<![CDATA[Families for New York]]>https://www.families4newyork.comhttps://www.families4newyork.com/img/substack.pngFamilies for New Yorkhttps://www.families4newyork.comSubstackThu, 30 Jul 2026 19:16:03 GMT<![CDATA[The School System Built for a City That No Longer Exists]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/the-school-system-built-for-a-cityhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/the-school-system-built-for-a-cityThu, 30 Jul 2026 15:45:07 GMTEarlier this month we launched a report An Education Agenda for New York City with an analysis of the main trends in spending, enrollment, and academic results, and how to fix the structural inefficiencies in the system.

and I have a new article on Searchlight with a summary from our report.

“But it means that you need to not be an idiot.”

The NYT has an article about the where I am blessed to be a fellow. I have been there for a short time but have really enjoyed the collaboration with other people who are also very focused on making NYC better.

What I am reading this month

Kids are at camp which means I am reading a lot - and eagerly checking the camp app for pictures :)

My husband has the best Russian literature recommendations and I just finished “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It’s a short book that really takes you inside one “good day” in the gulags in the 1950s. It was the first book published about the gulags in the Soviet Union.

The Bigger Apple
Who Are NYC’s 300,000 Chronically Absent Students?
Whenever debates over educational equity erupt in New York City, the conversation inevitably turns to the city’s specialized high schools…
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7 days ago · 17 likes · 3 comments · Liena Zagare

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]]><![CDATA[The SHSAT crisis starts in kindergarten]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/the-shsat-crisis-starts-in-kindergartenhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/the-shsat-crisis-starts-in-kindergartenMon, 27 Jul 2026 12:30:24 GMTThe latest stats for the SHSAT schools were published, and we are seeing the same coverage that we always see: not enough students of color in these schools because the test is racist.

I wrote for The Bigger Apple about how we can’t understand the results of the SHSAT without considering the racial disparities in the absenteeism problem, which starts in kindergarten.

The Bigger Apple
The SHSAT Crisis Starts in Kindergarten
Each year, when the NYC Department of Education releases admissions data for specialized high schools, the press and elected officials highlight the low enrollment of Black and Hispanic students. Just yesterday, the New York Times published a story titled …
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15 days ago · 18 likes · 9 comments · Danyela Souza Egorov

Our New Report on NYC public schools

I have a new report with my colleagues Jennifer Weber and Ray Domanico on the NYC public schools and our recommendations on how to improve the system.

We analyzed the main trends in spending, enrollment, and academic results, and wrote about the structural inefficiencies in the system and how to fix them.

What I am reading this month

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]]><![CDATA[World Cup and edu news]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/world-cup-and-edu-newshttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/world-cup-and-edu-newsMon, 13 Jul 2026 13:28:09 GMTI have been spending way too much time watching soccer games with my boys, which explains the few newsletters I’ve sent over the past month. My husband is still amazed at how Brazilians stop their lives every 4 years to watch soccer and I am afraid I have now taught our sons to do the same…

But I want to share two articles that I wrote for last week.

I wrote about how the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) are using lawfare to prevent the opening of innovative charter schools that cater to families impacted by the childcare affordability crisis.

I also wrote about the latest NYC education budget which is the definition of insanity: funding more of the same things that are not educating our kids. This year budget has an increase of $894 million, bringing the total to $38.6 billion, while the DOE projections show a 4.2% decline in enrollment for the coming school year. The Washington Post also republished this article.

What I am reading this month

I just finished “Road to Serfdom” by Friedrich Hayek, a book published in 1944 about the dangers of a state controlled economy and its role on nazism and socialism. It’s a short book and still very relevant for our times.

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]]><![CDATA[There are not enough G&T seats in NYC]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/there-are-not-enough-g-and-t-seatshttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/there-are-not-enough-g-and-t-seatsWed, 17 Jun 2026 14:34:05 GMTLast week, New York City families found out if – and where – their children had been offered a place in one of the public elementary school citywide or district Gifted & Talented programs. The process used to select students at this grade level is notorious for going against the documented science on how it should be done.

