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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will take office at a pivotal moment for New York City’s public schools. With Eric Adams leaving office, one of his most consequential education initiatives — NYC Reads — now faces an uncertain future. Its continuation will determine whether the city builds on hard-won progress in literacy or risks losing momentum just as students are beginning to benefit.

For decades, too many of our children were taught to read using methods that research has shown to be ineffective. The result was predictable. Year after year, nearly half of city students left elementary school unable to read proficiently, with the deepest harm falling on low-income communities, English language learners, and children with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities.

NYC Reads, launched just two years ago, is the city’s first serious attempt to change that trajectory. It replaces “balanced literacy” with instruction grounded in the science of reading, a body of research showing how children actually learn to decode, comprehend and enjoy written language. Teachers are receiving new training, curricula are being aligned to evidence and families are beginning to see the benefits.

The early results are promising. This year, reading proficiency among New York City students in grades 3 to 8 rose than 7 percentage points — one of the largest single-year gains in recent memory.

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An evaluation of over 1,000 teachers who completed The Reading Institute’s Science of Reading Intro Course found a 34% increase in knowledge of reading science concepts, which they are now applying in classrooms across the city. Behind these numbers are children who are not only able to read books, but also tackle word problems in math, understand passages in science texts and see themselves as successful learners.

Educators themselves are telling us this shift matters. Teachers who once felt ill-prepared to help struggling readers now report “aha” moments as they change daily instructional practices, replacing outdated strategies like guessing at words with evidence-based methods that build fluency and confidence.

For students who had begun to fall behind, the difference is life changing. That is the kind of momentum New York cannot afford to lose.

National research shows that third-grade reading proficiency is a tipping point. Children who cannot read fluently by the end of third grade are four times likely to drop out of high school. They are less likely to pursue higher education, likely to face unemployment and likely to be entangled in the criminal justice system.

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The stakes could not be clearer. Literacy is not just an academic issue; it is an economic and social justice issue.

That is why the city cannot afford to let this progress stall. The new mayoral administration will face pressure to put its own stamp on education policy. But abandoning NYC Reads, or even watering it down, would mean turning back the clock to the failed practices of the past and leaving another generation of students behind.

I was encouraged to see Mayor-elect Mamdani speak positively about NYC Reads during the campaign. Now I urge him to make an early, public commitment to sustain and strengthen NYC Reads. This means fully funding the initiative, ensuring that teachers receive the ongoing training they need, and reporting progress transparently.

It also means having a schools chancellor with a proven record of championing literacy programs grounded in reading science. If Chancellor Melissa Avilés-Ramos remains in her post, or if another literacy-focused chancellor is appointed, that could be a strong signal that the city is serious about preserving reforms already underway, including reading curriculum changes under NYC Reads.

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New York City already has elected officials pushing in the same direction — from Assemblymember Robert Carroll’s legislation expanding dyslexia screening and early intervention to Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon’s efforts to ensure that teacher preparation programs use evidence-based methods in their literacy courses. The next mayor must match that commitment.

As a reading scientist, Brooklyn College professor and founder of The Reading Institute, I have seen firsthand how quickly children can grow when teachers are equipped with the knowledge and tools that research supports. When schools align instruction with how the brain actually learns to read, students who once struggled begin to thrive, and educators regain a sense of confidence in supporting all students.

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Literacy is the gateway to opportunity. It is the foundation for every subject, every grade, and every pathway into the workforce.

New York has begun to show what’s possible when we finally take reading science seriously. For the sake of our children, our city and our future, NYC Reads must stay.

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