About Us

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Preparing Students for Academic Excellence & Active Citizenship in a Global Society

District 16 serves Brooklyn’s historic Bedford-Stuyvesant community. The 20 schools in our district serve more than 5,000 students in grades K through 12. Our educators and staff members partner with parents to ensure all students have the chance to learn, grow, and realize their potential as citizens in a global society.

Our Vision

All students will complete school prepared for the next step in their education, whether that is middle school, high school, college, or beyond. District 16 students represent Bed-Stuy brilliance and, as educators, we are committed to supporting our students and encouraging them to use their voices to impact the local, national, and global community.

Our Mission

The mission of District 16 is to foster a passion for lifelong learning that leads to academic excellence through strong partnerships among families, staff members, and community. District 16 is committed to preparing its students for active citizenship in a 21st century global society. We are dedicated to the development of the whole child and to supporting both their academic and social-emotional well-being. We build relationships with each student and create learning experiences that foster their individuality.

Image of students wearing crowns they decorated, holding hands walking down hallway in pairs at P.S.5 during National Read Aloud Day.

Our Values

Inclusivity. We ensure a welcoming school community where a diversity of ideas, qualities, cultures, and people work together to create an equitable, inclusive environment that achieves the District’s mission, fosters respect, and promotes a global society and equitable learning experiences for all.
Collaboration. Together with various stakeholders, we work jointly and willingly at our highest intellectual capacity to provide the entire school community with what is needed to create success and improve academic achievement.
Accountability. We are accountable to the children we serve, to our school community, and to ourselves as we foster school, district, and personal success through learning, capacity building, and improvement over time.
Service. We exist to serve the District 16 community. Every day, we work to ensure all students receive the equitable, inclusive, quality education they deserve and all families and educators get the support they require. Servant leadership is the foundation of our work.

Our Team

Superintendent

Dr. Yolanda Martin

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”-

Nelson Mandela

Dr. Yolanda Martin first joined CSD 16 as the deputy superintendent in 2016 and has served as the superintendent since 2019. As the superintendent, Dr. Martin leads a district of nineteen schools serving students from grades 3K-12, a team of twenty-one passionate principals, and a dedicated team of educational leaders and support staff. As an advocate of social justice by means of education, Dr. Martin believes that education is the solution to many of the challenges facing children in urban communities and that a child’s socioeconomic status or zip code should not be a predicting factor to the quality of education they receive. She also believes that a key to district success is a strong focus and commitment to a high-quality education, parental and community collaboration, competent, compassionate and shared leadership.

“Leaders become great not because of their power but, because of their ability to empower others.” John Maxwell

Early Childhood Director

Shauntel Jenkins-Jordan

“Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot.

To him we cannot answer ‘Tomorrow,’ his name is today.”

Gabriela Mistral

Early Childhood Director Shauntel Jenkins-Jordan supports and oversees the district-wide implementation of 3K and Pre-K programs to ensure that all Division of Early Childhood Education strategies and programs are implemented with the highest quality. As a member of the Superintendent’s team, she collaborates with school leaders, teaching staff, community organizations as well as the Division of Early Childhood’s central and field offices regarding the development of effective early childhood initiatives. This includes providing expertise regarding birth-grade 2 vertical and horizontal alignment, developmentally appropriate practice and various early childhood curriculum models.

Teacher Development and Evaluation Coach

Katie Vitale

"Our universe is alive with sparks. We have at our fingerprints an infinite capacity to light a spark of possibility. Passion rather than fear, is the igniting force. Abundance, rather than scarcity, is the context. . . So, the practice of [lighting a spark] is about giving yourself as a possibility to others and being ready, in turn, to catch their spark. It is about playing together as partners in a field of light."

Teacher Development and Evaluation Coach Katie Vitale provides professional learning and job-embedded support for teacher development and evaluation by partnering with School Leaders and teachers across District 16 through workshops, community building, and coaching. Her experience and capacity are aligned to Superintendent Martin’s vision around building and strengthening culturally relevant pedagogy that meets the holistic needs and honors the brilliance of District 16 students.

Family Support Coordinator

Iris Rivas

“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s

success is the positive involvement of parents.”