But it’s also more or less moot. Very few spots are available for entry in grades 1 through 4. The majority of public school G&T seats are allocated at the Kindergarten level, using a different process than the one for higher grades.

Not that the K process is any better. In my 20+ years of working as a school consultant, I have tried to explain to parents just how badly the odds are against them, no matter how “gifted” their child is.

To help drive the point home, I’ve broken it down by the numbers:

Even if you assume that intelligence testing for a 4/5 year old is valid (I don’t, and I have the research to back it up), then 1 percent of NYC kids would score in the 99th percentile.

In a city where some 70,000 students apply to every grade level, that means 700 kids. (That’s in theory, in practice over twice that amount tested in the top percentile, when compared to national norms.)

Hunter College Elementary School only accepts 50 Kindergarteners. In all five of the public citywide, accelerated schools (i.e. Anderson, Nest+M, TAG, BSI and 30th Ave), there are about 300 seats total at the entry level.

Throw in the “Divine Dozen” of “top tier” (another term I don’t like) private schools for an additional 600 or so seats, and you’ve got under 1000 possibilities. (And that doesn’t take into account that you probably won’t be able to travel to all of them, and that some of the private schools are single-sex, so not available to you.)

But even Hunter CES moves the top 2 percent to their second round. So now you are talking about 1400 “highly gifted” NYC kids. Citywide G&T’s used to accept the top 3 percent, so a theoretical 2100.

Back when there was a test for public school G&T, the top 10 percent of applicants were eligible for district gifted program seats. So that’s 7000 “gifted” students competing for only 2500 public school spots citywide.

Now, with no test, just a teacher or parent nomination, over 10,000 qualify... for the same 2500 placements in public school.

Whenever I talk to parents, they hem and they haw, and then, eventually, they come out with, “I know every parent thinks this, and I know every parent says this, but I really believe that my child is advanced -- and their teachers agree!”

My standard response is, “I believe you. I believe that the majority of NYC kids are capable of doing work at a higher level than what public schools offer. I believe that if you are spending the time and money to speak to me, your child has been parented well enough to qualify as “gifted” based on the tests we have available. Yes, they are advanced. But, the problem is, so are many of their peers. The good news is, whichever school you land at, odds are, most of your child’s peers will be equally “gifted” so you don’t have to worry about them feeling different or like the odd man out. The bad news is, if you have your heart set on a particular school, know that, yes, your child is likely perfectly qualified for it. But so are 1000s of other children.”

And, when it comes to private schools, if Admissions has a choice between a child in the 99th percentile needing financial aid, and a child in the 98th percentile who can pay full, whom do you think they will select? Is that 1 point on a meaningless test really worth giving up tens of thousands of dollars that can be used to keep the lights on for all students?

“But, that’s not fair!” the parents I speak to protest.

They’re right. It’s not.

But here is the problem: It’s unfair to everyone, not just you.

As long as parents focus only on getting the best education available for their child, and ignore the fact that the majority of children could benefit from an “accelerated” curriculum, they will be hurting all students.

I was born in the former Soviet Union. I am about as far away from a Marxist as it is possible to be. And, yet, if anything will get me to admit that ol’ Karl might have had a teeny, tiny point about one thing, it is this: The people in charge ARE pitting families against each other, as a way to hoard privilege for themselves.

They do it when they pit Asian immigrant families against Black and Hispanic families over Specialized High School admissions.

They do it when they remove middle school honors programs in the name of “equity” and call anyone who doesn’t agree racist. (And if you’re a person of color who doesn’t agree, then you’re brainwashed. Or a tool.)

And they do it at the very earliest level, by imposing an artificial scarcity on “gifted” programming, despite their own metrics suggesting the majority of students would benefit from it, so that families will be kept busy fighting over scraps, instead of demanding an overhaul of the entire public school educational system.

We shouldn’t be arguing over what qualifies as “gifted” or who should have access to the pathetic programming that NYC deems as “advanced.”

We should be fighting to raise the bar for all children, at all schools. And give every child the education they need – and deserve.


Alina Adams is the author of “Getting into NYC Kindergarten” and “Getting into NYC High School,” and a school admissions consultant. Got questions for her about your child’s gifted education options - or anything else? Join her “Ask Me Anything (About NYC Schools)” workshop on Wednesday, June 24th. RSVP here.

