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2w ago

New York City Withdraws AI High School Plan and Upper West Side School Closures

The pause follows criticism that a screened AI program would limit access to new tech training.

NYC School Chancellor Kamar Samuels speaking at a "Child Care for All" event alongside Zorhan Mamdani.
A photograph of a Black man in suit and tie holding a microphone speaking in front of crowd with a group of people sitting in a row of chairs and a table in the background.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels and Mayor Mamdani have pledged to take parent feedback into account in education department decisions.

Overview

  • City Hall and the Department of Education pulled proposals to create a selective AI-focused high school and to close or relocate several Upper West Side middle schools after weeks of pushback from families.
  • Panel for Educational Policy chair Gregory Faulkner said he would not back the AI school’s screened admissions, arguing the policy would act as a barrier to an important emerging field.
  • The proposed Next Generation Technology High School near Bowling Green drew objections from advocates calling for a moratorium on AI in schools and from a co-located middle school community that wanted the space.
  • The Upper West Side plan targeted Community Action School, Manhattan School for Children, and I.S. 191 for closure and would have moved The Center School to free rooms for overcrowded P.S. 9.
  • Parents at the affected schools praised the pause as time to find better options, and Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the plans could be revised after more input while enrollment declines and the new class-size law still force hard choices.