Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces Appointment of Melissa Aviles-Ramos as Next Chancellor of New York City Public Schools System

September 25, 2024

Camille Joseph Varlack, Chief of Staff to the Mayor: Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us here today for what is clearly the most exciting announcement that we've had in a while. My name is Camille Joseph Varlack and I serve as chief of staff to the mayor. Our administration is laser focused on making sure that our city is safer and that we create a more affordable and livable city for working-class New Yorkers and nowhere is that more important than in our public school system. It is where students come to learn and grow, develop lasting friendships and life lessons. It is where our families come when they need community and support.

Leadership in our school matters. This is why over the last nearly three years under the leadership of Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks, our public school system has reached new heights and I could not be more excited to be here with you today. To tell you more about it, I am pleased to turn it over to an unbelievably committed leader who has served our city's children for over 40 years, Chancellor David Banks.

Outgoing Chancellor David Banks, Department of Education: Thank you. Thank you. I so greatly appreciate all of you and you know it has been… I'm so grateful to have served New York City's families and children now for almost 40 years. You know, I was just talking to my staff the other day and I had lost track of time and I asked them on the team, I said, how many years has it been since I started? And they said, almost 40. I said, Lord, I better retire tomorrow.

Just thrilled and thrilled to be here and I'll tell you why this place has been so important to me, but first and foremost, just to tell you as a product of the New York City public schools, New York City public schools did well by me and my family, my brothers, and it's been a real blessing for me to have been a product of this school system. But when I came out of college, I started my first job, Richard, they say you didn't notice, but as a school safety agent at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn, 1985. And from there, I went on to be a teacher in Brooklyn at P.S. 167, right on Eastern Parkway in District 17 in Brooklyn, and assistant principal also in District 17. Shout out to District 17. I was an AP there for two years at P.S. 191.

And then I had the great fortune of coming to the Bronx and I had the opportunity to be the founding principal for this school, the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice. And for those who don't know, this school is the first Urban Assembly school. Urban Assembly has a network of 20 plus schools all around the city, but it started right here in the Bronx, in this place, with me as its founding principal. But the man who was the visionary behind urban assembly is the reason why I was even selected to be the principal. And I'm thrilled that he's here today. He's also Mr. New York. He built Battery Park City and he's just done amazing things. That's Richard Cohn. He's here today. Richard, stand up for a moment, Richard. Thank you. Thank you, Richard. I would not have become the principal for this school were it not for that man who made it happen so many years ago.

But I would have never met Richard Cohn if it were not for the other gentleman who has been a mentor for me for so many, many years. A mentor, a friend, longtime member of the 100 Black Men. Of the 100 Black Men, we have some of the brothers in the house here, I think, as well. Thank you to the brothers, but a particular note of thanks to someone who leads my Interfaith Advisory Council right now as we're trying to meet this moment to deal with issues of antisemitism and Islamophobia and all kinds of hate all around this city. And the man who is leading that work for us, who is the reason why I even met Richard Cohn in the first place, my dear friend and mentor, Reverend Jacques DeGraff. Thank you, Rev.

I came to this school and I had the great fortune of having someone by my side. She was a very young lady at the time, and she was working for Richard. And Richard said, you know, she can help you. She knows the Bronx, and together we became a dynamic duo. And her name, she's not here today, but that was Meisha Ross Porter, who went on to become chancellor before I did. And for those who don't know, if you look up at that mural up on the wall there, there are those of us who played a big role, who were real inspiration behind this school. And there's Richard on the left, and I'm on the right, and the biggest picture in the middle is Meisha. But some of the best years of my life were spent working right here in this school.

This is where I learned how to become a real school leader. And, you know, my career did not start as chancellor. I go back many, many years in this system and have impacted the lives of countless numbers of young people and their families. And the lessons that I learned here helped to shape my leadership when I left here, when I went on to lead the work of the Eagle Academies for Young Men. You see, because we recognized that if we were going to transform the lives of young men of color, we needed to have a place that would be a safe place for them emotionally, where we could pour into them and help them learn to be the best versions of themselves. And we created the Eagle Academy for Young Men in the Bronx. My pride and joy. And the principal of the school, Hector, is here. Thank you so much, Hector, for being here as well. He's carried that work on now for the last decade.

And we put an Eagle Academy in every borough in New York City. And we put one in Newark, New Jersey as well. Eagle serves today over 3,000 young men of color across the five boroughs and Newark, New Jersey, sending kids off to colleges and universities, but more importantly, pouring a level of hope into their lives to help them understand the greatness that is within each and every one of them. And I could not be more proud in my entire career than all the work that we did at the Eagle Academy. And so I thank all of the members of Eagle.

And I want to shout out two people who are here with me who led this work at Eagle for all those years. Kima Reed is here. Kima, stand please, who was my right hand at Eagle and remain standing by the man when I left Eagle Academy and came here with this mayor to be chancellor, the person who now has been my successor and has taken the work of Eagle to even greater heights, Donald Ruff. Donald, thank you, brother.

