Teens are struggling with their mental health . Families are concerned about bullying, vaping and drug use. Students do not always feel safe commuting to school .
Over two months late last year, the newly minted leader of New York City’s public schools, Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, held feedback sessions in each of the five boroughs. On Thursday, she shared her takeaways in a 24-page report along with the beginnings of a plan to tackle the issues families raised — a body of work she is calling “NYCPS Cares.”
“Parents want to send their kids to school. If kids aren’t going to school, there is a barrier keeping them from school,” Aviles-Ramos told the Daily News ahead of the announcement. “Instead of, ‘why haven’t you sent your kids to school?’ we’re asking, ‘what are the things that are keeping you from sending your kids to school? And ‘how can we help you?’”…