Mayor Ben Walsh, on the campaign trail, touted the fact that his oldest daughter attends classes in the Syracuse City School District. Now, in office, Walsh has again promised to look for ways to improve the education received by his daughter and other Syracuse students.

Progress is needed to improve schools in the city, Walsh acknowledged in his January inauguration address, calling education and the condition of Syracuse schools a “critical issue” facing the community.

Since taking office, Walsh has laid out plans to renovate district facilities, increase graduation rates and expand career and technical training programs.

“Together, we will push our graduation rate from just over 60 percent today to 70 percent,” Walsh said in his January “state of the city” address, “then 80 percent and beyond until we can be counted among the best urban school districts in America.”

The SCSD graduation rate hovered just over 60 percent in 2017, according to the New York State Department of Education. About 61 percent of SCSD students graduated in 2016, so 2017 marked the end of a five-year period of growth that saw graduation rates increase more than 11 percent, according to the NYSDOE.

“We have a lot of work to do, but that is a great start,” Walsh said in January of the graduation increase.

The mayor, in his “state of the city” address, said a city task force is looking to expand career and technical education programs into SCSD middle schools. CTE programs currently offered by the district allow high schoolers to earn college credits and associate degrees, in partnership with Onondaga Community College.

Walsh, in the address, said the CTE programs are “so robust and so rigorous that they are the envy of suburban school districts” in New York state.

Students can study topics such as computer forensics, electrical trades, culinary arts and cybersecurity through the district’s CTE programs, Walsh said. Between 2014 and 2018, CTE offerings have grown from six to 26 topics.

In January, Walsh said he chaired his first meeting of the Joint Schools Construction Board, which is supervising a multi-year effort to renovate all SCSD schools. He said he saw “real passion and commitment to create the quality academic and recreational facilities our children deserve.”

The JSCB is also ensuring city resident-, minority- and women-owned business participation on the renovation projects, Walsh said. The mayor added that the second phase of the project, being advanced this year, is expected to cost $300 million and create jobs for people who “need them most.”

Walsh has also embraced SCSD engagement in a regional drone initiative that hopes to establish a 50-mile drone corridor and expand the unmanned aerial vehicle industry.

At Fowler High School’s Public Service Leadership Academy, Walsh said students are learning the skills necessary to pilot, engineer and repair drones. And students can earn a high school diploma and a college degree in partnership with OCC and Mohawk Valley Community College at no extra cost within five to six years, he added.

The Syracuse Teachers Association, a union representing SCSD teachers, did not endorse Walsh or any other mayoral candidate. In a letter to union members obtained by Syracuse.com, STA President Megan Root said the union did not feel that any candidate was “100% on board with our agenda.”   

Still, Walsh reached out to SCSD officials to aid his transition into office. The mayor tapped SCSD Superintendent Jaime Alicea to chair the team’s education committee, which consists of 21 members, Syracuse.com reported.  

In January, Walsh met with about 60 Fowler High School students, whom he said were invested in Syracuse’s future.

“They want our city to succeed, so the challenge to all of us is to deliver a city that is attractive to them for the future,” Walsh said in his “state of the city” speech later that day.

Published on March 5, 2018 at 8:10 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18