Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein celebrated the start of the school year by greeting the students and parents of PS 111 in Queens.
The K-8 school, located in Long Island City, has made big strides over the past few years improving student achievement, thanks to Principal Randy Seabrook and her staff.
PS 111 was one of five schools the Chancellor visited on the first day. After Queens, he traveled to the Bronx to visit JHS 144 in Baychester.
He arrived just in time for first period. In Juliette Edwards’ sixth-grade class, the Chancellor listened to students brainstorm about the things in their lives that help them achieve their goals. He spoke with students about working hard and following their dreams and highlighted education as the key to success.
“Kids should always try for their goals; don’t be afraid to do what you want to do,” a sixth-grader, Elizabeth Owens, said. “When I heard that [Obama] was the first Black president, it made me want to be a judge.”
State Senator Jeff Klein, an alumnus of JHS 144, joined Chancellor Klein at the school.
“He sat in these seats, he went to law school and he studied hard,” Chancellor Klein told students about Senator Klein’s journey. “When you think about your plans and your future, think about guys like Jeff [Klein].”
At PS 142 in Manhattan, the Chancellor joined Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in praising the hard work of Principal Rhonda Levy. And at JHS 220 in Sunset Park, he toured a new resource lab designed to help students learn English.
“I want to get higher grades,” said JHS 220 seventh-grader Mitchell Meza, who attends class in the lab. “I’m going to listen to the teacher more.”
On his last stop of the day, Chancellor Klein visited Staten Island Technical High School and held a roundtable discussion with students. One of the City’s nine specialized high schools, Staten Island Tech boasts a 100% graduation rate.
"One way we know that this is a good school is that kids travel from Brooklyn and Manhattan to come to school here,” a senior, Kyu Jung, said.