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]]><![CDATA[NYC prioritizes politics over students]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/nyc-prioritizes-politics-over-studentshttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/nyc-prioritizes-politics-over-studentsMon, 15 Jun 2026 14:08:30 GMTThis year I have travelled a lot for education conferences and gatherings and I always get the same question: “How does NYC spend so much in education if its results are so bad for kids?”

I explain this on my latest article for :

The Bigger Apple
Why New York Public Schools Spend So Much to Achieve So Little
A common question from education professionals outside New York is how the city can manage to spend over $42,000 per student while roughly half of its students fail to meet basic reading and math benchmarks. The answer is that the city is wasting a massive amount of money because it prioritizes politics over the needs of stude…
Read more
a month ago · 14 likes · 1 comment · Danyela Souza Egorov

The NY Daily News Editorial Board calls for full repeal of Class Size Law

The NY Daily News had an excellent editorial outlining all the problems with the Class Size Law and calling for a full repeal of this law. Unfortunately I can’t imagine this happening with the current elected officials that we have in Albany - but it is important to highlight how this law is damaging our public schools and the city’s finances.

The only result of this law will be higher taxes, a more expensive DOE, and fewer seats at our best public schools. And, of course, higher revenues for the UFT which was the primary goal of the law.

What I am reading this week

Minding the Gap
The Growth vs. Proficiency Debate
Read more
a month ago · 83 likes · 5 comments · Natalie Wexler

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]]><![CDATA[My appearance on the Schooled podcast]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/my-appearance-on-the-schooled-podcasthttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/my-appearance-on-the-schooled-podcastThu, 04 Jun 2026 12:55:32 GMTI had the pleasure of talking to old and new friends at the Schooled podcast. We talked about the problems in NYC with declining enrollment and the class size law, but also about what makes me excited about the future of education in our country: expansion of school choice and all the innovation that it is unleashing.

Listen to the Podcast

What I am reading this week

The Bigger Apple
NYC Charter School Students Spend Hundreds More Hours in Class. It Shows.
Charter schools and DOE schools operate under the same state law, in the same neighborhoods, and serve broadly similar student populations, yet produce strikingly different results…
Read more
2 months ago · 11 likes · 8 comments · Jennifer Weber

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]]><![CDATA[My appearance on Freedom to Learn podcast]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/my-appearance-on-freedom-to-learnhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/my-appearance-on-freedom-to-learnThu, 28 May 2026 14:44:29 GMTI had the opportunity to talk to about NYC public schools, the huge opportunity available with the Federal tax Credit Scholarships and chronic absenteeism. Watch or listen to the podcast!

Listen to the Podcast

What I am reading this week

This is one of those essays that are really worth your time. I couldn’t stop thinking about this quote:

“I don’t know why he stopped developing, and I’ve found it’s best not to think about it. We now have the world’s biggest three-year-old, we like to say. Whenever I get angry at God about that, I quickly remind myself that this is also how we learned our most important life lesson: As George Will once put it with respect to his own son (who has Down’s Syndrome), a less-than-perfect life is still very much worth living.”

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]]><![CDATA[NAEP expansion is great news]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/naep-expansion-is-great-newshttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/naep-expansion-is-great-newsWed, 27 May 2026 13:22:25 GMTThe National Assessment Governing Board announced that it will start publishing National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) state-level data on 12th-grade math and reading and eighth-grade science, and will add an eighth- and 12th-grade civics exam.

But there is a catch: governors have to opt in to get the state level data.

We should celebrate this NAEP expansion, given that education is usually 1/3 of state/ city expenses but occupies a small part of news coverage. I explain this on my latest article for :

Read Here

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[Where are the students?]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/where-are-the-studentshttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/where-are-the-studentsMon, 18 May 2026 13:37:31 GMTLast year the NYC Department of Education projections for school year 25-26 totaled 766,730 students. The school year 26-27 projections have a total of 734,551 students.

This is a 4.2% enrollment drop.

