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Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who helmed New York Metropolis’s efforts to include hundreds of migrant college students into metropolis colleges, will take over as colleges chancellor following the departure of David Banks, in line with sources accustomed to the scenario.
Mayor Eric Adams was anticipated to announce Aviles-Ramos’ appointment Wednesday afternoon within the Bronx.
The succession plan follows Tuesday’s gorgeous information that Banks – a longtime pal of Adams who has served as colleges chief since Adams took workplace in 2022 – was stepping down amid widening federal investigations into the Adams administration.
Banks will depart his submit on Dec. 31, he mentioned in a letter Tuesday. The announcement got here three weeks after federal brokers seized Banks’ telephones, together with these of his accomplice, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and his brothers, Deputy Mayor of Public Security Phil Banks, and Terence Banks, a guide and former MTA staffer.
Banks was the most recent in a string of high-ranking metropolis officers to announce their resignations in latest weeks, throwing the Adams administration into chaos. The fast naming of a successor to guide the Schooling Division is probably going an effort to inject some stability into the operations of the biggest metropolis company, which oversees 1,600 colleges and greater than 900,000 college students.
Aviles-Ramos, who at present serves as a deputy chancellor overseeing household engagement, took on the high-profile job of steering the Schooling Division’s efforts to include the wave of migrant college students who started arriving in Summer season 2022 – an initiative town dubbed Venture Open Arms.
Adams has cited that effort as a significant success of his administration.
“Whenever you do an evaluation of the final two years, we integrated over 40,000 college students,” Adams mentioned at a latest press convention. “It’s clear the Venture Open Arms … has actually met the mark.”
Aviles-Ramos started working within the metropolis Schooling Division in 2007 as a trainer, in line with her LinkedIn profile, later serving as a principal, appearing superintendent, and Banks’ chief of workers.
She left town Schooling Division in February to take a job as a school administrator, solely to come back again a number of months later within the new position as deputy chancellor for household and group engagement and exterior affairs. She changed longtime Banks ally Kenita Lloyd, who took Aviles-Ramos’ outdated job as chief of workers.
Adams is anticipated to announce Aviles-Ramos’ appointment on Wednesday on the Bronx Faculty for Regulation, Authorities and Justice — a faculty Banks helped launch as its founding principal in 1997.
Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, masking NYC public colleges. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.
Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter masking New York Metropolis. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, masking NYC public colleges. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
