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Dennis Walcott visited students at P.S. 261 in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn on Monday.

For the second time in three months, New York City officially has a new schools chancellor. State Education Commissioner David Steiner approved a waiver for now-former Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott today, clearing him to run the city’s school system, beginning on Monday.

The decision came quickly on the heels of a panel’s unanimous recommendation yesterday that Steiner grant Walcott the wavier. Walcott has a masters in education, but because he does not have a school superintendents license, he needed the waiver to become chancellor.

Obtaining the waiver was vastly easier for Walcott than it was for his predecessor Cathie Black. Last November, the eight-member panel that considered whether to give Black a waiver eventually voted against it. Four panel members voted against granting the waiver, two voted in favor, and two voted “not at this time.” Steiner told the panel that he also harbored serious doubts about whether Black was up to the task. For several days he agonized over the decision before making a deal with the city that would give Black a waiver on the condition that the mayor appoint a chief academic officer.

In his letter granting Walcott a waiver, Steiner writes that although Walcott does not hold a school superintendents license, he does have other qualifications and experience that make him an appropriate choice for the job. Steinder concludes: (more…)

Last week, Chancellor-designee Dennis Walcott visited his grandson’s school. Today, he’s visiting his own.

Walcott’s packed schedule of public appearances takes him this morning to his alma mater, Francis Lewis High School in Queens. Walcott will arrive at the Fresh Meadows school at 7:45 a.m., according to the Department of Education. That’s 15 minutes after the start of the first of 14 periods in Francis Lewis’s day.

Francis Lewis has changed a great deal since Walcott graduated in 1969. One of the few remaining comprehensive high schools in the city, the school has been squeezed as the city has closed down other neighborhood schools in the area. While Francis Lewis has long had thousands of students and run on multiple sessions, the school is now the city’s second-largest, and most overcrowded, operating at nearly 175 percent of capacity. Citing safety concerns, the teachers union sued last year over class sizes that exceeded the allowed maximum of 34 students. Yet the school still boasts a graduation rate of 80 percent, well above the city’s average, and a full complement of extracurricular offerings.

Ex-Chancellor Cathie Black also visited Francis Lewis during her brief tenure. Her quick visit in December was shielded from media attention but included a brief conversation with several student leaders. One student, Ashley Schwartz, reported in the Youth Press that Walcott, who accompanied Black, seemed more assured. Wrote Schwartz:

One student, Yessica Martinez, brought up a rather provocative question. She talked about the undocumented student community, and [asked] how Black planned to help them stay in school and achieve high marks in classes. Though Black was at a complete loss for words, Walcott quickly stepped in to help his partner out.

It’s clear that Black alone may not have all the answers, which is why I was personally relieved to know that Walcott would be on board with helping our Schools Chancellor.

This afternoon, Walcott will celebrate the city’s annual “Poem in Your Pocket” celebration with an appearance at the New York Public Library. (Mayor Bloomberg read a poem of his own creation last year; ex-Chancellor Joel Klein is partial to T.S. Eliot.) Then he’ll head down to Brooklyn for a town hall meeting in District 21, which includes Coney Island and Brighton Beach.

• Outgoing state ed chief David Steiner told teachers that schools are in “genuine crisis.” (Post)
• Budget cuts have curtailed Mayor Bloomberg’s promise to boost community colleges. (Gotham Gazette)
• Independence HS students rallied in favor of the teacher suspended after exposing his principal. (NY1)
• A state advisory panel backed giving Dennis Walcott a waiver. (NY1, Post, WSJ, Times, Daily News)
• The city says the presence of asbestos will slow down PCB removal. (Daily News, WNYC, NY1)
• Education policy consultants say attention should focus on only the best charter schools. (Daily News)
• Readers weigh in with last words on the hiring and firing of ex-Chancellor Cathie Black. (Post)
• Lawmakers in Illinois have agreed to reduce the weight seniority holds in layoffs. (Chicago Tribune)

