By far the largest school district in the country, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) serves over 1.1 million students in more than 1,800 schools and employs almost 135,000 people. NYCDOE is also one of the most diverse districts in the nation and is dedicated to ensuring that all of the city’s students are college- and career-ready by graduation.
NYCDOE’s efforts to improve student outcomes and provide longer learning days have achieved strong results in recent years. The district’s graduation rate increased almost 20% from 2005 to 2013, while dropouts declined by nearly 12%. The district strengthened early education, offering a record-high 53,000 pre-kindergarten seats at public schools and Community-Based Early Childhood Centers in 2014. NYCDOE also experimented recently with pilot programs like Teen Thursdays, an afterschool initiative helping students take advantage of rich learning opportunities available through local cultural institutions.
Our Impact
NYCDOE is one of EP's longest-standing partners, with more than 190 Education Pioneers leaders working there during their Fellowship. Across teams, they:
- Developed a community asset map and a college readiness resource manual to kick start post-secondary success for New York City’s students.
- Assessed business practices of technologically advanced schools, wrote case studies, and developed a communications plan for principals around technology practices to create 21st century-ready schools.
- Created an online independent learning plan for students to track academic and personal goals and research college and career opportunities, increasing overall college readiness.
- Led the redesign of NYCDOE’s Principals' Portal website to incorporate improvements that will save principals time on administrative tasks and allow for more time on instructional leadership.
- Developed an external relations strategy for the Charter School Accountability & Support team to help families navigate their options while improving charter school engagement within NYC communities.
- And more.
