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City Councilwoman Rita Joseph, a former teacher who chairs the education committee, hasn’t forgotten her roots in the city’s public school system.

Since taking office in 2022the Brooklyn council member visited nearly 100 schools across the five boroughs, Joseph recently told Chalkbeat. She holds monthly meetings with a coalition of advocates as she sought to help the city’s schools navigate a controversial budget cycle in City Hall, an influx of asylum-seeking students and other migrants, and other major challenges in education.

Her time as chair of the council’s education committee also coincided with a period of major overhaul of the city’s public school programs. Former schools Chancellor David Banks mandated primary schools to adopt one of three approved literacy programs — the signature policy of his tenure — also introducing curriculum revisions for middle school and high school mathematics.

With another budget cycle on the horizon and a change in leadership at the city’s Department of Education, Joseph has his eyes on a number of key priorities, including securing more permanent funding for programs that previously relied on federal aid dollars, expanding the city’s budget. early education systemand improving transportation options for students.

Chalkbeat sat down with Joseph last month to talk about a range of issues facing the city’s public schools.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The City Council held a hearing in September regarding school bus services. What were your takeaways from that hearing? What stood out to you?

Two years later, we’re still in the same place: kids don’t have routes, kids aren’t picked up on time, students who are medically fragile still don’t have walk-in nurses.

And also, students with IEPs (individualized education programs) who are medically fragile have to be on the bus for a certain amount of time, and we’re finding that they’re still on the bus for two hours when they should to be to stay on the bus for an hour.

On the budget side, last year was a big year – the expiration of stimulus funding and budget cuts. Obvious, many of these have been restoredbut looking back on it, how do you assess how many of your priorities you had?

I got everything. But I could never do this job alone. I meet with lawyers once a month. We even created a group called the Emergency Coalition to Save Education Programs, which included advocates, parents, non-profits and labor. We got together and went on a tour of five neighborhoods to listen to parents, families: If it were to be cut, what is the impact?

I remember being in the Bronx and Learning to Work (a paid work program for students at alternative high schools) resonated with me because I was meeting these young people. They came to testify. They came to say, “Let me tell you what this LTW has done for me. I’m not on the corner, Councilor Joseph. I can help mom. I can buy my own pair of sneakers.

It gives the child a second chance at education.

Pretty late in the year, Mayor Adams RECORDED he had recently learned how many programs were funded by the stimulus money. How did you manage to get him on board with that?

We met him in October 2023.

We sat down. I put it on him. I said, “That’s what’s on the line.”

I called him every cut, from lunch to community schools (which partner with nonprofits to provide full support for students).

Hold harmless (a policy to preserve school budgets despite declining enrollment) was also very important to me. I said, “That’s a way to stabilize it, against her bleeding.” We know we are losing students, but we have to make the schools harmless.

In the next budget, is hold harmless something you will continue to fight for?

I should look at the lay of the land first. I don’t think I would rush into it. I would evaluate what I have first before making such a big decision.

Are there other big priorities you have for the upcoming budget cycle?

I would like to do some basic things. I would like to establish the mental health continuum, LTW, student success centers (a peer-led program to promote college readiness), and STH coordinators (students in temporary housing). — plays such an important role for our students living in temporary housing.

Last year, the city Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers agreed to allow qualified teachers to switch to a bilingual license without losing their tenure. What do you think of this change?

I had to give up my tenure to switch to an ESL license.

The UFT now allows you to change your license and still keep your mandate. I wish they had that when I was there.

I quit because I knew it was needed. I used to get a lot of students from Chile when I was at PS 6 (in Brooklyn). We have a lot of students from Yemen as well. And when they came in, there was a shortage of ESL teachers in the building. So I went and took the course and got an extension on my license.

This is a piece of advice I gave to Chancellor Banks. You don’t need a new degree. Get an extension from the common branch license. It’s 15 credits, take the test, and you have an ESL extension that can be used across the city. This was a way to create the pipeline and make it easier for people to become ESL coordinators and ESL teachers.

What are your general thoughts on curriculum mandates?

(We need) more support for educators. No drive-thru professional development. There should be ongoing support throughout the year.

New York City Reads — I like the concept that all students should be able to read at grade level by third grade, because that’s when you take the first city test. So, even by the end of 2nd grade, you should already be meeting competent ones.

When the reading scores came out, no one singled out—and I really want to sit with these superintendents—Districts 5, 7, and 16 (Harlem, South Bronx, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, respectively) did very well. I want to know, what were they doing there? What were they doing differently? These are black and brown communities. What were the principals and superintendent doing to support educators and students?

Same thing with math. We need to make sure that children know their domain-specific vocabulary when it comes to math. There are languages ​​that go with these specific topics. Teachers should master them. Directors should master them. And I think principals should be a part of it too, because they evaluate teachers, right? So you need to know what your teachers are evaluating you on.

And reading shouldn’t be a punishment. Reading should be a joy.

I’m a huge fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I have every collection, every book that came out. I even have one signed by Jeff Kinney. So, you know, I was like the coolest teacher in the building because I had one signed by the author.

Find out what kids like. If it’s fashion, or cooking, or whatever, make sure they’re reading for something they like.

What are your impressions of the school’s new chancellor, Melissa Aviles-Ramos?

I’m a fan. i like her I like her work. Because we come from the same. Teacher, principal, assistant principal, interim superintendent. She knows the extent of the earth. She knows how to navigate this space. And she’s like me, she’s a hard worker.

We are here to support her. He has an ally.

Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at [email protected].

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York covering New York public schools. Contact Michael at [email protected].