Mayor-Elect Adams Appoints David Banks as NYC Chancellor

January 1, 2022

Brooklyn, NY – Today, Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced his selection of David C. Banks as Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.

Standing in front of PS 161 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where Mr. Banks attended elementary school, Mayor-elect Adams highlighted Mr. Banks’ public school roots, his deep experience as an educator, and his tireless commitment to equity and excellence in city schools.

“We have a once-in a generation opportunity to reimagine our education system – and David Banks is the right person to take on the challenge. Our schools continue to face deep, long-standing inequities that have only been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. I felt these inequities firsthand forty years ago, as a boy growing up in South Jamaica, Queens, being bussed every day to Bayside High School. 

“As Chancellor, David will work tirelessly to implement my vision for a school system where every child is given the opportunity to succeed, regardless of zip code; where educators take a whole-child approach, instead of reducing students to a test score; where students with the learning disabilities get the support and resources they have been denied for too long; and where we finally recognize that education should be pregnancy to profession, not cradle to career. We are ready to get to work on behalf of our children on Day 1,” said Mayor-Elect Adams.

“I'm thrilled to have been chosen to lead our city's schools by Mayor-Elect Eric Adams. As chancellor, I look forward to working with him and his administration to provide a high quality, equitable education that puts students on the path to life and career success. I am confident that together with our families, educators and school leaders, we will transform our schools,” said David C. Banks, president and CEO of The Eagle Academy Foundation.

Banks is a pioneering educator with decades of experience in the New York City school system. Born in Crown Heights, Mr. Banks attended public schools and credits two inspirational teachers for inspiring him to become an educator. He began his career in 1986 as a teacher at PS 167 in Crown Heights. After working as an Assistant Principal at PS 191, he co-founded the Bronx School of Law, Government, and Justice. In 2004, he founded the Eagle Academy, a network of district schools that serve low-income Black and Latino boys in grades six through twelve. The schools, which have a campus in each borough, consistently outperform other City schools.

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