GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Running for: City Council, District 8, Manhattan

Political Party: Democratic

Previous job: East Harlem community activist

Web site: GwenGoodwin.com

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1. Have you been endorsed by the United Federation of Teachers? No

2. Have you received campaign contributions from the following education-related political action committees?

Democrats for Education Reform No
United Federation of Teachers No
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators No
New York Education Voters No
Educational Justice PAC No

3. Do you have children in the public school system? No

4. Do you support programs like Teaching Fellows and Teach for America? Yes, with reservations

5. Do you support efforts to stop the growth of charter schools? No, I do not think we can function effectively with a two tier school system. I believe all public schools should be achieving at the level or above charter schools.

6. Would you preserve school report cards as they are now? Yes

7. Do you believe test scores should be a factor in determining whether teachers receive tenure? Yes, with reservations

8. Do you support the 2009 law giving the mayor control of the public schools? No, I would like to return to a Board of Education model

9. What letter grade would you give your district’s public schools right now? C

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10. In the last eight years, have your district’s schools improved, stayed the same, or worsened? How? Uneven progress and regress. P.S. 109, partly demolished, remains shut down, adding to overcrowding problems.

11. Do you support Joel Klein remaining chancellor of the city’s schools? No If not, who would you suggest to replace him? A search committee should develop candidates.

12. What’s an appropriate cap for charter schools, or should they exist at all (the current cap is 200 statewide)? The cap should be zero.

13. What’s the best way to improve a struggling public school? Better equipment and less overcrowding. Restore Music, science, art and gym complexes, rather than pave them over with home-room seats, in order to deny overcrowding. Involve parents more, where possible. Work with parents to improve atmosphere for quality sleep time, and otherwise strive to eliminate excessive noise and distractions. Also work with parents to improve nutrition.

14. What’s the single greatest problem facing your district’s schools and what specific policy would you propose to combat it? Overcrowding and lax attitude about quality learning, particularly in fostering creativity, as well as rote learning.