• A state advisory panel backed Dennis Walcott’s waiver. David Steiner still has to decide. (GS Twitter)
• Joel Klein responds to the NYT Mag cover story on the effect of his reforms at MS 223. (6th Floor)
• Alexander Russo says a recent article about testing in Colorado doesn’t back up its claims. (TWIE)
• PS 20′s principal was acquitted on assault charges; no word on if he’ll be reinstated. (Insideschools)
• Suggestions for ways schools can celebrate Earth Day, even though it’s during break. (GS Community)
• Diana Senechal ponders the question, “What do teachers produce?” (Core Knowledge Blog)
• Top students in Denmark are looking to America for advice about how to boost their schools. (Flypaper)
• The plan for Race to the Top 2.0 suggests last year’s losers could get first crack at winning. (Politics K-12)
• Author Alex Kotlowitz urged education journalists to look beyond the classroom for stories. (EWA.org)
• An interview with Jerry Weast, the unique outgoing superintendent in Montgomery County, Md. (WaPo)
• Hyperbole all around in a Diane Ravitch-initiated contest to name new charter schools. (Flypaper)

If Mayor Bloomberg decides to layoff teachers in the next 30 days, how should he do it?

That question was put to four members of a panel on the city’s seniority-based layoff policy that was arranged by Teach for America last night. Most panelists’ answers were predictable and echoed the remarks that have been traded back and forth in the months of debate over layoffs. The representative from the city’s teachers union defended seniority layoffs and said that if the mayor wanted to, he’d find a way to avoid layoffs. The two panelists who work for organizations that advocate against the LIFO system argued for its end.

Principal of the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction Matt Willoughby found himself somewhere in the middle. Layoffs are only a hypothetical threat for him, he said, because his newest teachers have science licenses. Science teachers are in high demand and so the city has chosen to lay off fewer of them than many other types of teachers.

But looking at the system as a whole, Willoughby said the city doesn’t have an evaluation system that’s good enough to use for layoffs. The evaluation system it does have, which Bloomberg wants to use to identify the weakest teachers and then let them go, labels teachers as either “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” ratings. (more…)

With Earth Day just over a week away on April 22, I invited environmental writer and PS 166 parent Emily Fano to share ideas for what schools can do to celebrate. While Earth Day falls during New York City’s school recess this year, schools can still make a difference by taking on one or two of the fun green initiatives Fano describes — from helping birds to shredding paper, there are many options.

Guest post by Emily Alix Fano

April 22 will mark the 41st celebration of Earth Day. This year, “in recognition of the power of millions of individual actions,” Earth Day will be organized around “A Billion Acts of Green®.” The campaign is asking individuals, corporations, and governments to measurably reduce carbon emissions and support sustainability. More than 78 million actions have already been pledged around the world.

Schools are the perfect place to initiate Acts of Green; in fact, pledges are being registered on the campaign’s “Green Schools and Education” page. There’s no shortage of ideas for fun activities that kids, parents and teachers can do to celebrate Earth Day in New York City schools and beyond. Many of these can become permanent programs. Here are just a few ideas.

Host a Communal Paper-Shredding Event: For Earth Day 2010, PS 166 in Manhattan partnered with EcoPlum and CodeShred to host a communal paper-shredding event. Families appreciated being able — around tax season — shred and recycle piles of old documents. The school also joined in and unloaded bins full of old papers that had been clogging storage rooms for years. (more…)

A guest appearance by Mayor Bloomberg in the Department of Education’s weekly email update to principals makes no mention of last week’s biggest news: the firing of Chancellor Cathie Black.

Taking over the space usually occupied by a message from the chancellor, Bloomberg focuses instead — just as he did when he announced Black’s departure last week — on the man he selected to replace Black, Dennis Walcott. In the letter, which accompanied a long list of logistical announcements, Bloomberg summarizes Walcott’s involvement in the city schools and emphasizes that Walcott’s mission is to continue the mayor’s education priorities and policies.

