Council of School Supervisors & Administrators

CSA's Conference at the New York Hilton on Oct. 21 was a dramatic one: CSA President Henry Rubio was joined by Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor David Banks to announce that we have reached a new tentative agreement with the city.

“This tentative agreement not only acknowledges the dedication of New York City school leaders; it represents a deep understanding of the pivotal role they play in shaping our city’s future,” said Mr. Rubio. “We thank Mayor Adams, Chancellor Banks, and Commissioner Campion for supporting our school supervisors and administrators, so they, in turn, can provide the best possible environment for our students to thrive. This contract delivers our members the salaries they deserve and flexibility they have earned, so that we can continue to recruit and retain top-tier talent to lead our public schools.”

As soon as the contract was announced to members and other attendees in the ballroom, Mayor Adams, Mr. Rubio, Chancellor Banks and several senior senior staff members made their way to a press conference in the hotel to the contract to the public. Check out the video below:

Mayor Eric Adams Makes Labor-Related Announcement at CSA’s 55th Leadership Conference Mayor Eric Adams Makes Labor-Related Announcement at CSA’s 55th Leadership ConferenceNew York Hilton Midtown1335 6th AvenueNew York, NY 10019

Big recognition for Moses Ojeda and all the great work being done at Thomas Edison High!

Teaching life skills at Thomas Edison HS Thomas Edison High School in Queens is doing some special things. FOX 5 NY’s Christal Young got a chance to meet the school’s principal, as well as students.

It was a fine day on June 16 for a 100th birthday party for PS 177 the Marlboro School in Brooklyn as Principal Helen Stern, her staff and waves of talented students performed for honored guests and many members of the school community. The young student dancers were in sync and the singers in tune as the band moved easily between thunderous marching numbers and haunting ballads such as “I Put a Spell on You.”
Mrs. Stern, previously an AP at PS 212 in District 21, has been principal of PS 177 since January. She began planning the school’s centennial celebration in February with staff members including APs Sal Cosentino and Maria Gusenfitter. She was grateful that several dignitaries turned out, including Superintendent Isabel DiMola, Assembly Member William Colton, and State. Sen. Iwen Chu. CSA Executive Vice President Rosemarie Sinclair and several members of the Brooklyn field service team attended as well.
“When you see a school like this, it’s a real testament to the hard work of the administrators, teachers and the entire community,” said Assembly Member William Colton. “It’s a great reflection on CSA members.”

The following message is from longtime CSA member Lily Wu, the former director of the Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished Principals:

Aside from my work in education, my other passion has always been marching and playing in a drum corps - especially with the Skyliners drum and bugle corps.

While my marching days may be over, I still yearn to play again with the Skyliners alumni corps - something I had been doing for years. My illness has made it impossible to do so right now, and I’m feeling the strain of dialysis more and more each day. It is literally sucking the life out of me and has severely limited what I can do, as I have to be attached to a machine every night for 10 hours or I will slowly die.

I’ve been on a transplant list for over 4 and a half years and sometimes I can’t help but feel my time is ticking away. I want to stay positive and hopeful, but sometimes it’s hard.

My best chance of having a full life again is a kidney transplant. Please help in whatever way you can. You don’t have to be a match - just healthy enough to donate through the matched donor exchange program. More info can be found on my url microsite:

Lily Woo Needs a Kidney | Can You Help? Lily Woo Needs a Kidney | Can You Help?

At PS 28 in Queens, Principal Robert Quintana, School Safety Agent Natalia Podolskaya and DOE Employee Carmen Drossu were honored Monday by Eric Adams and Banks for their heroism stopping an intruder from entering the school. Mr. Quintana, proficient in Ju Jitsu, battled the man for at least 15 minutes before police arrived, successfully stopping him from going up the school’s elevator. CSA Executive Vice President Henry Rubio joined those celebrating the heroism of Mr. Quintana, Ms. Podolskaya and Ms. Drossu in stopping the offender.

Skies were crisp and blue Thursday morning as Chancellor David Banks, Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, CSA President Mark Cannizzaro and Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson celebrated together the opening day of the 2022-2023 school year at PS 161 in the Bronx today. The presence of several camera crews added to the excitement.
Mayor Adams covered some of his hopes and dreams for the coming year, including safe schools, a revamping of reading education, contributions of money to student college accounts, and “plant-based Fridays” in the city’s school cafeterias.
Chancellor Banks and Mayor Adams both applauded the launch of a new program focusing on the needs of dyslexic kids that has been unveiled at PS 161, under the leadership of Principal Brian Blough. Some of the mothers who have fought long and hard to bring such a program to reality were at the school’s opening as well – and applauded the mayor’s commitment not only to the program but creating a school by next year that will be devoted students overcoming dyslexia. The program at PS 161 “will be a beacon, and a blueprint,” Chancellor Banks said.
Literacy Academy Collective founders Emily Hellstrom, Ruth Genn and Jeannine Kiely, were at today's opening. The group has had the support and encouragement of Mr. Cannizzaro and all of CSA. “Having this program inside a public school is a gamechanger,” said Ms. Genn. “To see a chancellor focusing on this is a huge victory.”

A clear summer evening at Pier 17 on the East River was the backdrop for a long overdue, end-of-school-year celebration. The June 29 event, hosted by CSA’s President’s Club, drew several hundred people, including President's Club members, elected officials and a wide array of advocates for public education. The mood was ebullient.
Schools Chancellor David Banks, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Members Carlina Rivera, Gale Brewer, Rita Joseph (Education Chair), Erik Bottcher and Linda Lee, and State Sens. John Liu and Robert Jackson were among those who attended.

Big Congratulations to Brendan Mims and Richard Hallenbeck Jr.!

2 New York principals honored with national awards NEW YORK (PIX11) — Principals are already everyday heroes. Now two of them, from Queens and the Bronx, are getting national recognition. Principal Brendan Mims of MSA 358 in Jamaica, Queens beat ou…

It was a fantastic day at Thomas Edison CTE in Queens. Principal Moses Ojeda and AP Wayne Benjamin, along with all the staff and students, welcomed Four Star General Paul E. Funk, Jr. head of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, who announced that the school was chosen to implement a new JROTC cyber security program. The school is one of only 14 schools in the United States the Army has chosen to teach the program.
In an interview at the school, Gen. Funk discussed why his command decided Mr. Ojeda's school was right for the task: "It was clear from the nature of the school environment, the quality of the people helping students succeed, that this was the right school," he said. "When my team finds this level of excellence, we pile on."
Gen. Funk brought two other officers from his command, Col. Yesenia Hutcher and Col. Steve Kim, both NYC natives, who told students how ROTC and the Army changed their lives.
Thomas Edison has already been offering a cybersecurity program; the four-year ROTC program begins this September.

On Friday, wear blue! Lisette Caesar, principal
of Mosaic Preparatory Academy, is once again battling cancer, and she wants everyone to know that Friday, March 4th, is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Day. Ms. Caesar is a fierce warrior for this cause, and points out that the deadly form of cancer is hitting young people of color particularly hard.

Another strong story about CSA's suit to bring justice for our ECE members.

NYC principals union sues Education Dept. over pay disparities for preschool directors The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the union representing preschool directors under the umbrella of Mayor de Blasio’s sprawling “Universal Pre-K” program, filed the suit Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Low pay for some NYC preschool directors is ‘discriminatory,’ lawsuit claims Directors of community-run sites are more likely to be women of color than those who run preschools overseen by the city. They also earn far less money, which is now the subject of a lawsuit.