By Gus Saltonstall
Kamar Samuels, who has led schools on the Upper West Side and in Morningside Heights since 2022, will now oversee the entire New York City public school system as the new Schools Chancellor under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani announced the appointment last week, making Samuels the leader of the largest public school system in the United States.
Samuels has most recently overseen School District 3, which includes 29 schools and stretches from 59th to 122nd streets, and goes west to the Hudson River and east to Fifth Avenue above Central Park North. Previously, he served as the leader of School District 13 in Brooklyn, and began his career as a teacher in the Bronx, before becoming a principal, and then a deputy superintendent in Brownsville.
This is how The New York Times described Samuel’s reputation: “He is best known in New York for his efforts to promote desegregation, including through merging schools in Manhattan and central Brooklyn. He also looked to international baccalaureate programs — known for their academic rigor and focus on philosophical thinking — as a replacement for traditional gifted and talented programs.”
West Side Rag interviewed Samuels in December of 2023 and asked him a variety of questions about his stances on different elements of the superintendent job.
Here is an excerpt from our piece about his main priorities at the time.
WSR: Looking at the bigger picture, what are your main priorities as superintendent of District 3?
Kamar Samuels: “Number one, I think of the chancellor’s priorities, the most impactful one for us being New York City Reads, which is a thoughtful approach to reading instruction, and making sure we implement those policies.
Another priority is making sure we welcome and set up platforms to educate our newest New Yorkers [asylum seekers], and we’re working with our schools to make sure that happens.
We’ve also been dealing with an enrollment challenge. Prior to the influx of new New Yorkers, some of our schools have had significant decreases, so we are engaging parents about how they make decisions for middle school, and how we can…programmatically and structurally address some of the enrollment concerns.
The position is called “Community Superintendent” for a reason, the community comes before the superintendent. So, you’re not strong in the position, no matter where you are in the city, unless you are able to tap in and really have a deep understanding of your community.”
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