And it is important to me that as I recognize them, I want to recognize them also because succession planning to me is critically important. When I left this school as principal to go to Eagle, we handed the reins of leadership over to Meisha, who led this school for an additional decade. And as I've left the Eagle Academy Foundation, I handed it off to Donald Ruff, and he is continuing that work and taking it to even greater heights. And as I now give up my seat as the chancellor for New York City public schools, because first of all, after 40 years, I'm tired. And that's the God's honest truth. You know, when I took this job, I had one person, only one person. Everybody offered me all kinds of congratulations. One person said to me, you shouldn't take this job. And that was Norman Wechsler. He used to be my boss. He used to be the head of all our high schools in the Bronx. And I said, why would you say that? He said, because it can kill you.

And I said, why would you say that, Norman? That seems a little dramatic. And he said, because I know you and I know how you lead. You lead with your heart. You care and you care deeply. He said, the job of a chancellor, it's always had people who've been like bureaucrats. You almost can't care that deeply because it will just drain you. But I stepped out on faith. I came here in my almost three years, this has been just the joy of my life to lead this entire school system. And you're going to be hearing from her in just a moment. But I'm really thrilled that the person who will be succeeding me in this role is our deputy chancellor, Melissa Ramos.

Continuity matters. Stability matters. So even as I have now made this announcement, I'm not leaving tomorrow. The mayor and I have talked now for the last several months about this plan that I planned on leaving by the end of this calendar year. But making a way for Melissa, who we identified as the person who could do this. Melissa led the work of Project Open Arms as we welcome 45,000 newest New Yorkers. She was the face of that. And then she went on to become my chief of staff. And then she got tired of that and she left us. She took a short leave and she went and worked in higher ed. But as the mayor and I had conversation, we said we ought to bring Melissa back as I was making plans for months down the line for my own exit.

And so we brought Melissa back as deputy chancellor of Family and Community engagement. And I'm so thrilled that she is going to be in this role. And you'll hear from the mayor in a moment. We'll hear from Melissa in a moment. But let me just simply say, kind of in closing at these opening remarks, serving the children of New York City and their families and all of you, these amazing people who work for us, has been just the joy of my life. My senior leadership team is here with me. Those who are here, please stand. Dan Weisberg, Emma, Danika, Liz, Mia, Kim, Kareem. Come on, Stephen. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for what you've done. Thank you for how you have supported this work for me. Mark Rampersant is around here somewhere. The head of all things safety, keeping our kids safe. There's nothing more important. He's up there? Wow. Keeping his eye out on everything. Thank you, Mark. That's my main man right there.

And thank you to all the folks from Project Pivot. If you're here from Pivot, because that has been one of the most important. If you're here from Pivot, thank you. My Pivot team. And I know Aaron couldn't be with us today, but Aaron Barnette, who came with me from law, government, and justice, from right here. Then went with me to Eagle. Then came with me to the chancellor's office. One of the closest people in the world to me. But thank you to Pivot, because what Pivot represents is how we have brought the entire community into this space. We cannot transform the schools in New York City by ourselves. The entire village has to be a part of that. And that's what Project Pivot has represented. Thank you, brothers. And thank you.

Last couple of things I do want to say. Somebody who's been so close to me, been here with me for so many years. Her daughter graduated as valedictorian from this school. And then she gave me her son at Eagle Academy. And she travels everywhere with me. She's my special assistant. A person who I trust the most. And that is Yvette Crespo. And thank you, Yvette. Love you. Love you, love you, love you.

The final thing I will say is none of this happens for me. I have four kids. I think two of them are here today. I think they were floating around here somewhere. Where's Aaliyah and Ali? Where are you? Come here. These are my twins, everybody. Don't they look good? And I'm so proud of them. Raised four children. And each one of them has a college degree. And none of them asked me for money. So I'm a blessed man. Say amen, somebody. And all of these amazing, wonderful, phenomenal superintendents who lead this work all across this city. It has been my privilege to lead this work together with them. They're the ones who really drive this in all of our communities all across the city.

And finally, I just want to say to the love of my life who has helped me in ways that are immeasurable, simply immeasurable. And folks can write whatever the hell they want to write. But I know, I know. And that is my beloved, where is she? My Sheena. I say all of that to say this in closing. I know my truth. I know my truth. You see, there's some folks who are covering some of these stories who are kind of new to this space. I started this work in the mid-80s, before some of them were even born. And a lot of folks who know about Eagle and know about my chancellorship don't have any idea about how we built this, Richard. And the time that I've given to parents and families and kids well before I even got here. 40 years of my life that I've given while at the same time raising four beautiful children.
I have been beyond blessed. And God is not finished with me yet. So I thank the parents across the system for entrusting me with their children. I thank the children of New York City, because that's the reason why I'm here and why I've been here. And everything that I've tried to give, I've done my best. And you never get all of the things done. You never get all of the things done. But you get a lot done.

