The TASC Group, New York, New York: David Banks' Path to the Chancellorship

Written answers to the questions

8/12/2019

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In 2019, The TASC Group was approached to boost the national profile of David Banks, then-president of The Eagle Academy Foundation, a pioneering non-profit organization dedicated to improving educational, career and life outcomes for Black and brown young men in New York City and across the country. TASC partnered with The Foundation to solidify Banks as a leading education reformer locally and nationally, and ultimately, position him for the role of New York City Schools Chancellor, the second most influential role in education nationally, under a new mayoral administration in 2022. 

TASC set out to boost David Banks’ and The Eagle Academy Foundation’s visibility by breaking into the national and local education and political landscapes with key media placements and insert Banks into conversations and platforms owned by political and business leaders. To do so, TASC embarked on a multifaceted thought leadership campaign including deep policy and media research, [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] and briefings tailored to Banks’ vision and voice, impactful and informative talking points for political and general audiences alike, tough media trainings to prepare for responding to and leading discussions on pressing education issues and a successful media campaign landing key features and positive coverage in national and local media. TASC also worked to develop fresh communications strategies with Banks and his team to prepare for transforming the New York City Department of Education’s existing strategies once he was appointed.

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TASC began with extensive research on hot-button issues in the media and political landscape, like the impact of COVID-19 on schools [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]. TASC crafted crisp talking points that translated Banks’ vision for the school system and identified and addressed areas of criticism or vulnerability [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]. TASC aggregated a list of 68 thought leaders, educational influencers, journalists, union leaders, elected officials and business executives for Banks to connect with [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]. 

TASC inserted Banks in conversations around education and NYC politics through the media and worked with Banks to craft op-eds on pressing issues like the need for universal Wi-Fi to facilitate virtual learning, and on Bank’s vision for the school system. Banks worked with TASC to give voice to parents frustrated by the return to school through a statement released in local media and to release a report he created on principal sentiment on how to successfully return to in-person learning picked up by The Wall Street Journal. TASC helped the Foundation plan and promote a Mayoral Forum on the issues most impactful to Black students, educators and parents, which Banks hosted.  

After Adams won the democratic nomination, TASC worked with the campaign to plan Banks’ in-person announcement and coordinated media around the announcement and worked with the Mayor’s Education Transition Committee, which Banks co-led, to nail down top policy issues and craft the messaging for the administration’s education policies.

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TASC’s efforts resulted in 232 positive placements in 2021 and ultimately secure Banks the position of Schools Chancellor.  

TASC was able to establish Banks as a leader in education in the city by securing him thought leadership opportunities in local and national press including The New York Times, NY1’s Inside City Hall, Chalkbeat and more. TASC placed all of David Banks’ op-eds in publications that fit best with the target audiences, such as The 74 for an education audience, New York Daily News for a political audience, Crain’s New York Business for a business audience and more.  

By identifying and introducing Banks to key leaders in the city’s press corps, the political establishment and the business community, Banks was able to win essential citywide support, advance The Foundation’s mission and secure his role as New York City’s next Schools Chancellor [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] in an uncertain political environment.  

Perhaps the strongest validation of TASC’s two-year media outreach strategy was the abundance of accolades published about Banks upon being selected as Chancellor in December 2021. Banks’ appointment was covered positively in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, twice by The New York Times including a feature piece TASC worked on extensively, by all local TV networks, by leading education publications, such as Chalkbeat, and many more. This influx of positive coverage as well as the messaging work and media landscape audit TASC conducted for Banks allowed him and his team to begin their tenure at the DOE on strong footing.

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Included are four documents that overview the stages of the campaign. 

The first, entitled “Research” highlights the extensive research TASC conducted on David Banks’ behalf including: media research, policy research, research on educational and political influencers and audits of social media pages and the DOE’s communications strategies over the past administrations. 

 The second, “Strategy,” outlines TASC’s strategy including: general thought leadership strategy, social media strategy and strategy around the announcement of David Banks as Schools Chancellor. 

 The third, “Execution,” overviews messaging materials, talking points, interview prep, media outreach, agendas and the policy document created by TASC on Banks’ behalf that was presented to Eric Adams as a candidate.

 The fourth document, “Evaluation,” showcases the breadth of success TASC had in the campaign, outlining David Banks’ thought leadership opportunities in the media, op-eds and finally extensive positive coverage of his appointment.