In March of 2019, when the COVID pandemic forced the New York City Department of Education to shut the doors to in-person learning, I was the Executive Superintendent of the Bronx. The Bronx serves students who are 83 percent Black or Hispanic and has been plagued for generations by persistent racial disproportionalities. Many diverse cultures and ethnic groups have called the Bronx home over the years, creating culture-rich communities. Now more than ever, community building matters.
Bronx Schools During COVID
Bronx schools serve 190k+ students. 60 percent of our students are Hispanic, 27 percent are Black, 5 percent are Asian, 6 percent are white, and 80 percent of our families live in poverty. When in-person learning stopped, the enormity of the disparities in our communities became clearer through the digital divide. Schools that were ready sent their students home with devices only to uncover that many lived in communities where Wi-Fi access was limited, unreliable, and, for students in temporary housing and/or shelters, simply not present.
Simultaneously, a new definition of an “essential worker” emerged. Many of the parents and families of black and brown students were relegated to a category that placed them at greater risk of being exposed to COVID-19. Spikes in cases of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations ensued as students worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their working parents. Parents had to choose between staying home to support their children as they navigated this new normal of remote learning or working to provide for their families. Most chose the latter to ward off the increased food insecurity that continues to plague communities where students rely on school for meals.
My Transition to Chancellor
In March of 2021, I became the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. I became responsible for the largest school system in the country and ushered in a new school year. As I took on this enormous task, I had three priorities that were really one: Open, Open, Open.
First, open high schools for in-person learning, as we had not yet done that in the 2019–2020 school year. Second, open a summer program that would integrate academics, enrichment, and social-emotional support. Finally, and most importantly, open the largest school system in the country for in-person learning for all students by September. One of my major learnings from the pandemic was a true understanding of what the 21st-century classroom should look like. If you are in my age group and were in school in the 1980s, it was about the technology in the “computer lab.”
What about the computer lab?
Over the decades, this moved from Mac labs to smart boards to laptop carts to iPads. However, the lesson from the pandemic was simple but complex. A true 21st-century classroom leverages modern technology to enhance the interactions between students and teachers across all disciplines. The creation of this 21st-century classroom allows students to explore content while developing authentic, media-rich projects that deepen knowledge and allow students to connect to the world beyond the classroom. If we develop these classrooms, we will prepare students for the future of our tech-driven world and ensure students are engaged and excited about learning. The key to this: STEM!
Often when I discussed the reopening of the largest school system in the country, it was through the frame of reference that we could NOT go back to normal. The normal that we knew perpetuated the inequities heightened by the pandemic. STEM presents the opportunity for a pathway away from that normal. STEM education is the intentional integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and their associated practices to create a student-centered learning environment. An environment in which students investigate and engineer solutions to problems and construct evidence-based explanations of real-world phenomena with a focus on a student’s social, emotional, physical, and academic needs through shared contributions of schools, families, and community partners.
The STEM Methodology
STEM is also a methodology that encourages students to solve problems that are relevant to the world in which they live. STEM classrooms flip students’ learning experiences to mimic real-world scenarios and engage students in problem-solving in a way that allows students to aspire to solve problems in their communities.
This point was driven home during a visit to the New York Harbor School on Governors Island, where students gave me a tour of their Billion Oyster Project aimed at restoring one billion live oysters to New York Harbor! Not only was this hands-on work, but it also required discussions of ecosystem restoration and theoretical concepts that are best done in person. Students’ natural curiosity is nurtured when they investigate scientific concepts and phenomena using simulations and virtual labs. I also got to paddle and learn with students in the Bronx on the water at Roberto Clemente State Park in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership on our amazing community waterways.
Through these tours, students got the chance to learn about the geography and history of the river while paddling in it. Afterward, students sat in the park and engaged in water quality testing, seed planting, and learning to tend to the indigenous plants in their park in their community. This is an example of transitioning student learning to project-based learning that truly connects students to real-life issues affecting them and their communities.
Future Job Qualification
In the STEM framework published by the New York City Department of Education in 2015, they referenced an editorial by the New York Daily News, which notes that “by 2020, the US economy will demand 123 million high-skilled workers with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math.” The problem is, according to the same article, only 50 million Americans will qualify for those jobs. The larger question is, who will those Americans be, what communities will they come from, and who will they represent?
As I exit the New York City Department of Education and the role of Chancellor, I am excited to return to my home borough, the Bronx, where I will take on the role of the inaugural President and CEO of the Bronx Community Foundation. The Foundation remains focused on building an equitable, inclusive, and just Bronx. A key priority of the Foundation is to improve Bronxites’ access to modern digital resources. For many years, the Bronx has been in the “digital desert.” Ensuring strong technological connectivity has the potential to disrupt the longstanding inequities that exist in the borough. The ability to ensure residents and families have access to online education and training, employment, social and civic engagement, financial resources, and health have been deeply tied to internet access in the 21st century.
