News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Dec. 31, 2025: Incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reportedly tapped a Caribbean immigrant educator to lead the nation’s largest public school system with Kamar Samuels slated to be named officially as New York City’s next schools chancellor.
Samuels will oversee a system serving more than one million students and managing a budget exceeding US$40 billion. Here are seven key things to know about him:
1. Jamaican Roots
Kamar Samuels was born in the Caribbean nation of Jamaica and attended Jamaica College in St. Andrew before migrating to the United States.
2. Strong Academic Foundation
In the U.S., Samuels earned a degree in accounting from Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY). He later completed a Master of Science in Education in childhood education at Lehman College, CUNY.
3. Experience Beyond Education
Before entering public education full-time, Samuels worked as a finance manager with the National Basketball Association, (NBA), gaining experience in large-scale organizational and fiscal management.
4. From Classroom to Principal
Samuels entered education through the NYC Teaching Fellows program, teaching elementary school in the Bronx for five years. He later moved into school operations, serving as a business manager and data specialist at Gun Hill Road School before becoming principal of the Bronx Writing Academy (PS 323) through the New Leaders for New Schools residency program. While leading PS 323, Samuels implemented reforms including staggered teacher start times, adjusted class lengths, and expanded digital learning through a city-funded technology initiative, according to Chalkbeat.
5. Two Decades in NYC Public Education
Samuels brings more than 20 years of experience across classroom teaching, school leadership, and district-level administration, with a strong emphasis on data-driven decision-making and improving outcomes in urban schools.
6. District-Level Leadership
He served as deputy superintendent of Brooklyn’s District 13 for two years before becoming superintendent in 2019. Currently a Manhattan superintendent, Samuels has promoted racial diversity through school mergers and emphasized the value of an “international education” to help students develop a global perspective. “We here in New York especially are seeing even today why it’s important to understand what’s happening in the rest of the world,” he has said.
7. Deep Diaspora Engagement
Samuels previously served as education chair and later president of JAMPACT, a diaspora-led organization supporting early childhood education in Jamaica. In 2008, he stated that the goal was for Jamaica’s basic schools to become “model early childhood institutions.”