But the 26-27 proposed budget for the DOE has a $3 billion, or 8% increase.

I explained how NYC and other cities can’t afford this disconnect between enrollment and budget on my latest article for the DailyWire:

Read Here

Unfortunately our Mayor still hasn’t realized that this is financially unsustainable and bragged on a video that he didn’t follow the advice that my colleagues and I provided in our articles in the NY Post.

Instead, he used gimmicks to “balance” the budget and is putting our city in a dangerous fiscal trajectory as Eric Kober explains.

“Enough uncertainty exists for New Yorkers to be concerned at Mamdani’s blithe confidence that he can keep spending more than the city takes in, balancing the budget with one-shots, borrowing, and tax hikes.”

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[Too many schools for fewer and fewer kids]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/too-many-schools-for-fewer-and-fewerhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/too-many-schools-for-fewer-and-fewerTue, 12 May 2026 13:22:11 GMTToday my new report for the Manhattan Institute was published: What to Do About NYC’s Empty Schools

The report shows how enrollment is declining across the country and discuss the impact of this trend in NYC public schools. The city has an increasing number of schools that are too small to be financially viable and the report offers recommendations on how the district can develop a plan to close and merge these schools.

Mamdani keeps bankrolling failure in NYC’s schools

Here is my latest article on the NY Post on how the Mayor, the Chancellor, and the PEP are avoiding the hard decisions that our city needs: close under enrolled and underperforming schools, expand the schools that are in high demand.

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[US K-12 system now spends more than $1 trillion. ]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/us-k-12-system-now-spends-more-thanhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/us-k-12-system-now-spends-more-thanTue, 05 May 2026 13:52:26 GMTIn 2024, for the first time in history, the American K-12 public school system passed the $1 trillion mark in spending.

It is a remarkable amount and a reminder that the biggest problem of our education system is not a lack of resources, but how the money is spent. Unfortunately, most of the resources are being used to hire staff despite declining enrolment.

I explained how the 4 largest states in the country are choosing to spend their education dollars on my first article at the DailyWire:

Read Here

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[NY Senators turn their back on low-income parents and children]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/ny-senators-turn-their-back-on-lowhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/ny-senators-turn-their-back-on-lowWed, 29 Apr 2026 13:58:51 GMTOn Tax Day 30 Democratic Senators led by Mark Kelly introduced a bill to repeal the Federal Scholarship Tax program approved as part of the Big Beautiful Bill.

A low estimate is that the program would generate $500 million to NY low-income kids to use on education: scholarships, enrichment, books, tutors - public schools students are eligible.

Why are NY Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gilibrand against this needed support for NY kids while it wont cost anything the NY state?

Here is my article about this today on amNY:

Read Here

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[What happens when families can choose their schools?]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/what-happens-when-families-can-choosehttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/what-happens-when-families-can-chooseFri, 17 Apr 2026 17:35:20 GMTI have been fascinated with the expansion of school choice in Florida. I think it provides important insights about what families really value for their kids’ education.

My latest article examines the choices Florida families are making.

The first lesson is that good public schools are thriving: the most popular choices are charter schools and open enrollment (public schools that are not the one your kid was assigned to).

Second, huge interest in “a la carte” learning with more and more families enrolling in hybrid and micro schools, selecting specialty classes - all thanks to the Education Savings Account program.

Third, a huge increase in religious schools, with particular growth of special needs students enrolling in catholic schools.

Here is my article about this today on City Journal:

Read Here

Calling all fifth grade parents!

Now that the results are in, we are trying to crowdsource information from this year’s NYC District 2 Middle School admissions process in order to help other families in future years better understand their likelihood of acceptance into specific middle schools ahead of the lottery process.

If you’re willing to pay it forward, would you please complete this 6-question google form. All info will be kept anonymous.

We will be crunching the data similar to what is done for the NYC HS admissions lottery, as you can read here. Thank you for helping other families navigate the all-too-complicated process!

Complet Survey

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[My appearance on The Grade podcast]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/my-appearance-on-the-grade-podcasthttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/my-appearance-on-the-grade-podcastTue, 14 Apr 2026 13:07:15 GMTEducation never receives enough attention from the media despite representing 30 to 40% of NYC city’s budget.

