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Cathie Black published an advice book for women in business in 2007.

The next New York City Schools Chancellor surpasses Joel Klein in at least one regard: the amount of mystery surrounding her views on education.

While Klein had graduated from the city school system and taught math to sixth-graders before being appointed chancellor, Cathleen Black’s experience appears to be limited to a less than year-long stint on a charter school advisory board.

But in appointing Black, Mayor Michael Bloomberg may have been looking for someone who will steer a calm and steady course forward, rather than someone to bring bold new ideas for education reform.

When he announced Black’s appointment this afternoon, Bloomberg trumpeted her track record of “building on successes and leading teams to even greater achievements.” And Black vowed this afternoon to build on the work that Klein has rolled out over the past eight years.

Black, 66, is a formidable figure in the publishing industry. Before going to Hearst in 1995, she had worked as the publisher of both New York Magazine and USA Today,  as well as the head of the Newspaper Association of America.

She has very little experience in public service or in public education. Her two children both attended private boarding schools, and she attended parochial school as a child on Chicago’s South Side.

A book she published in 2007, “Basic Black,” summarized the principles she followed to become a leader, from the importance of choosing battles carefully to her belief that one should “lead with affection – but don’t call it that at the office.” (more…)

Chancellor Joel Klein leaves the podium after discussing his plans to resign and join the News Corporation.

News that Chancellor Joel Klein will step down has caught his staff — even his most senior advisors — by surprise and sparked debate over whether he was pushed to resign.

Department of Education employees, some of them eight-year veterans with strong personal ties to the chancellor, learned of Klein’s resignation at a press conference this afternoon. And they didn’t meet his replacement, Hearst Magazines chairwoman Cathleen Black, until after the mayor and chancellor addressed reporters.

“I was literally scheduled for a 4 o’clock meeting, walked in, and watched a bunch of people going ‘Oh my God,’” said a DOE official.

Said another: “It’s the best kept secret in the history of the DOE.”

Even Black’s meeting with teachers union president Michael Mulgrew, which Mayor Bloomberg mentioned at the news conference, was an accidental encounter. (more…)

Cathleen Black, the new schools chancellor.

We’re live-blogging Mayor Bloomberg’s press conference right now at City Hall, announcing Schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s resignation.

4:11 pm. Bloomberg’s last words to Black, he says, were to the point. “I told her what I tell everyone and that is, don’t screw it up,” he said.

4 pm. Asked what her greatest challenge will be, Black tells the press: ”With the help of the eight deputies in the office, we will spend a good amount of time prepping me and making sure I understand all of the issues thoroughly. The change, the opportunity to make a difference, is really what has compelled me to want this position.”

3:53 pm. The next question is, What about a public search for such a public job? “I did have a public serarch and I picked the best person,” Bloomberg answered, inscrutably. He also said, “In the end, it is the mayor who picks the chancellor.” And he added, “I have looked for people of all backgrounds.”

Also: Who was the first person Black met in this process? Teachers union president Michael Mulgrew, Bloomberg declared.

“Mulgrew has met her,” Mulgrew spokesman Dick Riley just confirmed.

Black’s children went to private boarding school in Connecticut.

3:51 pm. The mayor et. al are now taking questions from the press, starting with, Why not an educator? ”Joel has built an amazing staff of pedagogical experts. That’s not our problem here,” Bloomberg said.

He said the new chancellor’s expertise needed to be dealing with the tough economy. ”Jobs, jobs, jobs. That’s exactly what Cathie Black knows about,” he said.

3:46 pm. Among Black’s first remarks: ”New York has the best teachers in the country.” She is also running through the objectives Bloomberg announced at NBC’s Education Nation event, which did not sound at all different from Klein’s.

“My main goal will be to build on the work of the Bloomberg administration and chancellor klein’s tenure,” she said. (more…)

The press conference happening right now at City Hall.

MSNBC is reporting that Schools Chancellor Joel Klein will step down today from his top post. Mayor Bloomberg is holding a special press conference right now, possibly to make this announcement. We’ll have more details as we get them.

From MSNBC:

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein is preparing to leave office, according to multiple sources who tell NBCNewYork.com that Klein’s resignation could be announced as early as Tuesday afternoon.

City Hall’s press office will neither confirm nor deny the rumors of Klein’s departure. …

Bloomberg is said to be interested in some possible replacement candidates with business background.  Sources say Klein has been searching for a new job for some time, outside the field of education.