Jane D. Hull

Family Support Coordinator Iris Rivas serves as a case manager for family issues and inquiries received at the district level. She tracks the progress of individual cases via the P-311 system until their conclusion and ensures timely updates to families as necessary in collaboration with the Superintendent, Family Leadership Coordinator, various DOE offices, principals, parent coordinators and CBOs. She also documents all family and school community concerns in the P-311 system according to the Office of School Support and Supervision.

Family Leadership Coordinator

Camelia Brogdon Cruz

”For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips,

speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the

knowledge that you are never alone.”

Audrey Hepburn

Family Leadership Coordinator Camelia Brogdon Cruz assists the Superintendent with implementing governance regulations and work with all district-related committees, parent leaders and staff. She provides support and professional development to the school and district parent leadership structures, including PTA/PAs, SLTs, DLT, CEC, Title I Committees, and the District Presidents’ Council.

Administrative Assistant

Sholanda Buie

“Out of clutter, find simplicity, from discord, find harmony, in the

middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

Albert Einstein

Administrative Assistant Sholanda Bui provides clerical and administrative support to the Superintendent. She screens calls, visitors and mail; maintain schedules, appointments and calendars; order all office equipment and supplies; maintains confidential files and information and performs records management.

Director of Continuous Improvement

Emily Chang

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

Director of Continuous Improvement Emily Chang supervises the coordination and delivery of intensive supports to State Designated CSI schools. She is a thought partner with school leaders and stakeholders in implementing structures and systems for sustained and continuous cycles of improvement. Ultimately, her work is centered around elevating the learning experiences at identified schools so that all students have access to the best our education system has to offer.

About Our Neighborhood

Community School District 16 serves the heart of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, a community steeped in history and rich with the stories of diverse peoples. During the early 1900s, middle- and upper-class African Americans, attracted by the Bed-Stuy community with its magnificent brownstone homes, Victorian architecture, and row houses, began moving here to raise families, start businesses, and pursue a better life. The Bedford-Stuyvesant community has a rich legacy of strong community ties and a history steeped in the arts, cultural experiences, and neighborhood pride.

Today, Bed-Stuy remains a vibrant center of African American culture and community. The neighborhood is experiencing gentrification, and renovations, new businesses, and changing demographics provide a new backdrop for the community. Along with its stately homes and tree-lined streets, Bed-Stuy has a number of housing developments overseen by the New York City Housing Authority. Known as the “Borough of Churches,” Brooklyn is home to houses of worship important to the history and people of this community. Since the neighborhood’s earliest days, education has played a vital role, and District 16 is proud to serve this historic, diverse, and growing community.

Diversity and Equity in NYC DOE and District 16

The NYC DOE and District 16 are committed to creating and supporting learning environments that reflect the diversity of New York City. All students benefit from inclusive schools and classrooms where diversity of background, belief, and ability enrich the learning environment. Under Chancellor Richard Carranza, Equity and Excellence has been a pillar for change and inclusivity in our school community, providing an equitable platform to address students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and prepare all students to succeed in the 21st century.

The Equity and Excellence for All agenda begins at the earliest ages with our nationally recognized 3-K and Pre-K for All initiatives, continues in elementary school with our early literacy program, and extends through middle and high school with efforts that include Computer Science for All, Algebra for All, AP for All, and College Access for All. Learn more about Equity and Excellence for All.

District 16 Equity Statement

District 16 embraces the diversity of our students and the need for academic excellence. We work every day to promote racial equity and inclusion and to disrupt and root out systemic racism. Our community is dedicated to creating a welcoming, inclusive culture in our schools that celebrate and honor our students and uplift their heritage and history ensuring that all children are valued and have equitable access to learning resources and support systems.

We address disproportionality by identifying implicit bias and unfair practices to remove educational inequity and narrow the opportunity gap. We leverage student experiences and the positive impact of storytelling as a foundation for valuing what our students bring to the learning experiences. In partnership with educators, parents, and the community, we center student voices using mindfulness and restorative practices that preserve the history and culture of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community.

We invite parents, students, school staff, and the community to join us in creating schools where every child can cultivate their talents and pursue education in classrooms that are diverse, inclusive, and empowering.

Contact us to get involved with our equity and excellence goals.

View the DOE Diversity page
Download the Equity and Excellence for All report

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