The New York City public school system is the largest urban school district in the United States, with approximately 77,000 teachers in almost 1,700 schools educating over one million students.
Our Schools
Our schools, ranging in size from 200 to 4,000 students, each provide a unique educational experience. We have theme-based schools for everything from technology to the performing arts to sports management. Neighborhood schools complement specialty schools that draw students from all over the city, including some of the most academically challenging schools in the country. Every school has a myriad of community and cultural partnerships.
You will also get to work with a school principal who will provide you with support and development opportunities as a new teacher. In 2011, the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality hosted the third annual Recruitment Excellence Awards to honor principals who were nominated by new teachers for providing great support to first year employees. View our Recruitment Excellence Awards Presentation to learn more about these teachers and why we honored their principals.
Children First
In 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein launched Children First, a comprehensive school reform effort built on the three interrelated ideas of leadership, empowerment, and accountability. We've reduced bureaucracy and empowered school principals and their teams to make informed decisions and try new ideas. With this empowerment comes accountability, so while schools are asked to set a high bar for student achievement, they are also held accountable for their results.
Children First has delivered significant, measurable benefits to our students:
- Graduation rates have increased 29 percent since 2002.
- In 2009, over 84 percent of 4th graders and 71 percent of 8th graders met or exceeded NY math standards.
- In 2009, almost 69 percent of 4th graders and 57 percent of 8th graders met or exceeded NY English Language Arts standards.
- Black and Latino students in New York City achieved greater gains in both math and English than their White and Asian peers, narrowing the socioeconomic and racial achievement gap.
Our reform effort has created a strong foundation and an effective framework for advancing student achievement. As a new teacher joining our team, you will play an important role in fostering continued success in the classroom.
More detailed achievement data is available to the public on our Data About Schools page.
National Recognition
The New York City Department of Education’s success with Children First has also been recognized on the national stage. After earning runner-up status in 2006, the Department won the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education, the largest education prize in the country. The Broad Prize honors the urban school district that demonstrates the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing the achievement gap among poor and minority students.
Twelve New York City public high schools were included on the U.S. News & World Report's Gold Medal List of America's Best 100 High Schools for 2010. The honorees include:
6. Newcomers High School, Queens
19. The High School of American Studies at Lehman College, Bronx
31. Stuyvesant High School, Manhattan
33. Townsend Harris High School, Queens
34. Staten Island Technical High School, Staten Island
35. Baccalaureate School for Global Education, Queens
52. High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies, Manhattan
58. Bronx High School of Science, Bronx
63. Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn
64. New Explorations Science, Technology and Math High School, Manhattan
65. High School for Law and Public Service, Manhattan
81. Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, Queens