How Annual Income Affects The Dream
Households in the Bronx have a median annual income of $41,432, less than the median annual income of $65,712 across the entire United States and $68,304 in New York City. In 2019, median earnings for full-time, year-round workers ages twenty-ve and older in a STEM job were about $77,400. A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that the global closure of schools could lead to a 3 percent lower income for K–12 students over their lifetime and a corresponding average of 1.5 percent lower annual gross domestic product for countries for the remainder of the century.
A report from McKinsey Insights estimates that the average K–12 student in the United States could lose the equivalent of a year of full-time work income over the course of his or her lifetime. These losses may be higher for Black and Hispanic students. Competitive wage careers increasingly depend on a workforce with advanced science, technology, engineering, and technology skills. We also know that STEM employment in the United States continues to grow at a faster pace than employment in other occupations, STEM workers command higher wages than their non-STEM counterparts, and STEM degree holders enjoy higher earnings, regardless of whether they work in STEM or non-STEM occupations.
Shifting the Narrative
To shift this narrative for Bronx students and families, a comprehensive approach to STEM education, along with the Foundation’s commitment to focusing on digital equity across the borough, is necessary. Addressing the glaring inequities in the achievement gap in STEM education is critical. According to the National Science Board, more than half of Asian and white students across all grade levels score at or above average on STEM standardized tests, compared with only 28 percent of Hispanic and 18 percent of Black students.
In addition, research also tells us that for many low-income students, science knowledge gaps exist even before kindergarten—and widen dramatically in primary and secondary school. STEM subjects need to be a part of core instruction at the elementary level, so students have the foundation to succeed in STEM subjects in middle and high school. As we consider our population and demographics, we must center student learning on acknowledging our students’ and families’ lived experiences through STEM. This, too, aligns with the Foundation’s commitment to invest in the power of the community to eradicate inequity and build sustainable futures for Bronxites with Bronxites.
A Forward Path
So, what must we do? I am sure I don’t have to tell you that STEM is critical to the future of our city and nation. I am also sure I don’t have to tell you that in-person collaboration and discourse deepen students’ understanding of STEM concepts and practices. STEM cannot be an add-on. Preparing students for college and careers is essential. As Chancellor, I was able to leverage resources through the Academic Recovery Plan to guarantee every K–12 student has access to an LTE-enabled digital device with Wi-Fi. We also committed to expanding access to Computer Science 4 All to four hundred thousand students by 2024, training over five thousand educators in advanced computer science, and launching a technology capstone project for all eighth-grade students to demonstrate digital literacy.
School systems must dedicate more time and resources to STEM at the elementary level. We need to provide ALL students with the tools and knowledge to be successful in STEM so that they are ready to continue their STEM education in college or enter STEM careers after high school. Through my work at the Foundation, I look forward to ensuring Bronxites have access to broadband and digital resources by eradicating the Wi-Fi deserts in the Bronx and similar communities.
A Final Word About Our Responsibility
Another bit of real talk: STEM fields have long been gatekeepers in education, limiting the number of people with access to higher education. So, we must work together to reimagine this field as a gateway to interrupting poverty by intentionally providing access to students from under‐served communities to a path toward lucrative STEM careers. And remember that all young children are naturally curious about their world. So, our responsibility as education leaders is to develop and promote research-based practices that leverage this natural curiosity.
About the Author
DR. MEISHA PORTER, ED.D.
Dr. Meisha Porter will join the Bronx Community Foundation as the inaugural CEO/President. Meisha recently served as the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest school system in the nation. She is responsible for educating 1.1 million students in over 1,800 schools. Prior to taking on the role as Chancellor, she served as the Bronx Executive Superintendent where she was deeply invested in sharpening school leaders’ equity lens and building collaborative practices across schools. She also served as the Superintendent for Community School District #11 and Principal of The Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice (LGJ).
During her tenure at LGJ, Meisha served as Community Coordinator, Internship Coordinator, and taught English before becoming an Assistant Principal and then taking the helm as Principal in 2004. Having worked her way up through the ranks, she is exceedingly aware of the challenges city schools and communities face and has dedicated her life to improving the learning environment for all students. Meisha also believes that if school leaders and teachers work collaboratively with parents and community partners to focus on empowering students to achieve their unique individual potential, students will be prepared to meet the demands of the 21st century.
Early Life
Born in Far Rockaway and raised in Jamaica, Queens, and the South Bronx, Meisha began her life just as her students do. A product of the New York City Public Schools, she graduated from Queens Vocational and Technical High School and went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts in English concentrating in Cross-Cultural Literature and Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.
She completed her School District Leader certification through the NYC Advanced Leadership Institute, received her master’s degree in Administration and Supervision as well as an honorary doctorate in May 2020 from Mercy College, and most recently completed her EdD at Fordham University. Meisha lives in the Bronx with her husband Norris Porter, her daughter, Jordyn, and honored daughters, Deshauna, Lakara, and Jydin.
