This month, Mayor Eric Adams and Chancellor Aviles-Ramos announced that they were expanding their career mentorship program, FutureReadyNYC, to 36 additional high schools and introducing new pathways in the HVAC and decarbonization sectors — two of the most essential pieces of the transition to a renewable energy economy. The FutureReadyNYC program now has internship programs in 135 schools — a great step, although still a fraction of NYC’s 533 public high schools. Beyond that, though, this initiative reveals a failure of leadership to see the bigger picture for the climate future of our youngest generations.
I’m a graduate of John Dewey High School, a public high school on Coney Island. During my sophomore year, I remember learning that Hurricane Sandy had devastated the school four years earlier and it operated on emergency generators for two years afterward. I heard similar stories at my first internship at the New York Aquarium and from my siblings at their middle school, where flooding remains a frequent issue.
I later participated in a program for schools affected by Hurricane Sandy where we developed projects and research about natural disaster resiliency and learned about vulnerable coastal communities. This kickstarted my civic education and helped me connect the dots between my roots in Bangladesh, the climate crisis, and youth empowerment. It was an influential step on my path to working in climate justice.
NYC students deserve opportunities that support their growth and contribute to a lasting, positive impact on our planet. But let’s back up: What are their learning environments like? Many public schools, especially those in underfunded communities, have classrooms with poor ventilation, inconsistent heating and cooling, and boilers running on gas and oil. How can we teach students to be part of climate solutions while their stuffy classrooms are making them sick and their cafeterias are blazing hot in June, with no air conditioning? Schools are also polluting our city’s air and making our climate crisis worse.
ALIGN has been advocating for Green, Healthy Schools with the Climate Works for All coalition, a group of labor unions, students, parents, faith, climate, and environmental justice organizations fighting for green upgrades in schools and ensuring clean unionized job creation is a priority, especially in disadvantaged communities. The mayor has already committed $4 billion to electrify 100 public schools through his Leading the Charge initiative, although much of it remains unallocated. There are also funding sources from the state and federal government to expand that number, such as the Climate Change Superfund Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. With 1,300 school buildings in NYC, we have a lot of work to do, but in the end, electrifying schools and upgrading HVAC systems will save the city millions on energy costs.
Exposing high school students to green jobs and technology is important, but schools should also go further, by collaborating with the unions conducting this work so we’re not stopping at education and coursework, but extending pathways to apprenticeship opportunities and green careers. We must also prioritize students in environmental justice (EJ) communities most affected by the climate crisis, which will support the city with community-led solutions and create a lasting impact on the well-being of communities and workers. Job opportunities must be tied to adequately funding clean energy projects, such as upgrading ventilation and HVAC systems, that will guarantee job creation, which would open doors for thousands of high school students.
This year, Climate Works for All successfully advocated for Local Law 99, a bill that mandates 150 megawatts of solar power on public buildings citywide by 2035, doing so through a unionized clean energy workforce, creating thousands of green, family-sustaining jobs. Our Green, Healthy Schools campaign continues, pushing to electrify and upgrade 500 public schools by 2030, because the climate crisis will not wait for Adams or anyone else.
The expansion of FutureReadyNYC is a great first step, but our mayor must step back and see the bigger picture. Without green job creation, union apprenticeship opportunities, and an equitable plan to decarbonize and upgrade ventilation in our public schools themselves, these programs risk being a smokescreen for the comprehensive solutions our climate crisis demands. NYC must invest in green, healthy schools; make green energy upgrades to our aging infrastructure; and use union labor starting in environmental justice communities to give students a safe and healthy learning environment and real opportunity for their futures.
Let’s give high schoolers a chance to see these pathways in action by investing in their education in more ways than one.
Faiza Azam is a climate & labor organizer at ALIGN.