• A new report says that black male students are lagging further behind than previously known. (Times)
• A Manhattan high school official said she was “too lazy” to fix grades she had wrongly boosted. (Post)
• Joel Klein says a change in the union is the best thing that could happen to city schools. (S.I. Advance)
• Food and Finance HS is one of a growing number of schools to teach climate change. (TIME)
• School custodians’ contract prevents them from painting the top of classroom walls. (Post)
• The Post says it’s time for massive reform to school custodians’ contract with the city.
• Boston is reconsidering its investment in small schools. (Boston Globe)

• For the first time, the DOE is listing alternative high schools and programs in one place. (Insideschools)
• City school officials want to hire a “community organizer” to “foster parent involvement.” (Simply Hired)
• The USDOE is threatening that Maryland lawmakers might jeopardize RTTT funding. (WashPost)
• The upcoming lame-duck session could determine the future of Race to the Top. (EdWeek)
• Why many students are selecting expensive for-profit colleges over two-year public ones. (Hechinger)
• Maybe public community colleges have something to learn from the for-profit realm. (Inside Higher Ed)
• Visiting The Equity Project charter school, Rotherham finds their margins are “really tight.” (Eduwonk)
• A Seattle principal tries to imagine an acceptable kind of teacher merit pay. (LeaderTalk)
• Perhaps poor reading scores result from the mistaken idea that reading is a skill. (Jay Greene)
• An excerpt from the teacher union newsletter at embattled Jamaica High School. (ICE-UFT)
• Miss Mimi reviews the dizzying curriculum changes her school has made. (Flowers and Sausages)

The head of student enrollment is retiring from the office she created after overseeing massive changes in how students apply and are accepted to city high schools.

In an email, Chancellor Joel Klein said that Elizabeth Sciabarra, who founded the Office of Student Enrollment in 2003, will retire at the end of this month. Sciabarra, who has worked in schools and for the Department of Education for 37 years, has been the architect overseeing how the chancellor’s policy of high school choice has been enacted.

Her retirement may not come at a great time for families — students’ high school applications are due to the city on December 3 — and Sciabarra is known for her willingness to personally respond to parents’ cries of confusion.

“I would say she’s done an amazing job in transforming the admissions system,” said InsideSchools’ editor Pam Wheaton. “That’s not to say there still aren’t glitches, but when InsideSchools began in 2002, it was a really flawed system.” (more…)

To celebrate our second year of existence and to ensure that we plow boldly into the future, we are throwing another party! It is next Wednesday evening, Nov. 17. It will be just like last year’s party — big names, top educators, and arch rivals sharing drinks, food, and rich conversation — with two twists.

First, this time you will have even more chances to support GothamSchools. And second, you will also have to act quickly because we can only admit a limited number of people to the party.

Remember, we are a nonprofit financed almost entirely by philanthropic contributions. We literally cannot operate without the support of generous readers like you. To that end, we are charging for tickets this year, with a starting price of $50. Please purchase yours here and consider making an additional donation, too. Thanks to a challenge grant from a generous donor, every dollar we raise for this event will be fully matched.

Another reason to come: Our featured speaker will be Doug Lemov, author of “Teach Like a Champion,” subject of a story I wrote for the New York Times Magazine, and a GothamSchools reader. Some other surprise guests that I can’t yet name will also pop in.

News from New York City:

• Teachers at in-transition Chelsea Career and Technical HS are feeling burnt out. (WNYC)
• The principal of Jamaica HS is being investigated for giving extra credit to all foreign students. (Post)
• The principal of PS 382 in the Bronx is accused of using teachers as personal babysitters. (Post)
• A Queens custodian is accused of using school funds to renovate 10 homes. (Post, Daily News)
• Twenty city school janitors earn more than $140,000. (Post)
• Parents at D-rated PS 114 in Brooklyn says the city didn’t help after removing the last principal. (NY1)
• The city has confirmed anyone has a right to film Community Education Council meetings. (Daily News)
• Staten Island is seeing an influx of younger principals. (S.I. Advance)
• Teachers should get free admission to the city’s museums, a former teacher argues. (Daily News)
• A Stuyvesant HS student found that SAT writing scores correlate exactly to essay length. (ABC)
• Lehman’s cell phone storage van is still in business. (Daily News; in September, GothamSchools)
• A plea for city teachers to get free admission to city museums. (Daily News)
• The Daily News criticizes Advocates for Children for challenging Girls Prep’s expansion.

And elsewhere:

• Some people see nationwide anti-bullying efforts as furthering a gay agenda. (Times)
• More and more high school students nationally are retaking failed classes online. (Times)
• Yonkers is investing in its college offices in an attempt to get more students to college. (Times)
• Some parents are hiring “homework helpers” to urge their kids through their work. (Times)
• New Jersey’s teachers union convention focused on Gov. Chris Christie’s policies. (WSJ)
• D.C. is considering adding half an hour to the school day. (Washington Post)

• Dewey HS staff and students are planning Friday protests against the threat of closure. (GEM)
• Six states voted in new state schools superintendents, most of whom are Republican. (EdWeek)
• Mike Petrilli says the school reform movement is geting close to compliance policing. (Flypaper)
• Senator Patty Murray, an early-ed and school spending advocate, won her close race. (EdWeek)
• Elizabeth Puccini relays what went on at the School Food Rocks Conference. (GothamSchools)
• Jay Mathews explains how he’s changing his annual ranking of the best high schools. (Class Struggle)
• NJ’s acting education commissioner turned down an invite to speak teachers union convention. (Inquirer)
• San Francisco schools lost money when students cut class to attend the Giants parade. (Mission Local)
• Oklahoma is having a difficult time figuring out how to pay for its schools. (The Oklahoman)
• And it might be hard to get student support for firing bad teachers. (Joanne Jacobs)