Kamar Samuels is anticipated to be named as the brand new NYC public colleges chancellor by incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani, revealed experiences on Tuesday night time indicated.
Picture courtesy NYC Division of Schooling
Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani is anticipated to nominate Kamar Samuels as the brand new NYC public colleges chancellor, revealed experiences on Tuesday night time indicated.
Samuels, who’s the superintendent of Manhattan’s District 3 based mostly on the Higher West Aspect, will oversee the town’s almost a million public college college students in 32 geographic districts across the metropolis.
His appointment places to relaxation rumors that Mamdani was contemplating tapping former U.S. Rep. and progressive firebrand Jamaal Bowman for the job, or retaining present Faculties Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos in her submit.
New York News contacted the mayor-elect’s staff to ask why he selected Samuels for the job, and is awaiting a response.
The appointment comes simply hours earlier than Mamdani will likely be sworn in because the 112th mayor of NYC simply after midnight on New 12 months’s Eve; it’s unclear when Samuels, a former elementary college instructor within the Bronx, will start his tenure.
Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a Dec. 20, 2025 information convention. Picture by Lloyd MitchellPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell
Samuels’s District 3 made headlines in 2022 about middle-school admissions screens. On the time, roughly two dozen college principals protested the return of educational screenings, putting the district on the middle of the citywide debate over fairness and merit-based admissions.
Immediately, some NYC center colleges have screened applications that admit the top-performing candidates citywide. Mamdani stated throughout his marketing campaign that he would eradicate admissions screenings for kindergarten youngsters within the public college system.
Samuels additionally helped implement initiatives similar to NYC Reads underneath the Adams administration. Studying scores improved final 12 months throughout the town’s public college system, with 56% of scholars in grades 3 to eight thought of proficient within the topic—a 7.2% enhance from the earlier 12 months.
In the meantime, Queens state Sen. John Liu, who rallied in 2020 for the continuation of specialised highschool admission testing, welcomed Samuels to the administration and applauded Aviles-Ramos for management within the Adams administration. In a press release, he praised Samuels’ assist of state legal guidelines that cut back NYC class sizes.
“Hearty congratulations to Kamar Samuels on taking the helm of the nation’s largest school system, a tremendous responsibility at this moment in time that will require a practiced hand and steadfast commitment to steering the ship straight,” Liu stated in a press release. “Kamar inherits a system that has been capably led by Chancellor Aviles-Ramos, who admirably kept our schools stable amid a city administration rocked by instability and controversy.”
Liu added that schooling was an afterthought to the town’s affordability disaster through the marketing campaign this 12 months, however underscored the significance of retaining colleges “on track” going ahead.
“While education took a backseat to NYC’s affordability crisis during this past mayoral campaign, the two topics are intricately intertwined, with the consequences of each showing up every day in our classrooms and in our homes,” he stated. “Looking forward to rolling up sleeves and working together to make sure our schools are on track to provide the best education possible for all students in New York City Public Schools.”
Maria Odom, govt director of Advocates for Youngsters in New York, congratulated Samuels and gave her group’s suggestions for the administration for bettering schooling. These suggestions embody extra studying assist and entry to direct psychological well being providers and conduct assist in colleges, and scaling up specialised applications for college kids with disabilities.
“We look forward to working with the incoming chancellor to strengthen existing initiatives like NYC Reads and undertake new efforts to address systemic challenges facing our public schools,” Odom stated. “We urge the incoming administration to pursue an education agenda that centers equity and the needs of students who are too often overlooked.”