I had the opportunity to discuss media coverage of NYC public schools with on his podcast . We talk about class size law, the over coverage about G&T and SHSAT schools, and the lack of accountability on spending vs results.

Alexander Russo's The Grade
What's missing from NYC schools coverage?
A self-described angry mom who ran for office and sends her kids to NYC public schools, Danyela Souza Egorov is now a fellow at the Manhattan Institute whose work often appears in City Journal…
Listen now
4 months ago · 6 likes · Alexander Russo

Listen to the podcast

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[Mamdani can't afford to not cut the DOE budget]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/mamdani-cant-afford-to-not-cut-thehttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/mamdani-cant-afford-to-not-cut-theTue, 07 Apr 2026 12:38:22 GMTThe Mayor and the City Council are on a battle on how to balance the city’s budget. The Department of Education accounts for 30% of the city’s budget and has been growing non-stop despite huge enrollment declines.

In my article today on the NY Post I write about this:

Read Here

A Reflection on Mayor Mamdani’s First 100 Days in Office: The Future of NYC’s Kids

Last month the Manhattan Institute organized an event to reflect on Mayor Mamdani’s first 100 days in office. Here is our full panel “The Future of NYC’s Kids” with Jennifer Weber and Sydney Altfield.

Here is our full panel “The Future of NYC’s Kids”:

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]]><![CDATA[Educational Redlining in New York]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/educational-redlining-in-new-yorkhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/educational-redlining-in-new-yorkWed, 11 Mar 2026 14:56:02 GMTThis week, Tim DeRoche from Available to All released an important report that should spark a conversation about which schools are offered to which families in NY.

The report shows that some school zones map directly to the old redlining maps. This has created a situation in which schools very close to each other have completely different demographics and outcomes for kids.

I wrote about the report and how we should address this problem by expanding the schools we know are delivering for kids in NY and offering school choice to all families.

The Bigger Apple
Educational Redlining in New York
New York likes to tell itself a story about progress. But a new report from the nonprofit Available to All argues that the state’s school maps, which shadow the old redlining maps that once helped restrict access to housing in mostly minority areas, remain a major obstacle to equal educational opportunity…
Read more
5 months ago · 15 likes · 8 comments · Danyela Souza Egorov

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[NY families don't know how much our government spends on public schools]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/ny-families-dont-know-how-much-ourhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/ny-families-dont-know-how-much-ourWed, 25 Feb 2026 14:38:17 GMTSometimes I think I spend too much time talking and writing about the fact that NY is the #1 state in education spending, but the new 50CAN survey shows that the majority of New Yorker families don’t know how much we spend per pupil or estimate it at less than $1,000.

In fact, NY is the top state in the survey where families underestimate the per pupil spending - only 1% of families answered the correct answer between $35,000 and $40,000.

Here is my article about this today on City Journal:

Read here

What I am reading this week

I just finished the biography Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America and learned so much about our country’s politics in the 60s and 70s. The book is long but very well researched and written.

I am also reading with my son The Complete Novels of Sherlock Holmes and he is really enjoying it.

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]]><![CDATA[How to make the PEP more effective]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/how-to-make-the-pep-more-effectivehttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/how-to-make-the-pep-more-effectiveMon, 16 Feb 2026 19:26:06 GMT

Last week the new City Council Education Chair, Eric Dinowitz, had a hearing about Mayoral Control on NYC public schools. My friend Effi Zakry gave a testimony on how to improve the Panel for Education Policy. Effi served on the PEP for two years and has extensive professional experience in finance.

Here is his testimony:

Good morning, Chair Dinowitz and esteemed members of the Education Committee.

I am Effi Zakry, and I am here to share insights gained from serving two full terms on the PEP. I was elected by parents to this position, rather than appointed by the Mayor or borough president—a distinction that provided me with a unique vantage point on our school system.

When we discuss “Mayoral Control,” we are fundamentally discussing the composition and functionality of the PEP. As a recent member, I have witnessed the inner dynamics of the Panel firsthand and believe there is a clear path toward meaningful improvement.

