GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

I was walking out the door of a meeting with a parent when I mentioned I had to run out and buy some balloons. “Oh, whose birthday is it?” the parent asked.

“Oh, no, they’re actually for a science experiment,” I explained.

Later, walking up the stairs and blowing balloons at the same time, our conflict resolution teacher saw me and remarked, “Nice! Science experiment?”

I was struck by the contrast between my colleague’s reaction and the parent’s response. But when you spend time inside a school, you see the world through an entirely different lens.

Most people see balloons and think a party. Teachers see balloons and think a science experiment. Most people see a cardboard box and think trash; teachers think art materials. Most people see an adorable eight-year-old; we see a challenge. (more…)

The city’s official request that Dennis Walcott be allowed to become schools chancellor even though he doesn’t meet all of the state’s requirements is now in Albany. Bloomberg sent the waiver request letter to outgoing State Education Commissioner David Steiner last night, city officials said.

Until the waiver is approved, Chief Academic Officer Shael Polakow-Suransky is legally the city’s chancellor, according to city officials.

State law requires district leaders to fulfill a host of requirements, including holding a superintendent’s license, which Walcott does not have. But the law also allows state officials to grant exceptions to the requirements for prospective district leaders who have “exceptional training and experience” in education.

Bloomberg’s letter to Steiner emphasizes Walcott’s training and experience. The deputy mayor has a master’s degree in education and significant experience in city education policy, as well as a year and half of experience as a kindergarten teacher in the mid-1970s. Former Schools Chancellor Joel Klein received a waiver based, in part, on teaching experience that was shorter. Steiner approved a waiver for ex-Chancellor Cathie Black only after she agreed to make Polakow-Suransky, a longtime teacher and principal, her second-in-command.

Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch told GothamSchools yesterday that the state had not yet received a waiver request for Walcott, but that she had promised Bloomberg quick approval once it did. (more…)

Chancellor succession news:

• After 3 months as NYC’s schools chancellor, Cathie Black was fired yesterday. (GS, NY1, DN, Post, WSJ)
• For the last nine years, Dennis Walcott has been City Hall’s liaison to the school system. (Times)
• When former Chancellor Joel Klein’s policies angered people, Walcott tried to calm them. (WSJ)
• Friends say Cathie Black was “very disappointed,” when Bloomberg asked her to resign. (Times)
• Black says she’s “fine” with her removal and spent the afternoon shoe shopping. (Daily News)
• Black’s ouster is an embarrassing reversal for Bloomberg and a sign of a shaky third term. (Times, WSJ)
• Bloomberg blames himself for the Black debacle, but it’s unclear what he’s learned from it. (Daily News)
• From the beginning, Black’s appointment was marred by a string of gaffes. (Daily News)
• Now that she’s out as schools chief, Black could return to the media world. (Post)
• The Times calls Walcott a “sensible, solid choice” to rebuild the Department of Education.
• DOE critics and fans have greeted Walcott’s appointment with initial approval. (NY1, DN, Post)
• Room for Debate asks why being Black’s corporate skills weren’t enough to run the DOE. (Times)
• When students challenged his waffle-making skills, Walcott offered to prove himself. (Daily News)
• The Post wishes schools could fire teachers as easily as Bloomberg fired Black.
• “Managerial fetishism” may have led the mayor to think Black could run the DOE. (Post)

Commissioner succession bulletin:

• NYS Education Commissioner David Steiner will leave the post in August. (GS, DN)
• John King, Steiner’s second in command, is a leading contender for the job. (WSJ)
• The Post says Steiner’s greatest accomplishment was revealing the tests to be too easy.

