{"id":63792,"date":"2025-12-08T02:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/63792\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T02:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:13:20","slug":"nyc-schools-chief-aviles-ramos-with-union-and-parent-support-makes-a-case-for-mamdani-to-keep-her-on-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/63792\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC schools chief Aviles-Ramos, with union and parent support, makes a case for Mamdani to keep her on"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos<\/a> made the case Friday for Zohran Mamdani to keep her at the helm of the nation\u2019s largest school district, just days after the mayor-elect signaled she was still under consideration for the post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf given an opportunity, I would love to stay on,\u201d Aviles-Ramos told the Daily News in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of work left to do. I have a unique perspective, having served in almost every role that there is to have<\/a> in this great big system, and experiencing it in real time as a mom of a sixth grader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani is also considering Meisha Porter, a former chancellor under Bill de Blasio, who\u2019s been actively urging Mamdani\u2019s transition team to appoint her to the post, sources said. Other names that have been floated are Kamar Samuels, a local Harlem superintendent, and Alex Marrero, a Denver superintendent, as well as several others who still appear to be in the running.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mayor-elect is casting a wide and extensive search for all personnel appointments and when we have announcements to make, we will make them,\u201d said Mamdani spokeswoman Monica Klein.<\/p>\n

In her interview with the News, Aviles-Ramos touched on several areas where she and Mamdani share common ground, including protecting the rights of migrant students, improving parental involvement and addressing the issue of homelessness among NYC public school students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re aligned on those issues, and if given the opportunity, I look forward to executing a plan \u2014 both the enhancement of ones that exist and perhaps creating new ones that further our shared agenda,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Were he to select Aviles-Ramos, Mamdani would be the first New York City mayor with authority over the school system to at least temporarily keep his predecessor\u2019s chancellor in place \u2014 a move that could be befitting of an incoming mayor who campaigned on ending mayoral control of public schools<\/a>. Some advocates have pushed for Mamdani to retain Aviles-Ramos for the start of the term, before transitioning to a model that involves more community input.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos in place is one of the best decisions he can make as a mayor,\u201d said NeQuan McClean, who\u2019s part of a parent-led effort to keep her<\/a>. \u201cIt shows he\u2019s really serious about doing this differently with mayoral control \u2014 because it\u2019s never been done before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor-elect confirmed earlier this week he\u2019s been in touch with Aviles-Ramos, who was thrust into the role last year amid a federal probe into members of Mayor Adams\u2019 inner circle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve met with Chancellor Ramos,\u201d Mamdani said Tuesday on NY1\u2019s Inside City Hall. \u201cI appreciate the work that she\u2019s done and, like everyone within the Adams administration, I\u2019ll assess her and everyone else on the basis of the work they\u2019ve done, not on that fact of who appointed them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s schools transition committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, he said during the interview.<\/p>\n

In many ways, Mamdani and Aviles-Ramos would make a more likely pairing than he is expected to with other Adams officials he has appointed or considered, including NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch<\/a>, with whom he\u2019s had disagreements on approaches to public safety.<\/p>\n

Before she was chancellor, Aviles-Ramos made her name in education circles as the district\u2019s point person during the migrant crisis; Mamdani has indicated that protecting immigrant families from President Trump\u2019s deportation agenda will be a priority of his administration.<\/p>\n

More recently, the schools chief expanded an initiative this year to address student homelessness<\/a>, which Mamdani plans to invest in even further<\/a>. She\u2019s also well-liked by many volunteer parents who sit on local school boards and citywide panels, who Mamdani has indicated he would give more of a voice in any changes to school governance.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s selection of a chancellor is further complicated by his promise to end mayoral control. The mayor-elect has not shared plans or a timeline for that policy goal, raising questions of if he will cede his authority to select a chancellor in the near or long-term.<\/p>\n

Aviles-Ramos\u2019s predecessor, David Banks, made headlines when he said he had \u201cno interest\u201d in the gig if mayoral control lapsed<\/a>. Asked if that\u2019s a change she would be comfortable with, the chancellor voiced support for the current system \u2014 but left the door open to changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot of really great things under mayoral control. In fact, the support for asylum-seeking families was successful because we are one large district,\u201d Aviles-Ramos said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the existing infrastructure needs to be better, then how do we make that happen? But we have accomplished a lot under mayoral control, and should he decide to keep that, we would be able to continue much more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Porter, the former de Blasio chancellor, was reportedly a finalist to be chief executive of Chicago\u2019s public schools as the system transitions away from mayoral control<\/a>, though the status of that search process is currently unclear<\/a>. De Blasio is known to have been a sounding board for Mamdani throughout the 2025 mayoral race, and many top officials from his administration are now in line to join the mayor-elect\u2019s City Hall, including soon-to-be First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan.<\/p>\n

Aviles-Ramos has benefited from a powerful surrogate of her own in United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, who sits on Mamdani\u2019s education transition committee and endorsed the mayor-elect in the general election. Mulgrew and Aviles-Ramos worked closely on changes to citywide curricular requirements<\/a> and class size reduction plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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