Students and parents can expect a number of improvements and new programs in the upcoming year, the city's chancellor of education, Carmen Farina, told News 12 in an interview Wednesday.
She also briefly addressed recurring concerns among parents and students about the Common Core curriculum and excessive homework.
"I encourage parents to come to the town hall meetings with those questions," Farina said. "I can hopefully be able to answer specifically to the part of the city they live in."
One of the new additions is a group of 105 literacy coaches in a plan to have all children in districts nine and 10 reading by the second grade.
The city will also offer computer science education to every student, more than 1 million of whom will return to school in less than two weeks.
Farina, who is celebrating her 51st year as a New York City educator, says the upcoming year will be exciting.
Another addition is a shepherding program that will pair students with the same guidance counselor or social worker from grades six to 12.
The ultimate goal of the new initiatives, Farina says, is to bring the graduation rate up to 80 percent.