While Albany revisits this issue every few years, the conversation often becomes political and the necessary reforms are deferred. However, establishing a robust mechanism for checks and balances is imperative, regardless of who resides in City Hall. Nevertheless, the Mayor should remain accountable as the head of the executive branch. Returning to the old local school board system that was rife with corruption and inefficiency is certainly not the answer.

To make the Panel more effective, I propose the following:

· Streamline Membership: The PEP has become unwieldy. The recent increase in the number of members has made it difficult to achieve a quorum, particularly at BERS meetings. Here, bigger is not better. I recommend a leaner body consisting of 5 parent representatives and 6 mayoral appointees— 11 in total.

· Ensure Direct Representation: Parent representatives—one from each borough to reflect their unique needs—should be elected directly by parents using a process similar to CCHS elections.

· Prioritize Experience: At least four of the six mayoral appointees should be parents who have had a child in the public school system within the last five years and have served on an education council. These should be individuals with “boots on the ground” experience, not political appointments.

· Protect Independence: All members should serve fixed two-year terms and be protected from removal without due process.

The PEP must serve as a functional check and balance for our students. I would be happy to share more suggestions and details with the Committee at a later time.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Yiatin Chu, co-Founder of Place, also testified about accelerated education- you can watch her testimony here.

John Liu on the Schooled podcast

The Schooled podcast this week has John Liu, NY Senator and Chairman of New York City Education Committee, to talk about class size law. They asked some of the tough questions about this unimplementable law.

What I am reading this week

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]]><![CDATA[Mamdani can find lots of inefficiencies in the DOE budget]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/mamdani-can-find-lots-of-inefficiencieshttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/mamdani-can-find-lots-of-inefficienciesWed, 04 Feb 2026 17:42:58 GMTOur city is in a difficult situation. The Mayor announced that there is a $10 billion budget gap next year and that he is looking for ineficiencies. My article this week discusses three ways where savings can be found in the Department of Education budget.

“The number of students enrolled in city schools has shrunk by 10 percent since its peak in 2010. Despite this, the DOE’s budget has grown by more than $1 billion yearly since 2019, reaching $40 billion this year. As a result, projected per-pupil spending will exceed $42,000 per child this year—the highest in the country and about $10,000 more than in the 2021–22 school year.”

Read Here

My appearance on the Nazareth podcast

I had a wonderful time talking to Sophia Arnold from the Nazareth podcast about NYC public schools, school choice, and the new Federal Scholarship program.

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School Choice Week Discussion

Last week we had a great discussion about what school options are available for NY families and what can be expected in the next few years. Thanks to Yiatin Chu, Tim Castanza, and Adrienne Jensen for sharing their experiences and guidance for parents.

I received a lot of comments and questions about homeschooling - the education option that is the fastest growing in NY (more than 50,000 students statewide and 15,000 in NYC). I will find more ways to share information to families who are curious about this option.

What I am reading this week

Early voting in public schools cause a lot of disruptions. There is a campaign organized by NYC parents to get rid of early voting in public schools, you can sign up here: Remove Early Voting From Schools

Please share this newsletter with your friends and families.

Contact me if you want to help bring universal education choice to NY! #SchoolChoiceNY

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]]><![CDATA[Who Will Be Paying For NYC’s Expanded “Free” Childcare?]]>https://www.families4newyork.com/p/who-will-be-paying-for-nycs-expandedhttps://www.families4newyork.com/p/who-will-be-paying-for-nycs-expandedWed, 28 Jan 2026 17:01:07 GMT

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As soon as NY Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani trumpeted they’d be bringing free childcare for two years olds to the Big Apple, the 5-Borough NYC Early Education Coalition of vendors already contracted by the Department of Education (DOE) to provide Universal Pre-K and 3K announced a February 12th “Day Without Community Based Organizations (CBO)” rally to protest the expansion.

The NYCEEC’s main points of contention are pay parity and the lack of a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).

“We are currently under a five-year contract set to expire in 2026,” Lori Cangiolose, Assistant Director of The Playgroup Experience, explained. “The city is proposing to extend contracts without any COLA. Over the past five years, every operational expense has increased – food, utilities, insurance, classroom supplies – yet our funding remained stagnant. This has made it increasingly difficult to keep our doors open, let alone fairly compensate staff.”

