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Kate Quarfordt is the founding director of the musical theater program at Bronx Preparatory Charter School.

I know you’re going to think I’m making this up, but I swear it actually happened, earlier this week, exactly as follows:

I’m on the D train heading up to the South Bronx, where I teach theater to students in grades 5-12. The commute from Brooklyn is a long one.

Out comes the laptop. I try to work on a draft of an article I’m struggling with. I’m supposed to be writing about making education engaging and relevant for today’s “urban youth.”

At West 4th Street I look up, my eye caught by the bouncy swagger of an attractive young kid with his hair in long thin braids. He’s maybe 13 or 14, wearing those jeans that somehow look baggy and skinny at the same time.

The kid sits down diagonally from me, takes out a Rubik’s Cube and starts working at it feverishly. He’s twisting and flipping it again and again at top speed, moving like he’s hypnotized. (more…)

• The Swedish-inspired charter school could be moving into Tweed Courthouse. (Downtown Express)
• Cathie Black is visiting schools but not sharing her schedule. (GS, AP, WNYC,NY1)
• The Children’s Aid Society is looking to relocate from Greenwich Village to a needier area. (WSJ)
• Its move would close an early childhood center that serves about 1,000 children. (Times)
• The city is formally moving to fire the teacher who wrote about being a sex worker. (Post, Daily News)
• D.C.’s new union head says he will be more aggressive in protecting teachers. (Washington Post)
• Andres Alonso, a former DOE deputy, is grappling admirably with tough challenges in Baltimore. (Times)

• Cathie Black visited two schools in Queens today, but city officials kept it a secret. (DN,NYT, NY1)
• Assemblywoman Cathie Nolan and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer came along. (WNYC)
• Nolan chose the two schools — both are diverse and have many low-income students. (NYT)
• Rick Hess: Black and Polakow-Suransky’s union isn’t likely to work smoothly. (EdWeek)
• A private school consultant says the public schools are turning off more parents. (Abacus Mom)
• Stacey Gauthier explains her idea of what makes a highly effective school. (GS Community)
• A bill freezing charter school funding failed in the State Senate last night. (Times Union)
• State Senate Education Committee leader Susie Oppenheimer may win. (Politics on the Hudson)
• Senate Republicans are calling on Craig Johnson, a pro-charter school advocate, to concede. (DN)
• Will NY teachers ever oust a union president like teachers in D.C. just did? (Ed Notes)
• A teacher doesn’t miss her old school, but she does miss her old students. (Miss Brave)
• Arne Duncan visited a school undergoing the “transformation” model. (Politics K-12)

Although chancellor-appointee Cathleen Black’s transition from private citizen to public servant has officially begun, the Department of Education is still keeping her activities a secret.

Black’s school visits have drawn particular interest because she is starting her new job with very little experience in public education under her belt. Black has also given no formal interviews so far and little is known about her stances on policy questions.

Historically, the schools the chancellor visits also tend to signal what characteristics and practices the DOE is promoting.

In response to requests from several reporters, DOE spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz said that she would release the name of schools the chancellor visits only after the school day ended. Today, Black visited two schools, P.S. 111 and P.S. 78 in Queens, Ravitz said this afternoon.

“Part of being chancellor is visiting schools and talking with principals, teachers and parents openly and candidly about what is happening in their school community,” Ravitz said. “Having TV cameras and reporters over your shoulder is often not conducive to such an open exchange. So there will be public visits and private visits.”

It’s an interesting stance for the city to take, given that part of the city’s legal argument for releasing teacher effectiveness scores is that public employees do not have an expectation of privacy.

A group of the city’s education beat reporters from four news outlets, including GothamSchools, are sending the following letter to Black, asking that the city not wait until after she has left a school to let reporters know she visited.

We’ll update when the city responds. In the meantime, if you hear that the incoming chancellor is visiting your school, send us an e-mail or let us know on Twitter. (more…)

Stacey Gauthier, a co-principal of Renaissance Charter High School, and Marc Waxman, who is opening a charter school in Denver, are corresponding about school policy. Read their entire exchange.

Hi Marc,

I’ve been thinking about your question asking me for my metaphor for the concept of teacher effectiveness. The direct answer is that I am a firm believer in these three C’s for organizational success: collaboration, cooperation and communication. Therefore, while individual teacher effectiveness is important, in the end we need a team of effective educators to have a successful school. So with that, and with no slight intended to the work it takes personally to be a successful educator, let me challenge somewhat the concept of teacher effectiveness in and of itself.

I want to argue that effective schools, as organizations, help create effective teachers. Now, I realize that this is a bit of a chicken and egg argument, but let me take this further. I understand that there are “stars” in many schools, no matter how poorly functioning the school itself may be. Hey, these are the folks of “To Sir with Love” and “Stand and Deliver.” There are also less effective teachers in all of the top-rated schools. And while ideally we want the best performance from each individual, and operationally we must strive for each and every staff member in a school to be highly effective, the measure of a great school is a collective one, not an individual one.

So, here is my list of the attributes for a highly effective school. I do not claim to be the originator of any of these, so thanks to all those people who have been advocating for these ideas. Please note that I did not put this list in value order and certainly there are schools that beat the odds by not having all of the ingredients which may in and of itself tell you something about the value of each attribute. You may notice, I hope, several charter school characteristics that I suggest should be available to all schools.

1. Strong school-wide accountability objectives that both create a culture of high expectations for all students and understands the need to start where the kids are at (I want to thank Dr. Art Pritchard for our excellent conversation on this topic).
2. Teacher leadership and decision-making ability. (more…)

• Cathie Black visited PS 109 in the Bronx. (GS, Times, WSJ, Post, Daily News, NY1, WNYC)
• Many parents remain skeptical about Black’s readiness for the job. (NY1, WNYC)
• Several parents and educators protested Black’s appointment by applying for her job. (Daily News)
• Scholar Jonathan Zimmerman: Black’s appointment shows the sad decline of ed schools. (Daily News)
• The city officially added six high schools to the list of schools it is considering closing. (Daily News)
• The principal whose student drowned was removed for other reasons. (Times, Daily News, Post, NY1)
• The city is building a new school in Brooklyn that will serve students from another district. (WSJ)
• The head of D.C.’s teachers union was voted out in a close election. (Washington Post)