An Exclusive Interview with Chancellor David Banks
(left to right) Student reporters Jose Santana, Santana Roach, Sanaa Stokes and Shoaa Khan sat down with Chancellor David Banks for a conversation that ranged from pajamas to policy. Photo by Jose Nunez Guzman
In this special episode, student reporters Shoaa Khan and Jose Santana spoke to Chancellor David Banks about a range of issues facing the city’s schools — from efforts to expand how Black history is taught in the classroom, to the harms of social media, and the continued use of academic screening in the high school admissions process.
Banks, who oversees New York City’s sprawling school system, emphasized the importance of the “Hidden Voices: Stories of the Global African Diaspora” curriculum that the city unveiled in February.
It’s one of several curriculums to come out of the city’s Hidden Voices initiative — Banks signaled that more loom on the horizon.
“We've got others coming up for the Latino community,” he said. “We're working on several others as well, particularly in light of what's going on right now in the Middle East and what's happening in Israel and Gaza.”
And as New York City’s schools have remained among the most segregated in the nation, Banks touched on the difficulties of implementing integration efforts, particularly as families remain fiercely divided over practices like academic screening.
“It's a complicated issue,” he said. “For me, I have not spent a lot of time on it because I recognize that as chancellor, you can't do everything. … The major issue for me has been around how do I ensure that no matter where you are, that you have a good school experience, you learn to read well, you learn to think critically, and you can have a great life for yourself.”
Listen to the full episode to hear his thoughts on academic screening, student mental health, cell phone usage in schools, and even his upcoming podcast.
P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Be sure to drop a review in your app or shoot an email to PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org. Tell us what you learned today or what you’re still wondering. We just might read your comment on a future episode.
P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell. Listen for new episodes Wednesdays this spring.