“CBO teachers are required to deliver the same DOE curriculum, follow the same regulations and expectations, and meet the same professional requirements as educators in public school 3K and Pre-K classrooms,” Diana Yudina, a teacher at Alphabet Academy confirmed. “We are required to hold the same credentials, including a master’s degree and certification, matching the qualifications of public school early childhood teachers. However, despite doing the same work and meeting the same requirements, CBO teachers do not receive equitable compensation.”

A new DOE teacher with only a Bachelor’s degree and no experience has a starting salary of $71,314. A certified, 30 year veteran teacher in a CBO earns a maximum of $68,652. Many earn considerably less.

“I have worked in this field for 37 years, 10 years within the DOE, and earn $40,000 annually,” Cangiolose divulged.

Many of those working in CBOs are also denied other benefits public school teachers receive, including union protections, pension eligibility, and health insurance.

“How is that fair?” demanded Chloe Pashman, a Bronx CBO School Leader. “Some staff work in the summer, and don’t have long holiday breaks. Many work 10-6 shifts. Is it because they’re located in the Bronx projects and serve children and families who are not white? Most of our staff is not white, and the majority are women. The city has gotten away with loading 3K and PreK on the backs of these women for so long – why wouldn’t they try it with 0-3 year olds? It’s a great deal for them. They get us all “on the cheap” and abuse us.”

In addition to inequitable salaries and benefits, those running CBOs are faced with regularly delayed payments from the DOE. Many of those working for the city report they were “forced to become a vendor of the DOE or face closure.” At a City Council hearing in 2025, one preschool director who’d run her formerly private center for decades was in tears as she explained that she might need to shut down unless the DOE was more prompt in paying what they owed her.

“Programs are expected to maintain and improve quality while operating on stagnant funding,” Stepping Stones Director Michele Kindya recounted. The low pay and onerous working hours contribute to a revolving door of staff and even to centers closing unexpectedly, leaving the families who counted on them with nowhere to go.

Every teacher and director who reached out to me stressed they support accessible childcare, but don’t believe schooling for 2’s should be offered while the state of 3PK and UPK remains precarious.

“Our system is expanding faster than it is reforming, and the consequences are falling squarely on educators and the programs that serve our youngest learners,” reported Joy Farina Foskett, MSEd/MSEd Special Education. “Conversations about expanding programming such as 2-K raise serious questions. Opportunity without infrastructure is not progress, it is risk. We cannot continue to roll out new programs without first addressing salaries, benefits, staffing, funding timelines, and workforce sustainability.”

“Reform Before Expansion is our motto,” Pashman summarized. “We need to fight for the hardest working and most qualified educators, staff, and leaders in the city who are being illegally underpaid and taken advantage of. I thought our city and state were run by ‘progressives’!”

When asked to comment on the above accusations, DOE Associate Press Secretary Dominique Ellison did not dispute any of the charges, only writing that, “We appreciate and value all teachers who dedicate themselves to educating NYC’s youngest learners. We will continue to advocate strongly for funding and policy solutions that support pay parity and workforce equity across community-based organizations. Whether they work in traditional school settings or CBOs, educators are the foundation of our early childhood education system, and their professionalism and commitment deserve our recognition and support.”

As a working mother of three, I sympathize with parents looking for a break on childcare costs.

But as so many directors told me, “While the program is free for families, it is not free to operate.”

As a result, I cannot bear to see our “free” childcare come at the expense of other women, the majority of whom are low-income and/or people of color.

“If we want a system that truly serves children and families, we must start by valuing the educators who make that system possible,” Foskett said. “That means committing to pay parity, attaching COLA to contracts, stabilizing funding, and strengthening support for CBOs before asking them to grow. Our educators – and our children – cannot afford anything less.”


Alina Adams is the author of “Getting into NYC Kindergarten” and “Getting into NYC High School,” and a school admissions consultant. She writes about education – and a whole lot more – at Alina’s Susbtack Newsletter.

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