Amy Zimmer

It’s a ‘blessing’: NYC schools get to keep their cash, despite lower than projected enrollment Schools that missed their enrollment targets won’t have to return millions in funding midyear back to the Education Department. Some principals say it’s a ‘blessing.’

A 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: www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Online, at school, on the street: Sexual harassment changes how I move through the world By the time I was 11, toxic comments and content had begun to feel routine.

From a @chalkbeat.org Student Voices Fellow: Online, at school, on the street: Sexual harassment changes how I move through the world www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Teachers are leaving, students are protesting: The upheaval at Columbia Secondary School A wave of teacher departures and curriculum shifts under Columbia Secondary School’s new principal has led to growing discontent erupting this month with student-led protests.

Student sit-ins, teacher departures: What’s happening at Columbia Secondary School? www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

How national immigration politics hung over the graduation ceremony of one Bronx high school. While ELLIS Prep’s principal celebrated the accomplishments of graduates, she also paused to acknowledge the ongoing ICE detention of ELLIS student Dylan Lopez Contreras.

Graduation brings hope, fear at a Bronx school touched by immigration politics. @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social's dispatch from ELLIS Prep, Dylan's school: www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Zohran Mamdani on education: His vision for NYC schools Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s school plans include advocating for shared governance, addressing issues like homelessness, and examining the specialized high school admissions test.

Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s school plans include advocating for shared governance, addressing issues like homelessness, and examining the specialized high school admissions test.

How one NYC student juggles schoolwork and an intensive cybersecurity apprenticeship Addison Wang was initially skeptical of spending so many of his high school days on an apprenticeship. Here’s what changed his mind.

ICYMI: An inside look at a high school student's experience in NYC's highly touted apprenticeship program. Nearly 400 student apprentices across NYC split their days between school + job sites. A must-read from @alexzimmerman.bsky.social www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

How one NYC student juggles schoolwork and an intensive cybersecurity apprenticeship Addison Wang was initially skeptical of spending so many of his high school days on an apprenticeship. Here’s what changed his mind.

Addison Wang was initially skeptical of spending so many of his high school days on an apprenticeship. Here’s what changed his mind.

‘It is split all over the place’: NYC teachers union declines to endorse in mayor’s race “There's not even somewhat of a consensus on this race,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said. “It is split all over the place.”

New: NYC's teachers union is *not* endorsing in the Democratic mayoral primary due to deep divisions on issues from Israel to affordability

“There’s not even somewhat of a consensus on this race," UFT prez Michael Mulgrew told me. "It is split all over the place.”
www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Is your NYC school using the air purifiers that were distributed during COVID? NYC invested millions of dollars outfitting every public school classroom with air purifiers at the height of the pandemic. But they have uses beyond COVID. Is your school still using them?

There's an air quality alert today in NYC. We're asking teachers: Is your school still using the air purifiers purchased during the pandemic? www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Should NYC’s mayor control the public schools? We asked the candidates for the office. Supporters say mayoral control of public schools ensures accountability. Detractors say it’s anti-democratic. What do NYC’s mayoral candidates think?

Should NYC’s mayor control the public schools? Here’s what the candidates say.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/06/09/mayoral-control-schools-2025-mayors-race/

NYC school rallies to bring back their student detained by ICE ‘They thought no one would miss him. That was a mistake.’ Now, this Bronx school community is rallying around a student detained by ICE.

Are you following @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social's excellent coverage about Dylan, the Bronx HS student detained by ICE? Check out this profile of Dylan's school, ELLIS Prep, which is doing so much to support Dylan and their other students. www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

NYC school rallies to bring back their student detained by ICE ‘They thought no one would miss him. That was a mistake.’ Now, this Bronx school community is rallying around a student detained by ICE.

If you've been following the story of Dylan, the Bronx HS student detained by ICE, I hope you'll read this follow-up. I followed his school, ELLIS Prep, as they navigated the aftermath — rallying around Dylan while managing the fears spreading to other students.

www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

My commute to high school is my refuge The subway is the one place where I’m just another person moving through the city.

I live in the Bronx and go to high school in Lower Manhattan. My commute is my refuge.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/06/04/why-i-love-my-nyc-subway-commute-to-high-school/

Lawyers for Bronx student detained by ICE file petition for immediate release In a new “habeas corpus” filing, the lawyers for Dylan, a Bronx high school student detained by ICE, claim immigration officials violated his due process rights.

Lawyers for Bronx high school student detained by ICE file petition for immediate release
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/30/lawyers-petition-to-release-bronx-high-school-student-detained-by-ice/

A Bronx high schooler showed up for a routine immigration court date. ICE was waiting. A NYC public school student’s arrest was part of a nationwide blitz of immigration authorities detaining migrants in courthouses in an effort to speed up deportations.

