New York City Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo has introduced an extensive 25-point education plan to transform the city’s public school system into a unified cradle-to-career pipeline. The initiative addresses persistent challenges such as fragmented services, declining enrollment, and uneven student outcomes across the nation’s largest and most diverse school district.
Drawing from his background as the son of a teacher, Cuomo emphasized the urgency of reforming a system that serves more than one million students from kindergarten through 12th grade. He highlighted the growing issues of chronic absenteeism and the system’s inability to support underserved and marginalized communities adequately. “We must address these challenges head on and eliminate the cracks in our system where too many students — especially underserved and historically marginalized students — fall behind.”
Central to Cuomo’s agenda is integrating early childhood development programs under one roof within public schools, providing streamlined access to services such as Early Intervention, Pre-K, and preschool special education. The plan also guarantees universal full-day Pre-K and 3-K citywide, ensuring every child receives quality early education. A universal children’s savings platform is proposed to help families plan for future college or career training expenses, beginning in early childhood.
The candidate’s proposal further modernizes middle and high schools by expanding mentorship programs, offering paid internships, and increasing dual enrollment opportunities starting in 10th grade. Dual enrollment allows students to take college-level courses while still in high school, connecting them to accelerated programs with local colleges, industry certifications, or associate degrees alongside their high school curriculum. Additionally, Cuomo aims to establish an Education Innovation Lab Network to incorporate emerging technologies like data science into school curricula. To ease the transition from education to employment, he plans to create the College and Career Transition Corps, connecting graduating students to bridge programs and job placement assistance to prevent summer learning loss.
Cuomo’s plan also prioritizes teacher support, with incentives to increase diversity, expand residency-based training, and recruit educators for high-need subjects and schools. He advocates professional development aligned with new literacy and math standards and career-focused instruction.
Aligning education with workforce demands, Cuomo proposes a $100 million High-Demand Jobs Accelerator Fund, launching 5,000 new youth apprenticeships by 2029, and fostering coordination between the Department of Education and city colleges through a new Pathways Council. His approach includes expanding flexible education programs for working adults and non-traditional students.
Cuomo’s experience as governor includes expanding universal pre-K, creating 3-K programs, pioneering the P-TECH early college model, and implementing the Excelsior Scholarship, the nation’s first tuition-free public college program. His mayoral education plan reflects a continued commitment to fostering equity, innovation, and opportunity within New York City’s education system.
