Former NYC early childhood official to return as division’s next deputy chancellor

A former early childhood education official is rejoining the New York City public schools as the division’s next deputy chancellor.

Schools Chancellor David Banks on Friday tapped Simone Hawkins to head the city’s early childhood education programs — taking the reins from embattled deputy chancellor Kara Ahmed, who announced her departure earlier this month .

Hawkins, whose first day will be Monday, previously served as the chief executive of early childhood operations at the start of the Adams administration in 2022, but left during a turbulent time for the division.

Within a matter of days, Hawkins was grilled by the City Council on delayed payments to child care providers, which forced sites to shutter — then parted ways with the public school system. Ahmed, in announcing Hawkins’ departure, said it had been in the works for “several weeks,” Chalkbeat reported at the time.

Hawkins took jobs at homeless youth services provider Covenant House and the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the interim, according to her LinkedIn. She will rejoin the public schools with a salary just over $275,000, education officials said.

It’s the second homecoming for a top education official in recent weeks. Hawkins’ reappointment — and promotion — comes after Banks brought back his former chief of staff Melissa Aviles-Ramos , who left the school system in February, as a deputy chancellor of family engagement and external affairs.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Simone Hawkins as our new Deputy Chancellor of Early Childhood Education,” Banks confirmed in a statement. “Her expertise in early childhood education and her ability to implement complex, large-scale operations make her just the right person to take the helm at this critically important time, as we scale NYC Reads citywide and further strengthen our collaboration with and support for our early childhood providers.”

Hawkins steps into the role following significant upheaval for early childhood education in New York City, once considered a model for universal preschool. During budget negotiations, Mayor Adams and the City Council repeatedly clashed over a planned expansion for 3-K with federal pandemic aid that was expiring. Lawmakers reached a compromise that will add more seats for young students with disabilities or from undocumented families .

While 3-K seats have sat vacant in some areas of the city, programs in other neighborhoods have more demand than they have seats.

Susan Stamler, executive director of United Neighborhood Houses, an advocacy group for local settlement houses including those with on-site child care, said Hawkins “is the right person to rebuild the infrastructure of early childhood education programs.”

“The return of Simone Hawkins to New York City Public Schools signals hope for families who have struggled to access high-quality childcare and providers who have had to work through extensive payment delays,” Stamler said in a statement.

Hawkins’ predecessor, Ahmed, led the city’s early childhood education programs for two-and-a-half years and is considered the highest ranking education official to face a vote of no confidence by the local teachers union.

Her departure was the latest in a series of shakeups inside the Department of Education’s upper ranks. This month, Banks swapped Ramos’s former position with that of Kenita Lloyd , who’s taking over as Banks’ right-hand.

Meanwhile, Banks is phasing out the division of teaching and learning, prompting former deputy chancellor Carolyne Quintana to leave the school system. Some of that work is being shifted into a new division for non-native English speakers and students with disabilities under recently promoted deputy chancellor Christina Foti .