Dylan is a 20-year-old student who followed our legal process and is trying to get an education and provide for his family.
 
ICE took advantage of his court date to arrest him.
 
It's despicable.

A Bronx high schooler showed up for a routine immigration court date. ICE was waiting. A NYC public school student’s arrest was part of a nationwide blitz of immigration authorities detaining migrants in courthouses in an effort to speed up deportations.

A Bronx high schooler showed up for a routine immigration court date. ICE was waiting.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/27/bronx-high-school-student-detained-by-immigration-ice-agents/

First known example of a current New York City public school student detained by ICE during Trump’s second administration. The latest from @michaelelsenroo.bsky.social ⬇️

See how many new teachers your NYC school is getting to reduce class sizes Chalkbeat created a searchable table showing how many new teachers were assigned to each of the 741 schools given new hiring funding by the city.

See how many new teachers your NYC school is getting to reduce class sizes
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/21/new-teachers-class-size-reduction-school-list/

Please listen to our latest P.S. Weekly episode + behold the power student journalism! These students are having an impact!

‘Justice delayed’: NYC students with disabilities face longer suspensions than allowed Some students with disabilities in NYC public schools are serving longer suspensions — sometimes by several weeks — than legally allowed, a problem that disproportionately affects Black students.

Under federal law, schools must consider a student’s disability and special education plan during the suspension process. NYC public schools have been breaking the rules for years.

A must-read from @alexzimmerman.bsky.social www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

NY schools use virtual learning as Trump deportations keep some immigrant students home A state education official revealed that some districts are tapping virtual learning to support immigrant students frightened to attend school.

Some NY schools turn to virtual learning as Trump deportation fears keep immigrant students home
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/19/deportation-fears-immigrant-students-virtual-learning/

NYC schools face a sweeping class size mandate. Here’s where the mayoral candidates stand. Reducing class sizes may require thorny tradeoffs, including enrollment caps at popular schools or pushing for waivers. How will the mayoral candidates approach the mandate?

NYC faces a sweeping (and expensive) class size mandate. Here’s where the mayoral candidates stand.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/16/nyc-school-class-size-mandate-2025-mayoral-campaign/

NYC mayoral candidates share plans for continuing (or not) Eric Adams’ curriculum overhaul NYC mayoral candidates generally like Eric Adams’ reading curriculum overhaul. Math is a different story

Eric Adams installed sweeping curriculum mandates. Here’s what the mayoral candidates would do next. www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Backlash over anti-trans rhetoric brings new energy to NYC’s parent council elections In Manhattan’s District 2, and other parts of the city, new efforts have sprung up to unseat candidates backed by the polarizing local advocacy group PLACE.

Backlash over culture wars brings new energy to NYC’s parent council elections
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/09/backlash-culture-wars-brings-energy-parent-council-elections/

NYC schools to receive $314 million less due to tweaks to state funding formula “A formula once considered among the most progressive in the nation is now being dismantled,” one advocacy group said. City schools will still receive a Foundation Aid increase, however.

New state formula means $314 million less for NYC schools, but city still gets Foundation Aid hike
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/08/foundation-aid-formula-kathy-hochul-state-budget-nyc-schools/

Here’s what the state’s ‘bell-to-bell’ student cellphone ban means for NYC schools Under the policy, school districts across the state will have until this summer to craft their implementation plans and must begin enforcing them at the start of next school year.

New York’s cellphone ban: Exemptions, enforcement, and costs explained
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/06/cell-phone-ban-costs-enforcement-exemptions-explainer/

Literacy support, HBCU classes, health care careers: 7 new schools coming to NYC The seven new schools are part of a multiyear flurry of openings that city officials hope will reinvigorate the system at a time of faltering enrollment.

Literacy support, HBCU classes, health care careers: 7 new schools coming to NYC
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/05/new-schools-opening-literacy-healthcare-early-college/

So proud of the student journalists @bellvoices.bsky.social for this must-listen dispatch on what it was like for NYC kids w/ undocumented parents to apply to college this yr.

“I didn’t know if it was more important that I get my education than not know where my mom would be.”

NYC needs thousands more teachers. Can it find them within the system? Education Department officials are hoping that education-focused programs at high schools can help the city creatively address a historic teacher hiring challenge.

NYC needs thousands more teachers. Can it grow them from the ground up?
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/04/23/amid-teacher-hiring-challenge-nyc-tries-homegrown-approach/

After union criticism, NYC schools chief defends sweeping middle school curriculum mandate In the waning months of Eric Adams’ first term, NYC is pushing for big changes to middle school reading and math. Will they last?

‘This isn’t meant to take away autonomy’: NYC schools chief defends sweeping curriculum mandates
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/04/22/nyc-reads-solves-curriculum-mandate-melissa-aviles-ramos-uft/