Statement From Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels at the February 25, 2026 PEP Meeting

I want to address an unacceptable incident that all of you may have heard of by now. Earlier this month, an NYCPS parent in District 3 made abhorrent, racist comments over Zoom while a Black student was speaking at the CEC meeting. It was a vile and reckless attack on a young person speaking her truth to power. Let me be clear: Anti-Black racism has no place in NYCPS—not in our classrooms, our community spaces, or anywhere in our city. 

As a former superintendent of this district, I know District 3, I live in District 3, I love District 3. And while I don't believe her comments represent the prevailing sentiments in District 3, I don't believe the sentiments are necessarily unique to her or unique to District 3. We have a moment that has exposed what many in the Black community believe to be ever-present and simmering anti-Blackness in our city. As I continue to pursue truly integrated schools, I am reflecting on a quote that was actually attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "I fear that I may be integrating my people into a burning house." So this is a moment that calls for action.

My office is working with D3 directly to build a comprehensive support plan for the Community Action School, for the district, and for CEC3 to repair the harm caused. We are also working on a broader systemwide plan, because we know that this is not an issue that is localized in District 3, and that it goes beyond District 3. 

I want to thank Interim Acting Superintendent Higgins for his unwavering leadership. He has modeled courage and clarity in his response. Given my own connection to D3, I didn't want, at first, to interject myself and cause a disruption to that response. I recognize that many heard my silence as being complicit. And so in hindsight, that may not have been the right decision. And D3, in particular under my leadership, has been instrumental in implementing many CRSE curricula. The Black Studies Curriculum, for one, is very popular across the district and should be expanded throughout the city in more districts and schools. In addition to expanding the use of our curricular resources like the Black Studies Curriculum, there's also Hidden Voices and more. We need to equip our staff to have courageous conversations focused on shifting attitudes and interrupting prejudice, addressing controversial issues, and coalition building.

I also want to acknowledge CEC3, a group of committed parents who volunteer their time and energy to move our district forward. This incident does not reflect the space and community they attempted to build, and we are going to help them in rebuilding that safe space. But this incident does remind us that just as we are equipping our teachers, we also need to equip our parents with the tools to combat racism and build empathetic, respectful leaders of tomorrow. So we're planning for parent training sessions as well, that we will launch in March. 

And most of all, I want to acknowledge the Community Action School and the brave student who spoke in the CEC meeting. We are providing supports to her and her school community. No student should have to experience what she did. To be confronted by such hateful and demeaning words is especially painful for me as a parent. I want to say to her what I would say to my own kids: She is brilliant. She has infinite potential. And any attempt to diminish that potential will not stand while I am Chancellor.

As we near the end of Black History Month, we need to remember: Building a more equitable and just system is ongoing work, not only about a single month. We need to build stronger, long-term systems and approaches that prevent bias from infecting our society, and our schools, in the first place. You have my word that behavior like what we saw at the District 3 CEC meeting will not be tolerated. We can and must do better.