NEW YORK — Mayor-elect Eric Adams on Thursday named longtime educator David Banks the city's next schools chancellor, calling him a "visionary" who would help turn around a "dysfunctional" school system. 

At a press conference held outside P.S. 161 in Crown Heights — the elementary school Banks attended — Adams said Banks would replace outgoing Chancellor Meisha Porter, who is set to become the head of a Bronx-based nonprofit. 

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor-elect Eric Adams has tapped David Banks to become the city's next schools chancellor

  • Banks, who founded a network of public schools called the Eagle Academy, was widely expected to get the job

  • Outgoing Chancellor Meisha Porter is set to become the head of a Bronx-based nonprofit 

  • Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio praised Adams’ decision, calling Banks “a great choice to lead our schools"

Banks, who founded a network of public schools called the Eagle Academy, was widely expected to get the job, as his name has been floated for weeks.

"David is a visionary, leader, innovator, who has spent his career fighting on behalf of students," Adams said. "It’s time we create a school system where every student is given a chance to succeed and realize their full potential. This brother has been a champion for young people throughout his entire life."

"When other people were talking the talk, David walked the walk," Adams added. 

Speaking to the crowd gathered outside the school, Banks said he was “deeply humbled” to be Adams’ pick for chancellor. 

“I have worked in this system for over 30 years. Let me tell you what I know. I know that every young person who attends our schools across the city is filled with brilliance, potential, promise and gifts. And I also know something else. That they exist in a school system which is fundamentally flawed,” Banks said. 

“I’m not talking about the teachers, I’m not talking about the principals. I’m talking about the very architecture of the way that we do school in the first place. The way that we assess our students and their learning is fundamentally flawed,” he went on to say. 

“If we want to create an innovative school system, you cannot do that without engaging the community. What you see here today, all around you, all around me, all around the mayor-elect, this is community,” Banks added. “You will never see the mayor-elect, once he’s the mayor, or myself as the chancellor, announce any major policy initiatives for our schools unless we are surrounded by parents and families who have co-signed what we are doing.”

Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio praised Adams’ decision on Twitter Thursday morning, calling Banks “a great choice to lead our schools.” 

“David Banks is a consummate educator and our @NYCSchools families are lucky to have him at the helm — we know that great DOE Chancellors are born at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice!” de Blasio wrote, referencing the Bronx school Banks founded before he launched Eagle Academy. 

Banks worked closely with Porter at that school, and she succeeded him as principal there. Porter on Thursday tweeted her support for Banks.

"I saw David's deep commitment to education firsthand when we launched the Bronx School for Law, Government, & Justice together and I'm so proud that my colleague will succeed my tenure as Chancellor," she wrote. "I know he will serve our City's incredible students and communities well."

The Eagle Academy began with one all-boys public school in the Bronx, and now there’s one in each borough and one in Newark, New Jersey, all of them serving almost exclusively young men of color. There’s also a foundation, which Banks now leads. The schools — which offered extended school days, mentoring programs and opportunities for parent involvement — found support from high-profile people like Hillary Clinton.

Banks' schools are widely regarded and have sported higher graduation rates than most city schools, although some have performed worse at some grade levels, including for standardized test scores.

Banks and Adams are longtime friends, and Banks' partner, Sheena Wright, co-chairs the Adams transition team. And Phil Banks, David Banks' brother and a former NYPD chief of department, is a close Adams ally and reportedly being considered for top position in the Adams administration.

Historically, some mayors tap chancellors from outside the school system, bringing them in for their management expertise. Former Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott had been deputy mayor before former Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him chancellor, and he replaced magazine executive Cathie Black, whose tenure lasted just 95 days. Other chancellors rise through the ranks, like Porter, who was a principal, superintendent and executive superintendent.

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This story includes reporting from Jillian Jorgensen and Gloria Pazmino.

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