And you pass on the baton to the next person to continue to race. That's what life is all about. And I just want to say to all the people of New York, thank you so much for the opportunity to serve you. God bless.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And I'm not a happy camper because in her nervousness, she introduced my brother. I should have introduced him. David is my brother. And the Banks family are my family. I value them. I value the commitment of their dad, who mentored me as a young rookie cop. I value Phil, who rose to the level of being the highest ranking person in charge of the Police Department patrol force. I value how much they value the people of the city. These are not only good public servants, they're good human beings. They're good human beings.

And during these moments, I remember sitting down with my brother in January when he talked about it, and he's right. Doing this work, if you just want to go through the motions, it's an easy task. But if you show up every day, and you are emotionally tied to the areas that you are responsible for, like all of these deputy mayors that are here, and they are showing up every day to deliver for the people of this city. And one of the first things we did, Sheena, was go into the Museum of the City of New York. She gathered us all together in the beginning of this administration, and she walked us through. And she showed us the headlines of yesteryears and the problems that people were facing, and how when we started this journey, we had to start it with the full understanding of the level of commitment.

Because one day, our names were going to be on those walls. And what did we do right? And what did we do for the people of this city?

David and I joke all the time about our books. And trust me, after you read our books, you're going to see what this journey was like. You're going to see the unprecedented challenges that my chief of staff, my first deputy mayor, my chief advisors, all of the team, what we had to do. And we may have been, but we were never broken. We never surrendered for delivering for the people of this city. And nothing was more significant than the chancellor of the City of New York. Eight years interviewing David, meeting with him, speaking with him, talking with him, hearing his vision, and finding out what are you going to do with these babies? How are we going to do what many people talked about, but he actually did? How do we transform our school system that we can finally get the product that we invested in?

And David did it. Everything from New York City Reads to how we look at our math curriculum, to our internships, to what he's doing with Project Pivot, how he changed the food so we could stop feeding healthcare crises and start giving people the quality food that they deserve. What we did when the sunsetting dollars hit our city during the COVID dollars that were dissipating, how he came up and put in place a real system of early childhood education, what he's doing with children with disabilities, what he's doing with dyslexia screening in our schools, what he's doing with placing our children on career paths for the first time. You could go through the list over and over and over again. Brother, you're not going to have enough pages in your book to write every one you had to do.

But he showed up every day. He gave it his all. And that's all I ask of him. And that's what he did. And so when we sat down and he decided that, Eric, I want to transition out in December. And we talked about who was going to replace him. And she was at Monroe College. And we asked her to come back and start the process of being prepared. As David stated, transition matters. He didn't wait a month out. He didn't wait two months out. He started the preparation ahead of time with his amazing team with Dan and others who helped to stabilize the transition so she would be able to have the support that she deserved.

But we wanted to make sure that we had an authentic, organic, real person to fulfill the role that a real person laid out. And we found it in Melissa. Teacher, and proved her records in her school, in her early time in education, went on to be employed at Tweed, watched and learned. When we talked about it this morning, I heard Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom talk about the role she did with Project Open Arms and how easy it was to just work with her. Deputy Mayor Almanzar talked about just the ability that she has to get stuff done without worrying about all that's going on around us. Because no matter what happens in our city, our children still must be educated and they must be prepared for the future.

And Melissa brings that. Just a girl from the block. You know, a Bronx leader and just a symbol, a symbol of what good things can come out of not only public school but comes out of the Bronx. Come out of the Bronx. It was so exciting to be able to sit down and, you know, we were thinking the same thing of who the next chancellor should be. A real leader that understands how important it is to educate a million of our school children. And as the chancellor states so often, this is not schooling. It's educating and preparing our children for tomorrow.

17-year veteran of the public school and a lifelong educator. She started her career as an English teacher and then going on to serve as an assistant principal, deputy superintendent, and acting superintendent. Then she became, as I stated, an administrator at Tweed, learning the ins and outs and the complexities of running a school system of this size. And currently she serves as a deputy chancellor for Family and Community Engagement and External Affairs. One of the hallmarks of this administration and this chance as I move around is how parents felt engaged. They felt they can talk with David and communicate with David and he listened and his ability to understand what they were going through from his years of being part of this system.

She's the highest-ranking Latina and Spanish-speaking leader in the New York City public schools. She's been on the ground, folks. She's on the ground. A leader that's on the ground. And what's really interesting, when you look at her first year as a principal, she increased the graduation rates from 23 percent to 68 percent. And then in year two, she increased rates by another 15 percent for an overall increase in two years to 83 percent. Those early successes are testaments of how hard she worked and how she believes in the children of this city.

She's the right woman for the right time to continue the success of this administration and the team that stands behind us, beside us, and those who are sitting in this seat. We're going to give her all the support she needs to succeed. But there are things we could do as men and as women, but there's also things we can do as those of us who are spiritually connected. We're going to give her our prayers. We're going to pray for her to have the patience and the commitment and the dedication as she continues this pursuit. And we will be here for her to make sure that she's successful in her career as the chancellor of the City of New York public school system. I want to introduce you to the incoming chancellor, Chancellor Melissa Avelis-Ramos.

