Record number of NYC high school grads are heading to college

More city public high school graduates than ever — nearly two-thirds — ar💦e going to college, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday.

“This is an idea that would have been considered impossible not so long ago in New York City, but it’s happening now,” de Blasio said at the Brooklyn announcement, where he was joined by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza.🎉 “I want to give credit to the young people who are pursuing their dreams and working so hard.”

A record 48,782 high school graduates in 2018 — 62 percent of the class — ar⛦e heading to higher education, sta♊ts show.

The graduates are heading to two-or four-year colleges, vocational programs and public service programs like Teach for💯 America, according to the DOE.

The o💟verall percentage of college-bound kids i♐s up by 3 percentage points from last year — and up 12 percent from 2013, when de Blasio took office.

The mayor and Carranza 🀅spoke at the HS of Telecommunication Arts and Te﷽chnology in Bay Ridge, where 82 percent of its 2018 seniors went on to college.

Carranza credited de Blasio’s “equity and🌠 excellence” agenda for public schools as the key factor in driving up the numbers.

“It doesn’t matter what your z🥀ip code is,” Carranza said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from. All that matters is what you want to do.”

De Blasio said🅰 he expected two-thirds of graduating seniors to head straight to college on average by the time he leaves office in 2021, which would be a 17 point impro💎vement over the eight years of his administration.

But city schools are still struggling to equip💮 kids with the skills nee🥃ded to thrive once they arrive.

Only 51 percent of city g🔯raduates exited their high school “college ready” — which means they meet CUNY’s English and math standards and graduated on time, DOE stats also show.

College🤪 students without this proficiency are required to pay fo🐽r and pass remedial classes, which don’t qualify for college credit.

Officials also touted higher high school gr🥀aduation rates Thursday, with that figure hitting 75.9 percent last year.

But critics question the value of city diplomas, arguing that the DOE gives struggling students easier paths to🐎 graduation.