Crushing blow to new teacher program

Citing the coronavirus, the Department of Education has gutted a fellowship program that would have placed hundreds of teachers into city schools next year, The Post has learned.

A total of 475 NYC Teaching Fellows were slated to begin training this summer for placement in the fall.

But the program was hacked to just 75 — and even those surviving participants aren’t guaranteed jobs.

“Due to the economic impact of COVID-19, we are actively assessing our hiring needs for next year, and this summer we will have training for a small cohort of fellows in order to fill critical positions in District 75 [special-ed schools],” said DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson.

There are roughly 10,000 current city teachers who launched their careers through the program and are 22 percent of all special-education instructors.

“It’s shocking,” said a Brooklyn woman who was supposed to start training this summer and is now without any job prospects for next year. “It’s really hard to look forward to a new career and to have this happen. It’s like, now what?”

City Hall plans to chop the education budget by $827 million to combat pandemic-related shortfalls next year.

Critics have blasted the slashing, arguing that too many essential programs are being cut while other areas — including central administrative costs — are avoiding the blade.

“Cutting a program like this is going to have a direct impact on children,” the spurned applicant said. “These are people who really sought out being teachers in New York City.”

Filson said the DOE is working to plug staffing shortfalls and noted that the number of traditional applications for city teaching posts is still strong.

“This administration has made unprecedented investments in teacher training and leadership programs, and we will be prioritizing this cohort’s applications in future programs and offering them early opportunities to enroll,” she added.