In this episode of The Thought Project, CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College Professor David Bloomfield reflects on the political, legal, and structural pressures confronting public education in New York City and across the nation.

He examines the pandemic’s aftereffects on schools, including staffing shortages, student well-being, and the continued dominance of high-stakes testing, while arguing that schools must be understood as civic institutions as well as sites of instruction. He also considers the challenges facing Mayor Zohran Mamdani as he navigates the governance of the nation’s largest school system, particularly the tensions surrounding mayoral control and the demands of accountability, equity, and transparency.

As Bloomfield retires from teaching at CUNY, the episode also marks a transition in his career: Though leaving the classroom, he makes clear that he will remain an active public voice on K-12 and higher education issues affecting New York City and the nation