The city’s launching an initiative to bridge the learning gaps caused by the unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

The “2021 Student Achievement Plan" involves citywide assessments to establish a baseline of learning for each student. It will help educators tailor their teaching strategies, according to the mayor, who unveiled the initiative at his daily press briefing. 

Mayor de Blasio was emphatic, however, in differentiating these assessments from the Bloomberg administration’s emphasis on testing. 

“The chancellor and I are not fans of what happened in the previous administration here in this city, which was, I think, an obsessive focus on high-stakes testing and a focus on testing that was counterproductive,” he said. “We do not want to return to those days.”

The city’s assessments would not impact other decisions made on a wider scale in the school system, the mayor said. Instead, they will provide a snapshot of learning that educators can use to tailor their work for each student's needs. They will also take place intermittently throughout the year so that teachers can regularly pivot their efforts and intercede in a student’s learning as needed, according to the Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza.

The program aims to implement a "high-quality" digital curriculum to augment classroom learning, launch a one-stop digital learning hub, deepen professional development for teachers, expand the “parent university," which teaches families how to assist their children, and tackle the mental health crisis faced by students.

“We must close the COVID achievement gap,” the mayor said. “It means making sure that when kids come back to school in September, we’re ready to serve them academically and emotionally.”

He also made clear the difference between the increased digital approach with the remote learning that took place this past year.

“It’s based in in-person education, classroom education, then you expand upon it with digital and many other tools," de Blasio said. "That's very different than an all-remote structure. This is kind of the opposite, really. The foundation is in-person classroom learning. You then augment it and strengthen it academically with digital approaches on top of that.”

He said the city will be announcing more information on the program in the weeks and months ahead.

“We have to be there for them, but I also have immense faith in the ability of our educators to reach our kids and in the strength and resiliency of our kids in their ability to reach their potential if we’re there for them every step along the way, if we can figure out what each child needs to succeed and support them—that's what this is all about," de Blasio said.