December 30, 2025
Central Park East High School Vacancies Mean Less Representation
By John Myers
By Amanda Shea Hungria
The 2022 New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) class size reduction bill demands all New York City DOE high schools to meet a 25:1 student to teacher ratio by 2028. As of 2025 more than 64% of schools have already met the mandate.
This bill aims to boost student achievement through greater classroom engagement, more individualized attention, improved teacher morale, and lower dropout and attrition rates.
But on a local level, how are schools navigating the execution of this policy?
Central Park East High School (CPEHS), a small high school in the heart of East Harlem, meeting the 25:1 ratio has not only increased the demand for new teachers, it has drawn attention to an issue that remains critical even as positions are filled: a lack of faculty diversity.
Ninety-three percent of CPEHS students identify as students of color (57% Latinx, 22% black,12% Asian, 8% white). In contrast, 74% of the school’s teachers identify as white, while only 25.7% identify as people of color. The disparity has raised questions among students and staff about representation, school culture and how hiring decisions are made.
Students are in school anywhere from five to seven hours.With so much time spent on campus, the environment teachers foster plays a huge role in shaping how students navigate through their daily lives.
“It would have been great to have a teacher I was able to connect with more, but I would say I’ve made some incredible relationships with the teaching staff at CPEHS.” said alumna Laila Harisson, class of 2025.
Others like Mariamma Touray, class of 2026, say her experience feels contradictory to Harisson’s. “It’s exhausting having to come to school and switch and change depending on who I am around. I just wish I didn’t have to do all of that in front of a teacher.” added Touray, expressing how it discourages her from being fully present in the school environment.
A 2024 study about these disparities, was conducted by the Economic Policy Institute which found that “same-race teacher matches are associated with lower high school dropout rates and greater college aspirations.”
Echoing these findings, Michelle Rosenberg, one of the few teachers of color at CPEHS, emphasized why representation matters in the classroom. “It’s important that students see adults in positions of power, especially in positions where knowledge is equivalent to power.So they can see there are people of color who have the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in the world.”
Out of five teachers interviewed at CPEHS, several expressed similar concerns but also a shared feeling that the school has not prioritized hiring teachers of color. Even incoming students are noticing these disparities. “I wish the school was more inclusive,” said freshman Vanessa Mensah. ”I see the positions being filled, and I barely see any inclusivity.”
So what is happening behind the scenes that may be contributing to this issue?
Principal Mayra Segura says the challenge is tied to a declining pool of candidates. “We have had a more challenging time hiring high quality teachers in general,” she said. “The new class size reduction mandates have created large numbers of openings throughout city schools with a very small pool of candidates.”
Still, CPEHS administrators say they remain committed to increasing faculty diversity.
Segura emphasized, echoing Rosenberg’s comments about the impact representation can have, “When students encounter teachers who share aspects of their cultural or linguistic backgrounds, it can build deeper trust and help them envision broader possibilities for themselves.”
When asked how the school plans to address this concern moving forward, Segura pointed to several improvements that could strengthen the CPEHS community further.
“There are definitely things we can keep improving. Building stronger partnerships with minority-serving institutions and teacher residency programs would help bring more diverse candidates into our applicant pool. Additionally, it would be beneficial to create more transparent communication with students and staff about our hiring goals, challenges, and progress.”
