Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos emphasized stability and curriculum reforms, including literacy and math standardization, to streamline teaching and reduce prep time.

Efforts to diversify the teaching workforce continue, though representation still does not perfectly match student demographics.

Thousands of new NYC teachers gathered at Barclays Center for orientation as part of a historically large hiring push intended to add about 3,700 teachers beyond normal replacements.

Reporter: Michael Elsen-Rooney of Chalkbeat New York.

The event coincides with the implementation of a statewide school cellphone ban, extending existing bans in many city schools.

Anecdotal note: a first-year teacher, Rafael, expressed enthusiasm about starting a career in his South Bronx community.

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew stressed ongoing collaboration with colleges and education schools to fill positions and highlighted that this is the strongest hiring surge since the early childhood educator expansion tied to Universal Pre-K.

City officials aim to satisfy New York State class size reduction laws, with caps ranging from 20 to 25 students depending on age, and 750 schools receiving extra funding to hire more teachers.

The NYC Teaching Fellows program expanded this year to include a larger cohort, though some stipends were delayed due to payment issues.

Preliminary attendance estimated between 3,500 and 4,000 teachers; recruitment continues through September, and optimism remains about meeting legal requirements to keep a majority of classes under the caps.