Last week marked the start of a new school year. As our children head back to the classroom, we should take this opportunity to reflect on critical issues surrounding New York City public education that deserve our attention this year.

This past spring we learned an important lesson that I hope will guide us into the coming year. We learned that when students, parents, teachers, education advocates, elected officials, and community members combine efforts, we can change the system for the better.

Mayor Bloomberg had proposed making huge budget cuts to classroom funding, and we mobilized to fight the cuts and keep the promises to our children. Our successful campaign to restore school funds demonstrates that we can protect education when it is under attack. We must keep constant watch to ensure it remains a top city priority.

In addition to protecting school funding, a task that could prove even more challenging given the economic reality, a number of important questions hang in the balance before us. Are we providing a quality education to all, especially English language learners and Special Education students? Are schools too centered on testing? How can we improve the flow of information from the Department of Education to our schools and parents, so they can be informed and active in our children’s education? Most importantly, with mayoral control up for reauthorization at the end of this school year, how do we want our school system to be run?

This is our chance to frame the future of schools governance. Before we exercise our collective power to effect change, though, we must take the time to answer these questions and others.

Shaping and improving education in New York City needs to be an all-inclusive conversation. When I held a town hall meeting this summer on mayoral control, I was awed by the large number of parents and community members who came out to voice their opinions.

Data from a survey I distributed at the town hall showed that 80% of parents did not know how or where to voice their concerns about the school system. Parents also expressed concerns about transparency and accountability — 76% of the surveys called for easier access to more information. We must listen to these concerns and use them to inform school policy.

In recent years, DOE has struggled with issues that are fundamental to delivering quality education, including transparency, accountability, and parental involvement. We all recall DOE’s ill-conceived move to change school bus routes in the middle of winter without notifying the community; the one-dimensional school report cards that confused parents and provided little insight into the actual successes and failures of individual schools; and, this summer, the centralization of pre-k admissions, which took information away from parents and split families between different schools. Opening up the lines of communication and listening to the voices of the affected families may have prevented each of these problems.

Today marks the beginning of the second week of school — let it serve as a reminder that we are the guardians of our children’s education, and our job is to constantly defend it and plan for its future. With 23% of New Yorkers living in poverty, based on the mayor’s own figures, improving city schools is now more important than ever. I look forward to a citywide conversation on these issues and others throughout this year.

Mr. De Blasio is a member of the New York City Council, former School Board member, and public school parent.