Incoming Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, Department of Education: Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so honored to be here with all of you. Thank you so much. Y a mi comunidad Latina, bienvenida. Te doy la bienvenida aquí, mi comunidad Latina, mil gracias por estar aquí conmigo. I just said welcome, but when you say things in Spanish, they sound so much better.
I am honored to be here. I am honored to accept this opportunity to be the incoming chancellor of New York City public schools. I would like to first begin by thanking our mayor. Mayor Adams is New York City. Mayor Adams is everywhere. Mayor Adams is accessible. Before you would look at mayors and you would see someone cold and inaccessible and on the news. You see Mayor Adams everywhere. I remember crossing the street to go get a Starbucks and I see, I was like, is that the mayor? He goes, Melissa, what you doing now in these streets? I said, getting a coffee, sir.

But that's the kind of administration that I'm honored to be a part of. Accessible, real people who are invested in New York City. We don't want to go anywhere else. We want to invest in New York City and we don't want to invest in the present. We want to invest in the future and our futures are the babies. So Mayor Adams, I won't let you down because I won't let New York City down. And Chancellor Banks could say all he wants that he's tired, but he still has more energy than I do. And my time as chief of staff was spent trying to catch up to him with his long strides. But Chancellor Banks, I want to thank you for your leadership, for mentoring me and for making sure that I see all kinds of leadership in some of the most interesting moments because that's when leadership shows up. So I want to thank you.

Now, if I may, I want to share a little bit about myself. Growing up in the Bronx, it is good to be home in the Bronx. So I grew up in the Bronx, single mom. And during the 80s, public schools in the Bronx, the Bronx was a forgotten place. Another thing I want to thank our mayor for, for prioritizing the Bronx. At that time, New York City public schools was not a good place to be. And my mom, who was pulled out of school when she was only 14 years old to escape an abusive situation, ended up having three children on her own. And public schools did not work out so well for my first two siblings. They went on to do amazing things, but only after they were pushed out with GEDs. They had to fend for themselves and find their way after school.

And my mother said, my baby, I'm the youngest and the spoiled one. She said, there is no way that I'm going through this again. I am going to do whatever I have to do, work for $12,000 a year and cook and scrub and answer phones, do whatever I need to do in a Catholic school in exchange for safe education. I need you to be safe. And I need books in front of you. I need you not sitting on a windowsill.

And I need to make sure that you have the resources you need to succeed. And I did. And that is all to my mother.

But what I will say is that we shouldn't have to move to different districts and we shouldn't have to enroll our kids. And that is your choice, if that is what you decide to do. But it should not be because New York City public schools is not an option. And so what I say to you today is that I am fortunate enough to be a part of this administration, but also a mother in New York City public schools. I entrust my own child to New York City public schools because that is the belief that I have in them. And so what I want for my Anna is what I want for all of my children across New York City.

Our parent leaders, our families, our parent coordinators, our safety agents, our school aides, our custodians, you are on the ground with our babies. Now I'm rolling up here with all these superintendents and they're amazing. But let's also talk about the work that happens on the ground that those folks do touching children every single day. And my commitment is to continue to see you and to listen to you and to honor you for the work that you do in service of our children every single day because you represent my mom and the children represent my own child.

Now, many of you already know that I started my career as an English teacher at Harry S. Truman High School. I promised Principal Alfano I would make sure I get that in there. And what I will say is that over the course of 17 years, I've seen a few changes in my life. And what I will say is that over the course of 17 years, I've seen a few chancellors come and go every now and then. And we've seen some changes and they don't feel good on the ground. People start to worry about stability, continuity. What's going to happen? We started these amazing things and now we don't get to see them through. I want you to know, I want you to see me as a symbol of stability, of commitment. We started amazing things in alignment with the mayor's vision for New York City and the chancellor's vision in alignment with the mayor's vision for New York City public schools. And I am here to tell you that my charge is to make sure we carry through on all of the Bright Starts and Bold Futures, all of the pathways that we're building for our children, all of the bridges that we need to build between communities and families because this is all in service of our children. So you have my commitment to be that chancellor.

On a final note, I just want to thank the principal here, Principal Johnson. This is a little bit, this is a little bit of a full circle moment for me as well. So Dr. Meisha Porter actually gave me my first opportunity to be a district administrator in the Bronx and obviously we know the chancellor has a little bit of a connection to this school as well. And what I just found out is that one of the most amazing principals I ever worked with and who was a principal in my district, Dr. Asya Johnson, her husband is the principal of this school. So Dr. Johnson, thank you. Thank you everyone for accepting me and for supporting me and I have your back and we're going to get stuff done.

