Mayor Bill de Blasio will be ending his Renewal education initiative. The initiative was an attempt to improve low-performing, struggling public schools with additional support through extending school hours, supplemental courses, and the like. Teachers around the country had hoped that the program would be successful however, it was impeded by bureaucratic procedures and uneven academic results since the program’s inception. In an interview with Mr. de Blasio, he stated that the program was a sensible approach at the time, however, if he could do it over again, he would act differently. Looking at the statistics, the Renewal program was only 25% effective. As the program begins to phase out, the city will engage in comprehensive school support where they will directly fund and provide academic support to schools that need it the most.
See "$773 Million Later, de Blasio Ends Signature Initiative to Improve Failing Schools", Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, February 26, 2019