On May 20th, the New York City government released a detailed list of 741 public schools across the city that have received funding to hire new teachers, along with the number of teachers each school is allowed to hire.
According to a report by the education website Chalkbeat on May 21st, Mary J. MacLeod Junior High School (M.S. 158) in Queens received the highest number of teacher allocations (31 teachers); while over 60 schools were only approved to hire 1 teacher. These teacher allocations were distributed based on the applications submitted by schools and the results of the review.
Under New York State law in 2022, by September 2025, at least 60% of classrooms in the city must comply with class size limits – K-3 grades: no more than 20 students per class; grades 4-8: no more than 23 students per class; high school: no more than 25 students per class. Currently, only about 46% are in compliance.
The Department of Education estimates that by September 2028, over 20,000 new teachers will need to be hired, including teachers hired due to class size reduction demands and natural turnover.
Most of the funding will be used to hire approximately 3,700 new teachers, with some of the funds allocated for hiring administrative staff and helping schools make small-scale space adjustments.
This plan is expected to cost over $400 million. Mayor Adams has pledged $150 million, with an additional $241 million coming from state funding, but there is still a funding gap that needs to be filled.
More teacher funding is directed towards schools with lower rates of student poverty, where classrooms are more likely to exceed the class size limits.
Queens has been allocated 1,289 additional teachers, surpassing the total for the Bronx and Manhattan.
For example, in the 25th School District in Flushing, 15 schools have been allocated new teachers, with most schools having 1-3 new teacher positions, 4 new teachers allocated for J.H.S 237, and 5 for Flushing High School; in the 26th School District, 24 schools received new teachers. J.H.S 158 has the highest number of new teachers allocated across the city, at 31; Bayside High School, Cardozo High School, and Francis Lewis High School each have 4, 5, and 6 new teachers respectively.
The approved number of new positions does not guarantee that all positions will be filled; the Department of Education is currently holding job fairs and offering early commitment bonuses to attract teachers to underserved areas.
Schools not appearing on the list may not have applied for funding, or their plans to reduce class sizes may not have been approved.