Mayor Adams: We want to, we want to bring on, we can't, we can't be in the Bronx without, without having the Bronx borough president's here if you were. And then we're going to bring on our two assemblywomen that are here as well, Jackson and Rajkumar. Come on up, BP.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson: Wow, good morning everyone. Buenos días a todos, bienvenidos, welcome. I am truly so grateful that we are here today in the great borough of the Boogie Down Bronx. What an honor to be here at Bronx School of Law, Government and Justice, L.G.J., Richard Cohn. This is an amazing school that has cultivated so many leaders and alumni. I am proud to have been a part of not only the building of this school but working so closely with Chancellor David Banks and our former chancellor, Dr. Meisha Ross Porter, Richard Cohn and everyone when Eagle Academy was housed here and then they got their own building on East Tremont and 3rd Avenue and we talked about young men of color soaring like eagles looking at the possibilities outside of their neighborhood. That's what today represents.

So I am so proud to be here as your Bronx borough president and I first want to acknowledge and say thank you to our mayor, Eric Adams for your leadership, for your commitment, for being a real friend to the Bronx. The Bronx is no longer left behind. Under Mayor Adams' leadership, the Bronx is no longer left behind. We have opened the South Bronx Learning Academy for dyslexia screening. We have opened the Bard Early College Academy in this borough. We have now opened M.S. 644, the Bronx Debate Academy at the Aurelia Greene Educational Campus, named after my mentor, the Honorable Aurelia Greene. And so I see history here. There has been so many opportunities to really invest in the Bronx but nothing is greater than under this administration led by Mayor Eric Adams. And to all our deputy mayors and to everyone here, thank you for what you do on behalf of New York City public schools and our million scholars and their families and the entire City of New York.

I take this moment to recognize my dear friend and this is an emotional moment and I'm emotional because I've known Chancellor David Banks for years, remembering when he was here leading the Law, Government, and Justice School with Meisha Porter and creating the Eagle Academy, the Eagle Academy Foundation, and all the great work we have done. What an honor to now see you close this chapter of 40 years. Wow, to God be the glory. Chancellor David Banks, thank you.

I want to say thank you, Chancellor Banks, for never giving up on the possibilities, for seeing our young scholars as ambitious, bold, courageous, driven, determined, exceptional, fearless leaders that can do anything, that can dream big, that can look at all of us and see themselves. That is why we do this work every day. This work is not a nine to five. You have to be called to serve if you understand what your purpose is. I'm not preaching today, but I am just saying that you have to realize as educators that we are called to serve and we serve everyone no matter what, no matter how they get to us, no matter what language they speak, the zip code they represent, and it was clearly evident during Project Open Arms, and we saw 44,000 of our asylum seekers and children that came into our city right here in the Bronx, and it was under the leadership of our Incoming Chancellor Melissa Ramos who led the charge to make sure that we were prepared for our new scholars with ELA teachers, bilingual teachers, so that we could accommodate their needs and meet them where they are.

That is what this work is about, and so I'm so proud to call Chancellor David Banks a friend, someone who I've watched work on behalf of the Bronx and the City of New York, and I've admired all of the great things you've done, and now as borough president, I get to support L.G.J. and our principal Vernon Johnson. I get to support Eagle Academy and our principal Hector Velazquez and all of our schools in the Bronx. That is what this work is about, and so let me also congratulate our incoming chancellor, Melissa Ramos, a Bronx girl. Melissa from the Bronx, mayor. Yes, Melissa from the Bronx, from Soundview. Starting in 2007 as a teacher at Truman High School, we just reopened the pools at Truman High School, Chancellor Banks, right? Because all of our high schools need to have beautiful pools so our scholars can learn to swim.

Understand the vision that we have, folks, and rising through the ranks, teacher, principal at Schuylerville Prep, all of the great things that Melissa has done in the Bronx. We are no longer left behind, folks, and I am excited about moving this chapter forward because guess what? Our children need us. Our scholars need us like never before, and our families. So to every member of the New York City public schools family, every part of the village, from our superintendents to our deputies, our principals, teachers, paras, school aides, all of our support staff, to our parents, PTA, parent coordinator, we see you in the back. CEC, we see you. Thank you to our CECs, and the members on our Panel for Educational Policy. We see you too.

We are all a part of this work, and so as we move forward, as we celebrate 40 years of Chancellor David Banks giving his life to New York City public schools, as we celebrate this moment of our incoming chancellor, Melissa Ramos from the Bronx, let us recognize that the work does not stop. The learning, the growth, the opportunities, the partnerships, the investments do not stop. So let us keep going to make sure that New York City public schools are the very best that they can possibly be, because our children deserve the best and nothing less. Thank you so much.

State Assemblymember Chantel Jackson: [...] and congratulations, and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside, and everyone standing in this space is making sure that that happens. I am so grateful to be here with you all to say thank you to Chancellor Banks for all the work that he has done for our kids.