Other news:

• NJ Gov. Chris Christie says he wants a peer-evaluation plan for teachers. (Post)
• A Brooklyn special ed teacher was arrested for injuring a 10-year-old student. (NY1, Post)
• A Bronx teacher was arrested yesterday for showing lewd pictures to students. (NY1)
• Two students were hospitalized after another student doused their classroom in pepper spray. (Post)
• The teacher who threatened a Columbine-like attack said she didn’t think before she spoke. (Post)
• An appeals judge upheld a former teacher’s sodomy conviction. (Post)

• The brief tenure of Cathie Black is a self-inflicted blow to the ed reform movement. (New Republic)
• It’s also one of the movement’s rare setbacks, according to an observer in England. (Guardian UK)
• Elizabeth told the Brian Lehrer Show that Black’s departure seemed engineered by City Hall. (WNYC)
• And Anna emphasizes that Walcott’s job is to push the message, “Keep calm and carry on.” (Capital NY)
• A short history of Black’s gaffes, from her infamous birth control joke to mocking parents. (Daily Politics)
• Clara Hemphill calls Walcott “a City Hall insider who has credibility with parents.” (Insideschools)
• A Daily News editorial board member says Black “never got her sea legs.” (Josh Greenman)
• Watch UFT President Michael Mulgrew field questions from reporters about Black’s departure. (UFT.org)
• Mike Petrilli would like you to note he predicted a pre-Easter departure for Black months ago. (Flypaper)
• NY1′s Lindsey Christ stalked Black at home and reports Black plans to take up running. (Twitter)
• Back in Feb., a Francis Lewis HS student wrote she was glad Black had Walcott’s help. (The Youth Press)

In other news:

• Assemblyman Micah Kellner wants more transparency on the need for teacher layoffs. (Our Town)
• The monthly Teachers Investment Fund meeting was webcast for the first time. (Comptroller.nyc.gov)
• Student-athletes aren’t the only college students who struggle to graduate. (School of Thought)
• Together, teachers in Queens and Wisconsin are bringing Wisconsin to their students. (Mr. Foteah)
• Teach For America’s newest region is Appalachia. (TFA.org)

John White, deputy chancellor in New York City, is leaving to New Orleans.

While Mayor Bloomberg was on the brink of announcing Cathie Black’s departure last night, a deputy chancellor of the New York City Department of Education was boarding a plane — to New Orleans, where tomorrow he will be named superintendent of the Recovery School District.

White’s appointment to lead one of the most-watched education improvement efforts in the country has fallen under the radar in this whirlwind day of education leadership changes in New York. But the move is important: it means one fewer leader at Tweed Courthouse during a transition and a major promotion for White.

White also said the Innovation Zone project he runs in New York would continue. “The work in New York goes on,” he said less than half a day before Black would resign.

He also called New Orleans “the most exciting place for education reform in the country.” ”It’s because of what I’ve learned as an educator and an administrator in New York schools that I have faith about taking what I learned and going elsewhere,” he said. (more…)

David Steiner. Photo courtesy of State Education Department.

Yet another top education official is making plans to vacate his position — this time at the State Education Department.

SED Commissioner David Steiner will leave the department at the end of the school year, he announced today.

Steiner appears to be leaving entirely of his own accord. People close to him described him as less interested in the “nuts and bolts” work of implementing the vision he helped the state set out for education. They said that Steiner, a former education school dean, is considering returning to the quieter and less political territory of academia.

The news outdid Mayor Bloomberg’s announcement this morning that his deputy mayor, Dennis Walcott, will replace Chancellor Cathie Black — at least in the department of rattling surprises. Even Steiner himself did not know that he would be announcing his departure today, according to people close to him.

“The only reason the announcement came today is because there clearly were rumors, and then after the Susan Arbetter show, and she raised those rumors, it felt like we needed to address them because we didn’t want to have rumors continue to percolate and circulate over the next few days,” a source at the state education department said.

Asked about rumors that Steiner might resign on that show, Capital Pressroom, Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said that Steiner was “exploring other options” after less than two years in Albany. Tisch appeared on the show to discuss teacher evaluations but also addressed the resignation of Cathie Black as New York City schools chancellor.

Steiner became commissioner in July 2009, replacing 14-year veteran Richard Mills. Steiner had been chair of the School of Education at Hunter College, where he pioneered the practice of videotaping teachers as they worked and then critiquing their performance.

