Top NYC school officials step down, paving the way for Chancellor Samuels to pick a team
Two top New York City education officials quickly resigned Wednesday evening, clearing the way for Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels to name his top deputy and make other cabinet-level appointments.
A press conference was planned for Thursday morning. In an email to principals, Samuels wrote that he would make an announcement regarding the “organizational structure” of the school system.
The chancellor invited administrators to an optional webinar after the event to “explain what this announcement means for our system and for your leadership,” read the memo obtained by the Daily News.
Samuels was chosen as chancellor in the final days before Mayor Mamdani’s inauguration, leaving him little room to appoint his own team before taking the reins of the nation’s largest school system.
The new recruits will play a key role in shaping Mamdani’s vision for public schools, as the mayor has focused his attention on early childhood education as part of his broader affordability agenda. Samuels proposed his own priorities for the system, including safe, academically rigorous and truly integrated schools.
Isabel DiMola, who had served as interim senior vice chancellor since the start of this school year, announced her retirement Wednesday evening, effective April 1, according to a farewell email obtained by The News.
DiMola has spent more than three decades in public education, starting as a social studies teacher in Brooklyn and earning the respect of education professionals across the city as the beloved superintendent of School District 21.
“As I enter the next chapter of my life, I do so with immense gratitude for the experiences I have had as an educator and leader in New York City,” DiMola wrote. “I remain hopeful and excited about what lies ahead for our children and our city.”
Danika Rux, vice chancellor and direct supervisor of the city’s 45 district superintendents, said she is transitioning to a senior advisor role within the general counsel’s office, according to a separate email from Rux.
The two memos, sent less than an hour apart, were first reported by independent journalist Susan Edelman.
Cristina Meléndez, vice chancellor for parent engagement, resigned late last month.