To the twins and the two others, we say thank you for sharing your dad with us. I know, I know that this is sacrifice, our family's sacrifice, so that we can continue to serve everyone else, and I know my pastor was here, Pastor Crawford was in the building, so I just want to get my brownie points and say, well done, good and faithful servant, and to our new chancellor, you have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. As Chancellor Banks passes the baton on to Chancellor Ramos, I just want to remind her that you should lead with honor and integrity and grit. All Bronx girlies are resilient, so I know you can weather the storm, and I am so excited to work with you, to support you here in the Bronx and here for the State of New York. Thank you.

State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar: Good morning. I'm State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, but when I come to the Bronx, they call me Jenny from the block. I am so happy to be back in the Bronx. I actually taught for many years as a professor at the Bronx's own Lehman College, and I have never seen as much raw talent as my students had. When they debated, they debated better than members of the U.S. Congress.

And so the reason that I care so much about education is because education is the reason I'm standing here today. My mom was born in a mud hut in India, and my parents came in with just $300 and a suitcase. But my mom, like the incoming chancellor's mom, believed that education could open every door. And she invested in my education, and that opened every door, and that is why I'm here. And so I am so excited to partner with the incoming chancellor, Chancellor Ramos, who through her own life story knows that education can open the door. And together, we're going to do incredible things for this city, chancellor.

I also want to thank the incredible Chancellor David Banks. 40 years of transforming our school system. And yes, everyone has talked about his incredible achievements, including New York City Reads, which ended 30 years of curriculum to install a new curriculum to make sure all of the children in our city can read. But he also did something very special, something very historic, that today I would like to acknowledge. And that is that together, we made Diwali a school holiday in the City of New York.

And that is a historic achievement. The mayor, the chancellor, and I did something that nobody thought was possible and gave voice to an entire community. And this is an achievement that is going to outlive me, chancellor, and everybody here. The chancellor was on the phone into the wee hours of the night after six months of a campaign to make Diwali a holiday, to make sure that it happens. So I want you on this day to know that 600,000 South Asian New Yorkers send you their gratitude and will never forget your work on this day.

And finally, I think of the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and he said, it takes a great deal of time to eat, or to sleep, or to earn $100. But it takes very little time to entertain a hope and an insight that becomes the light of your life. So as educators, and elected officials, let's continue to light that fire in all the kids of New York City. And I look forward to doing it together with you. Thank you.

Question: I have a question for the chancellor.

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: Which Chancellor are you talking about?

Question:I thought you made clear your state.

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: Hi, Andrew.

Question:On the timing of your retirement, did you move up the retirement date to the end of the calendar year? Why would you not be staying to the end of the school year after 40 years? Why the end of the calendar year? And does any of today's timeline have to do with what's going on with the investigation?

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: Yeah, you know, and I'll tell you, quite honestly, I was so concerned about that. Because the mayor and I have been talking about this for quite some time. And I said, now everybody's gonna think I'm leaving because of this stuff. It has nothing to do with that. We have been working on this for months. And it always sounds nice that you can go all the way to the end of the year. That's a romantic notion. But the reality is that, you know, after 40 years, when you recognize that it's time, like you feel that.

Anybody who knows me, like people, some of the folks in this room who know me, who've known me for many, many years, they know how I lead. When I was in this school, every parent in this school would tell you I was out in front of that building. First of all, I was the first person in the building. I was here before school safety. The only person that might have gotten here quicker than me was the custodian who would lift the gates and turn the lights on. Other than that, I was the first one here. And I greeted every single child right outside before they ever stepped foot inside the building. And I could tell right away what was going on with them just by shaking their hand or giving them a hug.

And you know what I mean, right? These are all leaders who do the same kinds of things. And you do the, you can test where they are. And you love them. And for those who you can see are going through something, you make sure, I say, Yvette, Aaron, somebody. We need somebody to, they need a hug. They need somebody to call mom. Something is going on. I was here to all hours of the night. That's why I appreciate assemblyperson talking about my own children. My own children's sacrifice, my whole family's sacrifice for the way in which I led. I was not the guy that went home at 3:30.

And once I was home, I was still fully engaged. And that's what so many of these great educators, that's the way we've lived our lives.

And since I've been here, we put together the most amazing team. These people that you see here, it's like, it's a dream team of phenomenal, smart, committed people. And I run really, really, really hard. And then I just, I realized I'm out of gas. Like you know it in your spirit. Now, can I just dance around on the margins and just play chancellor? I could, but I've never moved like that. I give this stuff everything that I have. I've never had a job where it was a drive-by for me. If I'm in it, I'm in it. And I give it everything that I have. And I've given it everything that I have. I've given it everything I have.
So, Andrew, so please, please know that, right? My whole life, I've lived with integrity. And some of you have just gotten to know me since I've become chancellor. There are many people who knew me for many, many years before. They know who I am. And the folks who know, we never cast aspersions like I hear being cast about. So for those who are newer to this space, you better ask somebody.

Nicholle Martinez: Hi, I'm Nicole.

Aissatou Barry:Hi, my name is Aissatou. So I'm with the NHS.

