STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The majority of New York City residents want the new mayoral administration to hire more diverse teachers and staff, while also increasing salaries, according to a new survey.
NYC Speaks is a six-month citywide civic engagement and government transformation initiative aimed to inform the priorities and policies of Mayor Eric Adams and his administration. The results of a survey undertaken as part of the initiative were released this week.
The survey had more than 62,000 responses, yielding 3 million data points, as New Yorkers from all five boroughs responded to 27 questions on topics like public safety, housing, education, transit and more.
Nearly 2,000 responses came from Staten Island residents.
When it comes to what New York City residents feel are the most urgent priorities in education, the majority of respondents said the city should focus on increasing the hiring of diverse teachers and staff and salary increases. This is also the top priority among residents on Staten Island.
According to the survey, the second-highest priority for New Yorkers citywide was to increase funding for students facing the greatest barriers, such as those with disabilities.
Many other residents said the city should prioritize physical, mental health and other services in schools, while others said there should be more tutoring opportunities for students who have fallen behind.
New Yorkers were also asked how the city can address school segregation to ensure one’s background doesn’t determine learning outcomes. The top responses given regarding the issue included ensuring equitable distribution of citywide resources and having diverse teachers and staff.
The employment of diverse teachers and staff was the top response among Staten Islanders when it came to improving learning outcomes for students of color.
New York City youth, the survey found, would also like to see more support services available and have more of a voice in decision-making.
The survey results come as the city plans to use $7 billion in federal coronavirus (COVID-19) relief aid for public schools as they work to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
Funds will go toward programs created to help students struggling with learning loss, including summer enrichment programs in 2021, literacy screeners, more services for students with disabilities, and other academic recovery plans.
The city sent $350 million directly to schools for the following: creation of after-school or weekend tutoring programs; more support for English language learners; more professional development, and a boost in arts programming.
And about $200 million has been allocated to create the new universal math and reading curriculum, called “mosaic,” which would focus on diversity and is slated to be in schools by 2023. Another $80 million was set to be spent on mental health this fiscal year -- covering more social workers and a new social-emotional screening tool.
The full results of the survey are available on the NYC Speaks Dashboard at nycspeaks.org/data, where data points can be viewed by income, race, gender and more.
NYC Speaks will launch “Community Conversations” in partnership with 50 community-based organizations, the city’s three public library systems and YMCAs, where New Yorkers can discuss the data and provide insight into the final NYC Speaks Action Plans, which will outline a course of action for the Adams administration this June.
Registration for the Community Conversations is available here.
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