Improving teacher evaluation emerged as one of the main themes of Steiner’s tenure as commissioner, with the state reaching an agreement with teachers unions on a plan to change how teachers are assessed. That plan has yet to go into action because it requires individual school districts to develop their own assessments and have those assessments approved by local unions. Recommended guidelines for the local assessments were released only this week.

“With the anticipated approval of a final teacher evaluation program in the coming months, I have informed Chancellor Tisch and members of the Board of Regents that I intend to leave the State Education Department later this year,” Steiner said this afternoon in a statement. “Together we will begin to plan for a seamless transition.”

People close to Steiner said he had grown disinterested in the job of commissioner. (more…)

Reporter Kim Gittleson is inside City Hall for Mayor Bloomberg’s press conference to announce the surprise departure of Schools Chancellor Cathie Black and the appointment of Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott to replace her. Our coverage of the leadership change will go on all afternoon.

2:30 p.m. Walcott’s appearance at Tweed Courthouse has come to a close and so, too, will our live-blog. We’ll have continued coverage of the Department of Education’s leadership changes later today.

2:20 p.m. Walcott joked that he had worn a “Walcott path” between City Hall and Department of Education headquarters that he’ll now have to travel in reverse — and that he wants to start right away. “The passion of my soul is committed to the children of New York City,” he said.

Walcott said he already spoke to UFT President Michael Mulgrew by phone and left a message for principals union president Ernest Logan this morning. Next, he’ll turn his attention to advocating in Albany for city schools funding, he said.

Walcott would not say when Bloomberg first contacted him about taking the job. Asked if he was surprised to have been offered it, Walcott said, “I’m always surprised. I never take things for granted.”

On the question of whether the city’s school priorities would change, Walcott said, “We have a collective responsibility to continue reforms we’ve been implementing over the last nine years. … Policies will be basically the same.” He specified that he would not revisit school closure decisions also said, “I’m a believer in all types of schools,” including charter schools.

“I serve at the pleasure of the mayor,” he emphasized.

Summing up the day, Walcott told assembled education department staff members and reporters, “I”m a happy camper.” (more…)

After a rocky 100 days as chancellor, Cathie Black is leaving the job today, Mayor Bloomberg is set to announce in minutes at a press conference at City Hall.

Black is being replaced by Dennis Walcott, a deputy mayor who has long played a prominent role in education issues. At Black’s public appearances during most of her brief tenure as chancellor, Walcott could almost always be found at her side, managing her interactions with the press and others. Walcott is a graduate of the city’s public schools.

The leadership change came as a surprise as Bloomberg had as recently as yesterday defended Black against low public opinion. But the departure of two top deputies this week dealt a crucial blow to her leadership.

A Marist poll earlier this week found that just 17 percent of New Yorkers approved of Black’s job performance. The lowest approval rating ever posted by her predecessor, Joel Klein, who announced his resignation in November, was 33 percent. A different poll last month found that 27 percent of New Yorkers approved of Bloomberg’s school policies, down from 54 percent 18 months earlier.

It would be reasonable for Schools Chancellor Cathie Black to be alarmed by the rapid exodus of the Department of Education’s top deputies.

After all, when her predecessor Joel Klein handed over the reins last November, he declared, “I also am comfortable in saying I’m leaving you the best team ever assembled in education.” Mayor Bloomberg also emphasized that he was confident that Black could get past her lack of education experience by leaning on her deputies.

Now four of those deputies have left or are about to. John White, deputy chancellor for talent, labor, and innovation, is set to be named superintendent of schools in New Orleans. Santiago Taveras, deputy chancellor for community engagement, left earlier this week for the private sector. Eric Nadelstern, a top educator who had been with the department for nearly 40 years, retired abruptly n January. And Photeine Anagnastopoulos, the department’s finance guru, tendered her resignation the day after Klein’s.

But Klein said earlier this week that he is not worried about Black’s ability to recruit new talent to the department. In fact, he said, the exodus could be a boon for Black, if she sells it right. “The message is come to New York and you’ll be on your way to a superintendency,” he said. (more…)