NYC Withdraws AI High School and Middle School Closure Plans After Parent Pushback
The Mamdani administration has pulled plans to open an artificial intelligence-focused high school and close or relocate several middle schools on the Upper West Side following sustained opposition from parents and school communities.
Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, who shaped the proposals as superintendent of the Upper West Side before taking his current role in January, acknowledged the backlash forced a reconsideration. "Transitions are sometimes opportunities for us to reflect and rethink," he said in an interview with Gothamist.
The education department had proposed closing the Community Action School, Manhattan School for Children, and I.S. 191 to address declining enrollment. It also planned to relocate the Center School to make room for the overcrowded P.S. 9, a move that would have disrupted the school's theater program.
Parents objected to the pace and transparency of the process. Panel for Educational Policy member Naveed Hasan said: "People will not trust the public school system to work for them if we behave this way."
The controversy intensified when a white parent made racist comments about a Black student during a public Zoom meeting, amplifying concerns about how decisions were being made.
The AI School Proposal
The proposed Next Generation Technology High School, which would have replaced the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women, became a flashpoint over technology's role in education.
Advocates pushed for a moratorium on AI in city schools, citing concerns about its effects on cognition, mental health, and the environment. Panel for Educational Policy chair Gregory Faulkner raised another issue: the school's selective admissions policy could exclude students from accessing education in an emerging field.
Faulkner called for schools that balance "academic rigor with inclusive access."
What Comes Next
Samuels said all the proposals might be revived, revised, or replaced depending on additional community feedback. The underlying challenges-enrollment shifts and a new state law limiting class sizes-remain unresolved.
"The overwhelming pieces of feedback that we heard were that school communities felt like they needed more time to really discuss and process these proposals," Samuels said.
Parents at affected schools welcomed the decision. Center School parent Deranie Henderson said she was "ecstatic" the school would not be forced to move. Anne Hager, a parent at Lower Manhattan Community School, called the reversal "a first step toward a more democratic process for major decisions that relate to New York City public schools."
Education leaders navigating similar technology decisions may find value in understanding how AI for Education intersects with school policy and community input. School administrators making decisions about technology adoption can also reference the AI Learning Path for School Principals.
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