Op-ed: NYC must keep going strong on NYC Reads
In a city as large and complex as New York, there’s no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to education. Transforming a system that serves millions of students requires sustained effort, clear vision, and, most importantly, patience. Unfortunately, history shows that political leaders too often give in to impatience, reversing successful initiatives or making promises that never reach the classroom.
For this reason, it would be a grave mistake to allow NYC Reads — the most ambitious and promising literacy initiative in the city’s history — to become another casualty of this cycle. As NYC Public Schools’ new chancellor, Melissa Aviles-Ramos, begins her first full year of leadership, and with a looming United Federation of Teachers (UFT) election in the spring, the stakes have never been higher.
The city’s current and future leaders must commit to the long-term vision of NYC Reads and address the literacy crisis where two-thirds of Black and Latino students are not reading at grade level.
A new report and survey of hundreds of educators, “Reading Between the Lines: Teacher Perspective on NYC Reads Implementation,” demonstrates why doubling down on NYC Reads is critical.