Phil Weinberg

Phil Weinberg (born May 3, 1960) is the Deputy Chief Academic Officer for Teaching and Learning at the New York City Department of Education. In this role, Weinberg oversees initiatives to strengthen instruction and enhance student learning across the City's 1600+ district schools.

Weinberg has served as a New York City educator for nearly three decades. Prior to being appointed Deputy Chancellor in January 2014, he spent 27 years at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology (HSTAT) in Brooklyn. As part of the course, he received guidance and support to teach a small class of students with disabilities. This experience helped shape his belief that effective teaching requires ongoing reflection to assess student learning and professional collaboration to improve instruction.

Upon graduating from high school, Weinberg enrolled in Swarthmore College. He graduated in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in English. He received his master of arts in teaching English from Columbia University Teachers College in 1984, and later received his school building leader advanced certificate from Hunter College in Manhattan.

Education career

Weinberg has been a New York City educator for 30 years. He spent 27 years at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology (HSTAT) in Brooklyn. Since its inception in 1985, the school has employed the Educational Option high school admissions process to admit a bell curve of students with varied academic abilities. As a result, HSTAT serves 1,300 students with diverse needs. In addition, 80 percent of students qualify for free lunch based on family income. A principle strategy of this goal was to support teachers in implementing the Common Core Learning Standards. The Common Core is a set of national standards which outline the core skills students must master at each point in their academic careers to be on track for success in college. Weinberg supported teachers in rising to the challenge of implementing the standards by creating a culture of collaboration. Teachers agreed to work in teams and devote an extended amount of professional learning time each week to analyzing and discussing student work. All students begin their career at HSTAT in rigorous introductory courses to develop strong foundational literacy, writing, and critical thinking skills. Students who enter the school in need of additional support are enrolled in sections of these courses which are taught in an inclusive co-teaching model. This model brings an additional teacher into the classroom to supports these students’ needs as they are exposed to the same curriculum and high standards as other students. Student progress is assessed continuously at the end of every course in order to enroll them in the most challenging course suitable for them. The highly selective fellowship is a fifteen-month program from Columbia University Teachers College which recognizes outstanding principals and provides them with opportunities for professional, intellectual, and personal growth. In 2012, Weinberg received the Sloan Public Service Award from the Fund for the City of New York. an initiative to encourage inter-school collaboration by pairing host and partner schools to share best practices around focused learning areas. He is also guiding the work to develop a more nuanced system for school accountability, strengthen the teacher evaluation and development system to ensure teachers receive the support needed to grow as professionals, and expand and strengthen professional learning opportunities for educators.