Jamaican-Born Educator Kamar Samuels Named NYC Schools Chancellor by Mayor Zohran Mamdani

Jamaica Live International News– | Jan 1, 2026

New York City is set to enter a new chapter in public education as Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces the appointment of Jamaican-born veteran educator Kamar Samuels as the city’s next Schools Chancellor. Samuels will assume leadership of the nation’s largest public school system on January 1, 2026, becoming one of the most prominent Caribbean-born figures ever to hold the post.

The announcement came ahead of Mamdani’s inauguration and signals both continuity and recalibration in how City Hall will approach education governance, particularly as the incoming mayor revisits his stance on mayoral control of schools.

Who Is Kamar Samuels?

Kamar Samuels’ story is one rooted in classrooms, community, and long-term commitment to public education. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Kamar Samuels attended Jamaica College before moving to the United States. Samuels has spent nearly two decades working across New York City’s school system, beginning his career as an elementary school teacher in the Bronx.

Over the years, he rose through the ranks—serving as a principal before taking on district leadership roles that placed him at the center of some of the city’s most complex education challenges.

• District Leadership: Samuels previously led District 13 in Brooklyn, where he oversaw a high-profile middle-school integration plan aimed at addressing racial and socioeconomic segregation.
• Manhattan District 3: He currently serves as Superintendent of Manhattan’s District 3, a diverse district that includes some of the city’s highest-performing as well as most under-resourced schools.
• Educational Vision: Widely respected for promoting school integration, boosting early literacy, and expanding access to rigorous academic pathways such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.

Colleagues often describe Samuels as a steady, systems-focused leader—one who pairs equity goals with practical, on-the-ground implementation.

The Challenges Ahead

As Schools Chancellor, Samuels will inherit a system serving more than one million students, alongside a set of urgent and overlapping challenges:

• Teacher Recruitment and Retention: Persistent shortages, particularly in special education, STEM subjects, and high-needs schools, continue to strain classrooms citywide.
• Class-Size Mandates: New York State law now requires significantly smaller class sizes, a shift that will demand more teachers, more space, and careful planning to avoid disruption.
• Mayoral Control: With Mayor Mamdani signaling a more flexible approach to mayoral authority over schools, Samuels will need to navigate governance questions while maintaining stability and accountability across the system.

A Strategic Appointment

Mayor Mamdani framed the appointment as a signal of trust in experienced educators rather than political appointees. By selecting a career school leader with deep district-level experience, Mamdani appears to be betting on institutional knowledge and classroom-informed leadership at a time when the system faces both reform fatigue and urgent reform needs.

Samuels’ first day on the job—January 1, 2026—will place him immediately at the center of policy implementation, labor negotiations, and budget planning, with little room for a grace period.

A Moment of Caribbean Pride

For many in the Jamaican and wider Caribbean diaspora, Samuels’ appointment carries symbolic weight. His rise from a Jamaican-born teacher to Chancellor of the largest public school system in the United States reflects both personal achievement and the long-standing contributions of Caribbean educators to New York City’s schools.

As the Mamdani administration begins, all eyes will be on how this partnership reshapes the future of public education in New York—and whether Samuels can translate his district-level success into system-wide change.