Martinez: And I'm with the Principal's Advisory Council. We would like to give Mr. Banks his flowers. He raised a very nice daughter and she's been here with us for quite some time. So we got to spend a lot of time with her and she's amazing.

Barry: She's the greatest NHS advisor. It's so sad to see her go. She is the backbone of our society. I don't know what we're going to do without her this year. She's been teaching me since sixth grade and I'm so grateful to have her as my teacher and as a role model. Thank you so much.

Martinez: And for me, she's been somebody that I can come to since I've been here. Starting here with COVID, it wasn't that easy for me, but she's been somebody that I can come to and always express my feelings and share what's been going on in the school.

Barry: We love you so much, Mr. Banks and Ms. Banks. Thank you so much.

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: That is a completely unscripted moment. I just introduced my daughter. But what I didn't say was that she followed in my footsteps in education. And after I left here as principal and Misha was still the principal, Meisha hired her as a teacher. And you spent about a decade here. She just recently left at the beginning of this school year. But you see the impact that you even hear from the mouths of all these young people. Nothing could make me prouder as a dad than to see my daughter carrying on the values that I poured into her and that she's pouring in.

Question: Chancellor Banks, I want to ask you a question. I know that you said that you are not leaving because of what's been going on in terms of the raids and everything. But I wonder, are you leaving the chancellorhood with any regrets? Things that you wish you could have accomplished that you didn't and things that you'd like to see the new chancellor take over because you want to see them come back?

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: I appreciate that, Marcia. First of all, I just want to thank you and so many other members of the press who have really been really good to me. I've done my best to try to be open and authentic and transparent. And I've enjoyed my many times on your show. And I want to say thank you so much.

I leave with no regrets. I gave it everything that I had. And when you realize that you don't have that much more to give, I poured it all out. I did. I poured it all out. I think I'm the first chancellor in the history of New York City public schools who opened two multimillion dollar buildings. When we started as principal at Law, Government and Justice, we were not here. We were in a shared space, blocks from here. And where's that picture? We marched. We marched all the way down the Grand Concourse. Right? We marched down that Grand Concourse to this building. It's one of the greatest highlights of my career. And all of the thousands of young people who have come through these doors as a result of what we did here. And that means so much to me.

And then what we did at Eagle Academy. It's unbelievable. I get stopped in the streets by people every day. Every single day, somebody stops me in the streets who says, thank you. My son, my daughter, my grandson. And, you know, went to Eagle Academy. I said, which one? Right. Because we have one in every borough. And it has impacted their lives. And so many young people here at Law and Government. I've been so blessed.

So, no, there are no regrets for me. The work is never done. So it's not like mission accomplished. There's never anything such thing as mission accomplished. But what I will tell you is that the work goes on. Melissa will continue the work. This team will continue the work. But I just think about so many of the young people over the years. I've just taken over these last days and weeks to start to reflect because I've been I'm in go mode all the time. You don't stop and rest and just pause and think. And I just thought about I got a few years ago, I got a I got an honorary doctorate from Wheelock College in Boston. And on the day that I received my honorary doctorate, I stood on the stage at the graduation. And somebody from the board of trustees, somebody from the faculty, they flank you. And the president of the university now talks about all the things that you've done. And before she could even get going, three young men from Eagle Academy were graduating on that day from Wheelock. I knew that she invited me to say, you know, we want to recognize you for your work that you've done, particularly at Eagle. And before she could even get started, the three young men stood up in an audience of about 3,000 people at their graduation and said, out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. They recited the poem Invictus, which I recited last week at the State of the Schools Address.

Every young man that goes to Eagle Academy knows that poem they recited every single day. It's part of who they are. It's a poem of resilience. Many people were writing articles. Was that poem about the challenges that you're facing right now? Again, you have to understand the totality of who I am. I have thousands of young people who recite that poem each and every day. One of those young men who graduated stayed in Boston and he went on to work at a big communications firm. Another one went and joined the Peace Corps in Africa. And the third one went and pursued a dual Master's/Ph.D. program at Purdue University. Every one of those we would consider a huge success. Right. Donald Ruff at Eagle Academy went and ran the numbers. Each one of those three students was considered not college ready by New York City public schools. Why? Because all we do is measure success by what score you got on a math test and an ELA test. The system is fundamentally flawed. That's part of what I'm trying to say.

There are some periodicals and others who think the only thing that matters is what did you do with your scores? And I'm here to tell you these young people matter. They're more than scores. They are more than scores. And they have so much to offer. We have to make sure that they know that they have the basics. So we are working really hard at doing that. It does not turn around overnight, but I'm confident that the roots that we have laid, you know, are strong. And that Melissa and the team will continue to drive that work toward continued success. No regrets.

Question: Here's a question for you and for the incoming chancellor. Congratulations. How do you envision the next three months going? This is a bit of a longer lead time, I think, than we usually get for somebody in like a chancellor or commissioner level. You're already working at Tweed, obviously. How do you envision sort of your next three months going?

