The headlines about city schools for the last few weeks have been centered on investigations into adults. But on Wednesday, new Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos spent some time talking with kids.

“It feels great. And that’s where I feel most at home,” she said.

Aviles-Ramos takes on the job at a time of instability. Her boss, Mayor Eric Adams, is under indictment. Her predecessor, David Banks, announced his retirement after the FBI seized his phone. He planned to serve through the end of the year until the mayor changed his mind.

Aviles-Ramos wants families to know she’s ready to serve.

What You Need To Know

  • Melissa Aviles-Ramos had her first day on the job as city schools chancellor Wednesday

  • She's starting earlier than originally planned, but says she's ready to hit the ground running

  • She spoke exclusively with NY1 about her goals for the system, the importance of stability and a new math curriculum garnering criticism

“I’m committed to stability and making sure that their children have everything that they need to have a quality education. I also want them to know that we are doubling down on family empowerment and overall wellness and safety for our children,” she said, in an exclusive interview with NY1.

Aviles-Ramos most recently served as deputy chancellor for family engagement — and before that, as chief of staff to Banks, a superintendent, a principal and a high school teacher. She wants to make the system easier to navigate.

“When I got to the superintendency and central, I was the mom of a school-age child in New York City public schools. And some things were a little hard for me to navigate,” she said. “And I said, if this is hard for me in some spaces, then what does that look like for our other families?”

She aims to continue implementing the policies put in place by Banks, and doesn’t expect to shake up the leadership around her.

“I definitely have the people I expect to have around me moving forward,” she said.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be changes or adjustments. The city is rolling out a new high school math curriculum, which has been criticized by some teachers and their union, who say it assumes prior knowledge children don’t have, and doesn’t align with state exams. She says she’s open to tweaks.

“I will never be the chancellor that says, well, we said we were going to do this, so we have to do it with full fidelity. Maintaining fidelity to a curriculum does not mean that there can’t be modifications to make it work in the classroom. What we won’t do is have teachers trying to figure out what works in a classroom by themselves,” she said.

In a mayoral control system, the buck ultimately stops with Mayor Adams. Asked about their relationship, she said she’s grateful for his support.