Overview

• Prospective educators would receive up to $12,000 per year in tuition assistance in exchange for a three-year commitment to teach in New York City schools.
• The program offers two pathways—early college credits for interested high school students and a career-change track through CUNY and SUNY—along with mentorship, waived certification exam fees, and free OMNY cards.
• Mamdani estimates about 1,000 recruits annually at a $12 million cost, which he says would be covered by cutting what he calls duplicative DOE contracts, though he has not specified which would be reduced.
• Even with thousands of hires this school year, the city still faces a large gap, as the Independent Budget Office projects nearly 18,000 additional teachers are needed to meet the state mandate.
• Facilities remain a bottleneck at many schools, and Mamdani criticized current planning and pledged to fill School Construction Authority vacancies to accelerate new space.