylan-lopez-contreras-first-nyc-student-detained-by-ice/ Here's what Norma Vega, the principal of Dylan's school ELLIS Prep, which has played a key role in the efforts to rally behind him, said:18 Mar 2026 17:24 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhdyxbisgc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3mgww5tcfn22iNYC is proposing a new, selective-admissions, AI-focused high school in Manhattan's D2, w/ support from Google + Open AI. Hundreds of parents have already sent letters expressing concern. PEP votes next month on the proposal. Via Lizzie Walsh: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/03/13/next-generation-ai-school-proposal-sparks-outcry/13 Mar 2026 12:30 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgww5tcfn22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3mbyoehnetc2aGreat read from @alexzimmerman.bsky.social on NYC’s new chancellor, his vision for the system, and what happens when Mamdani visits an elementary school: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/01/08/kamar-samuels-nyc-schools-integration-school-mergers-zohran-mamdani/09 Jan 2026 14:10 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbyoehnetc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3ma5iqhzzlk2cCome join us Thursday at the Brooklyn Heights library for a conversation on what it means to educate immigrant students in this moment - with educators doing amazing work on the ground + great orgs with resources to share. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Dec 2025 01:22 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma5iqhzzlk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m7lcfura6c24Important reality check from @mattbarnum.bsky.social on the oft-heard refrain that loosening admissions at selective schools will harm the lower-scoring students who get in by setting them up for failure. Research shows precisely the opposite: those students see real benefits. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Dec 2025 19:41 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7lcfura6c24https://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m6xjkbdvrs2rOne sign of how bad NYC’s child care crisis has gotten: there are *10,000* kids sitting on a waitlist for low-income child care vouchers b/c the program is out of $. Some observers say that’s a logical place for Mamdani to start his push for universal child care: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/12/01/nyc-child-care-voucher-waitlist-hits-10000/01 Dec 2025 22:55 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6xjkbdvrs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m6ildsw3w22xNew: the arrival of ~50K migrant students from 2022-24 buoyed NYC schools after years of enrollment decline. But over the past year, as the city closed shelters + Trump took office, that pattern reversed - posing long-term challenges for many schls + the system: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/11/26/immigration-enrollment-boom-halts-under-trump-adams-policies/26 Nov 2025 00:17 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6ildsw3w22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m65iwleirk2hRly important work by economist Lauren Melodia finds the median income for NYC’s family child care providers, many of whom rely largely on public funding + will be a critical part of any push for universal child care, is $6 an hour: https://www.centernyc.org/reports-briefs/dignified-pay-for-quality-care-what-new-yorks-family-child-care-providers-need-to-thrive21 Nov 2025 14:35 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m65iwleirk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m5unoxktnc2bNew w/ @alexzimmerman.bsky.social: NYC declared victory on a major class size deadline: >60% of classes under the caps. What they didn’t mention: they only got there by quietly declaring 10,500 classes exempt. W/o those, DOE would’ve been at 59.5% compliance: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/11/18/nyc-officials-approve-thousands-of-exemptions-to-state-class-size-law/18 Nov 2025 02:06 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5unoxktnc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m5lw65gwgk2iMamdani’s visit to a BK child care center yesterday illustrated one of the problems in the system he’ll have to confront: 2 of the center’s classrooms, meant for 3K/PreK, have sat empty for 5 yrs. Citywide, ~27,000 free child care seats, 1 in 5, were empty last yr: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/11/13/mamdani-universal-child-care-empty-seat-problem/14 Nov 2025 14:44 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5lw65gwgk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m5f3lbtkbk2rMost of the conversation about whether Mamdani can deliver universal child care has focused - rightfully - on cost. But I've been curious (as a reporter and parent of an infant + toddler) what it would take operationally. So I talked to lots of knowledgable ppl: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/11/11/mamdani-universal-child-care-pledge-faces-operational-challenges/11 Nov 2025 21:32 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5f3lbtkbk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m52zv7tu722gPlot twist in NYC's chancellor search! Meisha Ross Porter, a former schools chief under de Blasio who's considered a top contender for the job under Mamdani, is a finalist for CEO of Chicago schools. https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025/11/07/meisha-ross-porter-finalist-for-chicago-schools-ceo/07 Nov 2025 21:35 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m52zv7tu722ghttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m4reznzokc24A little more election-eve news for NYC schools: Enrollment is down 2.4%, the largest drop in 4 yrs. Seems likely immigration played a role - the influx of 50K migrants propped up NYC’s enrollment the last 3 yrs, but that’s ground to a halt under Trump. https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/11/03/nyc-schools-held-harmless-avoid-midyear-budget-clawback/04 Nov 2025 01:28 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4reznzokc24https://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m4qku3gdec2yA bit of news for NYC schools: schools w/ lower-than-projected enrollment won't have to give back $ midyear. That could be especially beneficial to schools that have enrolled large immigrant populations + have seen big drops under Trump. W/ @amyzimmer.bsky.social: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/11/03/nyc-schools-held-harmless-avoid-midyear-budget-clawback/03 Nov 2025 17:39 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4qku3gdec2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m4e4pkkgok2mHundreds of thousands of NYC students + families are about to lose SNAP. Their schools are scrambling to set up ad hoc food pantries, raise $, + collect donations to keep them fed. Another way schools are trying to hold up a crumbling social safety net: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/10/29/snap-shutdown-prompts-schools-to-launch-emergency-food-plans/29 Oct 2025 18:54 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4e4pkkgok2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m4722ugy522aAs momentum builds for universal child care in NYC, the city is for the first time piloting free, non-means-tested seats for kids 2 and under. Here's the list of neighborhoods getting priority: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/10/27/city-offers-free-child-care-seats-to-kids-in-priority-neighborhoods/27 Oct 2025 18:24 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4722ugy522ahttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m3vd42xyh22vAs more NYC public school parents are detained by ICE, schools are often the first places the family members left behind turn for help picking up the pieces. Here’s how some schools are supporting those students: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/10/23/ice-arrest-parents-schools-support-students/23 Oct 2025 21:39 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3vd42xyh22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m3aehdc3ak2rMamdani announcing a teacher recruitment plan where NYC will offer tuition assistance, mentorship, other support to prospective teachers in exchange for commitments to stay at least 3 years. Class size law requires thousands of addl teacher hires in coming years15 Oct 2025 13:37 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3aehdc3ak2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/michaelelsenroo.bsky.social/post/3m35tbkdnds2gLost in the debate over NYC’s gifted and talented program rekindled by Mamdani’s proposal was the fact that the program underwent a big change in recent years: eliminating its admissions test. @alexzimmerman.bsky.social dug into how that change has played out: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/10/10/mamdani-proposal-for-gifted-and-talented-comes-amid-admissions-shift/14 Oct 2025 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:okw2eg5qc3m45jyaxtenq64e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m35tbkdnds2g