“With every decision we make, Dennis brings to the table his experiences as a teacher, parent, and community leader, as well as his years of experience working closely with you,” Bloomberg writes.

The mayor also slips in praise for principals, some of whom have reported feeling a lack of support while the department has undergone rapid internal changes.

“Our students have no greater champion than Dennis Walcott, and I know that—working with the most talented team of principals in this country—he will help our schools continue the tremendous progress we’ve already made,” Bloomberg writes.

Bloomberg’s full message to principals is below. (more…)

• An investigation has found that one costly DOE tech contractor also owned another one. (Daily News)
• Ex-Chancellor Joel Klein says Cathie Black was the “wrong” choice for chancellor. (NY1, Daily News)
• A committee will decide today if Dennis Walcott should get a waiver to take the job. (Times, Daily News)
• Walcott told lawmakers in Albany that teachers layoffs are all but assured this year. (Post)
• Long Island City families say the city hasn’t planned school seats to keep up with growth. (Daily News)
• State aid will let the DOE restore some cuts from its capital plan. (GothamSchools, Post, AP, Daily News)
• The principal accused of harassing a teacher has now accused the teacher of misconduct. (NY1)
• Some students who receive religious instruction during “released time” made matzo this week. (Times)
• Advocates say mandated revamps of struggling schools probably won’t fix the schools. (Daily News)
• Washington State is on the verge of doing away with “last in, first out” teacher layoffs. (AP)

• Thirteen hours before Mayor Bloomberg told Cathie Black she was fired, he told Joel Klein. (City Room)
• Dennis Walcott schmoozed lawmakers in Albany and got a warm reception. (Daily Politics)
• Liza Campbell: It’s great Black is gone, but mayoral control is unfortunately still here. (GS Community)
• Diane Ravitch: Who is chancellor is not the city’s biggest problem; the mayor’s policies are. (NYRB)
• The chief of staff to Harlem Village Academies’ head Deborah Kenny works in a supply closet. (Flickr)
• Techies are invited to mine school donation data and build new education apps. (DonorsChoose)
• A L.I. editor says New York’s teacher evaluation algorithm doesn’t account for motivation. (L.I. Herald)
• Upper East Side families are worrying about still-in-flux kindergarten wait list numbers. (DNA Info)
• Student Donald is waiting for his Superman; his teacher, maybe a hero himself, has it. (Mr. Foteah)
• Mayor Bloomberg: Ending “last in, first out” layoff rules would be a good step for America. (Daily Beast)
• D.C. chief Kaya Henderson was the first choice to head New Orleans’ schools. (DC Schools Insider)
• A teacher-activist wonders why there are no teachers on a “last in, first out” panel tonight. (Ed Notes)
• John King: too often state education leaders don’t know what great schools look like. (Merriman)

Under Albany’s new budget agreement, New York City’s school capital plan will regain roughly 12,000 seats — a boon to school officials who expected harsher cuts, but a number that does not meet earlier demand estimates.

In November of last year, city officials estimated that they would need to increase earlier seat construction projections in the face of overcrowding in schools. At the time, they planned for 50,074 new seats to be built by 2014, many of them in elementary and middle schools where demand had ballooned.

Then came a proposal from Governor Andrew Cuomo to cap state spending on school construction aid. The plan would have significantly reduced the state’s contribution. To absorb the cut, city officials said they wouldn’t be able to build thousands of the seats they had planned on — a decision that would have affected schools in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Riverdale, Bronx, the most.

But now that Cuomo’s proposal has not been included in the budget agreement, the numbers have changed again. With $1.7 billion more to spend on school construction, the city can now afford to build about 26,500 seats, instead of the roughly 14,000 it had planned on.

City officials said that more information about which neighborhoods would benefit from the seat construction increase, and which would not feel any effect, would be released tomorrow. (more…)