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: That's a great question, Jillian. And I think, again, it's one of the things we want to emphasize. It's the reason why, you know, people, some of this stuff was written. Chancellor resigns. Like I'm leaving tomorrow, right?

No, we are doing this in a… This is the most responsible way that you can do this. It doesn't usually happen this way. It usually happens. Somebody makes an announcement. They're out tomorrow. And good luck to the next person. I don't lead like that. I never have. That's why I pointed out all these people that everywhere I've gone, I try to leave the place better and I try to hand it off responsibly to the next person. At the end of the day, it's the mayor's selection. I'm here because Mayor Adams had enough confidence in me to do this job. I was not thinking about becoming the chancellor. The mayor is the one who said to me, I need you to be my chancellor. And I had no interest in that. And it took me a while before we got there. And he said, you're the one for the job.

And together we talked and we said, Melissa is the one for the job. So I plan on spending the next three months just trying to continue to pour into her in an even more intentional way. Because now everybody knows that she's up next. And so I want to be intentional about making sure that she's in all the right places. She's not in every meeting that I have today. Yesterday, she was at the very first meeting of our interfaith council. Rabbi Joseph Potasnik and and the imams and the Christian ministers all came together as we continue to talk about issues of antisemitism. Those are meetings that I've been doing since the beginning. She's in other meetings, but now she will be in all of the chancellor's meetings. She will have the beginning of developing the relationships with folks that up until now, perhaps she has not had to develop those relationships because she hasn't been in the seat.

So now everybody, all of our CECs, she'll be in all of those meetings. She'll be at every PEP meeting. She'll be engaging with community leaders, elected officials, every single one of them. She's already been doing a lot of that, but it will be much more intentional. And my job, my goal will be simply to continue to pour in to set her up for success as I begin to ease out of the way and let Melissa begin more and more and more to take the reins. That's the way you do leadership, succession planning in a way that is most responsible for an entire enterprise.

Question: Congratulations to you both. You recall I was with you on that march.

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: That's right. When we marched down all of… That's where we met. Weren't you at 5 at the time? That's right. You were at FOX 5. I remember that.

Question: You mean it. You say you remember.

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: Absolutely.

Question: Thank you. Just a question about the chancellor selection process. First of all, can you be more specific when these conversations began about you needing to step down? And also, there are many talented people within your inner circle. What was it about chancellor now, Incoming Chancellor, Aviles-Ramos, that other talented potential candidates maybe didn't have? What set her apart from a deep pool of talent?

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: That's a great, great question. So, Melissa's the second, but the first part of the question was? Oh, yeah, the conversations. Yeah. So, let me say, the mayor and I talk regularly. So, it's almost hard to fully pinpoint the when because it's so fluid with us. We talk all the time.

But it was months ago. I almost can't tell you the exact date. But probably sometime in the early part of the summer when I said it was becoming even clearer to me that it was time. I was feeling it's time. I've got people who I love and respect, who I talk to, who are also mentors to me as well. I was having conversations with and saying, I'm feeling like I'm starting to kind of run out of gas. And maybe it's time for me to start to shift and do something different in my life.

And so, yeah, I would say probably early summer was when the mayor and I intensified the conversations where we really said, I said, yeah, I don't think I'm going to make it through… I think as we get to the end of this calendar year, that's probably going to be best for me. And let me start… That's why, you know, very quietly we brought Melissa back.

So, there are nothing but wonderful, brilliant, talented people around us. When the mayor talks about the bench, he's generally talking about the larger city as a huge bench. But these folks here are phenomenal and amazing. Every one of these superintendents is a superstar in their own right. Absolutely. But what I would say to you is that having worked so closely with Melissa around the migrants coming in, our newest New Yorkers, and seeing her talent on full display, it became clear to me she's whip smart. Our first deputy, Dan Weisberg, was the first person that really said, Melissa. So, she's the real deal. Yeah, she's the real deal.

And I'll tell you what else. And she got very close to the mayor, particularly, and his staff, working around this migrant issue. She has been the face of it, working with the deputy mayors. Right. So, they know, like, she gets stuff done. My concern was when I first met Melissa, she was almost overly respectful to me, to the point that I said, I'm not sure that she has what it would really take to actually lead the system. And she reminded me, in no uncertain terms, oh, don't take my respect for weakness. I'm from the Bronx. You don't even know. And it was and I found out.

And so, since that moment, like, our relationship really changed. And Melissa is one of the funniest people that I've ever met. I mean, side-cracking, funny, hardworking, mother to the beautiful Anna, who I adore, her daughter. Let's just think of that. Single mom in the Bronx, Latina, making it happen. Who else would you want to be the chancellor?

Mayor Adams: All right, folks. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Job well done, brother. You know, good, good, good public servant. Job well done. Thank you. Melissa, we're going to take a picture, the three of us. Come on. Come on.

Outgoing Chancellor Banks: Somebody cue the music!

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