Class is in session, and new schools in NYC are ready to accommodate over 11,000 students for the 2024-2025 academic year.
“With modern and flexible spaces, state-of-the-art technology, science labs, music rooms, sensory gyms, and more, these new schools are going to be incredible spaces for students and staff alike, will play a crucial role in fostering a sense of well-being for our children, and will help us build a safer, more affordable, and more livable city,” NYC Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference.
The first day of school in NYC is truly a milestone with these new additions across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx: it marks the most new K-12 seats opened by the SCA since 2003, an addition to the 20,000 the mayor has added throughout his administration.
And it looks like even more children will be accommodated going forward, as the newly adopted 2025-2029 Capital Plan will provide funding for over 33,000 seats. However, the Mayor and his administration will have to be mindful of the state mandate that demands smaller class sizes within five years.
This announcement of new schools comes on the heels of even more exciting news for students: over 70 schools have joined NYC’s Open Street Plans for the fall.
“Through our Open Streets program, we have created a new framework to give this space back to our school children to safely learn, develop new skills, and make pick-ups and drop-offs much easier for parents and guardians,” NYC Department of Transportation [DOT] Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement.
Next year, the DOT will offer funding to schools for Open Streets management, operations, and programming for the first time, applications for 2025 Open Streets will open in October.
More students, more space, and more learning opportunities beg the question: does that mean more cell phones in school? Thus far, NYC schools hasn’t banned cell phones…yet.