GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

We’re GothamSchools, and we’re going live today with a new design. We hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, the kind where we challenge each other on the important things but have each other’s backs in the day-by-day effort to make schools better.

Here’s what you get from us: fair, accurate, and honest up-to-the-minute reporting from the front lines of teaching and learning in New York City. We won’t pull punches, but we won’t play gotcha, either. In fact, we already broke a story — the UFT’s probable stance against Mayor Bloomberg on term limits.

And here’s what we want from you: eyeballs, so many of them that when we wake up tomorrow morning the site has crashed and you’re left refreshing your browser in frustration. (Don’t worry, we have the bandwidth to support you.) We’d also like your insight: Leave us comments and send us tips with your scoops from the schools.

GothamSchools will be following developments in at least two arenas: what happens inside classrooms (any borough will do), and what happens inside Tweed Courthouse, the place that Chancellor Joel Klein calls “work,” along with all those other places we find ourselves when we’re on the trail of the Big Story: the UFT headquarters at 52 Broadway; the halls of state government in Albany; and in the heads of DOE officials, visionary educators, and involved parents.

To cement the distinction, from now on we’ll be organizing our daily dispatches into two distinct blogs. At the head of the Classroom is former teacher Kelly Vaughan, who after eight years of teaching in the Bronx knows a thing or two about schools. And anchoring the Newsroom are Philissa Cramer, formerly of Insideschools, and — here’s another new thing — Elizabeth Green, of the late, great New York Sun. You can read all of our posts in one place (just hit the “Home” tab at any time) or switch between the Classroom and Newsroom.

Here’s what else is new:

• We’ve crafted a snazzy new design to match the high quality of our reporting.
• We’ve created a place for longer and more comprehensive pieces than are typically included on a blog. Check these out in our Features section.
• We’ve added a calendar stocked with upcoming events, from professional development opportunities to parent meetings. Know of something happening? Submit an event.

GothamSchools is better today than it was yesterday, and tomorrow it will be better still. But we need your help. Let us know how you think the site can be improved. And above all, keep reading. We’ll be blogging.