City State | Telemental mental health, nursing programs are among the education initiatives announced in Adams’ second speech

Mayor Eric Adams introduced his education department’s initiatives today in his second State of the City address. In his speech, Adams announced his plans to expand CUNY programs and career readiness, create a nursing education initiative, launch a school for dyslexic students, place students in a summer youth work program, and launch a mental health program with telehealth. .

Below are the educational initiatives outlined in today’s State of the City title.

Remote mental health program in public secondary schools

If you don’t know what “whole child” means at this point, now is the time to learn. Besides supporting the city’s youth with healthy foods, physical education, and social and emotional learning, the Adams administration also plans to expand mental health services to high school students.

The city’s education department already offers telemental health services to children and families. The School Mental Health Program works with community service providers to provide telehealth services.

“Academic success is important, but we must also take a whole child approach to education,” said Adams. “This year, we are introducing a new comprehensive mental health program for our students. We will provide our high school students with everything from telehealth to community counseling, depending on their individual needs.”

The program includes daily breathing and mindfulness exercises and new school food options with vegetarian options.

Support for students with dyslexia

The City will address reading comprehension in schools so that students can read at or above grade level “by ensuring that there is at least one staff member in each school trained in literacy-based interventions.” The Adams administration announced it would launch the first school district in the city’s history dedicated solely to supporting dyslexic students, and make dyslexia offerings available in every public school in New York City.

“Every child will get the support they need to become a strong reader, at or above grade level,” said Adams. “Going forward, each school leader will be trained in Enhanced Literacy Education, so that they can support teachers in implementing this curriculum.”

Nursing Education Initiative

The COVID-19 pandemic has played a huge role in exacerbating burnout and trauma for registered nurses and those working on the front lines. As a result, the city has seen early retirements among older nurses, partly resulting in shortages in the nursing workforce. The last nurse strikes Denouncing the staffing ratios of many New York City hospitals reiterated the current realities of many nurses working across the city.

“We want them to move up the career ladder,” Adams said. “We will support 30,000 current and aspiring nurses over the next five years with everything from additional training, mentoring, and medical staffing. New York City needs our nurses, who have done such an amazing job during the pandemic. Nurses are the hands, heart, and soul of our health care system.”

The Adams Administration announced today that it will partner with CUNY to create a new initiative to support the nurse workforce and with retention rates.

“His proposed partnership between the City and the City University of New York to create a center for nursing education and practice is an urgently needed investment that will prepare 800 educational nurses to train the next generation of nurses in New York City,” he said.

CUNY2X Tech

Known as the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline, the Adams administration is expanding the CUNY2x Tech program to more universities, including community colleges. The program aims to double the number of CUNY students who graduate each year with a technology-related bachelor’s degree.

The department will focus on institutions located in communities of color that serve first-generation college students.

Summer Youth Empowerment Program

The city will continue its goal of providing pathways and pipelines for jobs, job training, and continuing education. Summer Rising will provide up to 35,000 middle school students with job exposure and college visits. There is a focus on supporting LGBTQ+ youth through the new Summer Youth Employment Program pride initiative.

“Our city is determined to make sure our students graduate from high school with skills, strategy, and purpose,” said Adams. “We want our students to have the experience and support they need to transition through college and career paths before they graduate.”

To support this, the city will expand its FutureReadyNYC program to 90 schools and 7,000 students next year to offer early education and career-related college programs. The pilot program was announced last September for career exploration in areas such as healthcare, technology, business, and education. The Adams administration expected the program to reach approximately 5,000 students in the 2022-23 academic year.

“Talent is central to our careers strategy, and we know it starts with education,” said Adams. “Chancellor (David) Banks and I are united in our vision to give all of our children a bright start and a bold future.”