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Chancellor Samuels visits District 28, highlights safety, inclusion and test-score gains
Summary
Chancellor Kumar Samuels visited CEC District 28 to outline priorities — school safety, academic rigor, integration and support for vulnerable students — and to share district-level achievement and budget figures, while answering resident questions on multiple DOE topics.
Chancellor Kumar H. Samuels visited a District 28 town hall at MS 217 and told families the Department of Education's top priorities are safety, academic rigor, meaningful integration and supports for vulnerable students.
"I believe our schools should be safe," Samuels said, adding that safety includes both physical protection and "a sense of belonging and student voice." He outlined work on multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and described efforts to expand targeted interventions for students with disabilities and multilingual learners.
Samuels also shared recent district achievement and budget figures to frame the conversation: District 28's 2025 state exam proficiency rose 8.2 percentage points in English language arts and 5.7 points in mathematics, outpacing citywide gains Samuels cited as 7.2 points (ELA) and 3.5 points (math). He said the district had designated "over $596,000,000 to support their students' instructional needs" from a $17,000,000,000 K—-12 citywide budget.
Why it matters: Samuels used the numbers to argue that recent reforms are producing measurable gains while acknowledging ongoing gaps. He emphasized that district- and school-level partnerships, not single positions alone, drive day-to-day safety and learning.
In response to a range of parent and CEC questions, Samuels repeatedly framed the DOE's approach as a mix of citywide policy, district implementation and local problem-solving: "Your safety is driven by the open communication and strong relationships that you have with each and every adult in the school," he said, urging communities to work with adults in buildings to identify concerns.
The chancellor introduced members of his cabinet onstage and invited deeper conversations and follow-up at future DOE events for families; he also announced upcoming public visits in Queens and encouraged families to attend.
