GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Running for: Public advocate
Political Party: Democratic
Former jobs: President of Air America Radio; author; public advocate
Web site: MarkGreen.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

5. Do you support efforts to stop the growth of charter schools?  No

6. Would you preserve school report cards as they are now? No

7. Do you believe test scores should be a factor in determining whether teachers receive tenure? No

8. Do you support the 2009 law giving the mayor control of the public schools? Yes, but there should be more checks and balances limiting the mayor’s power

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

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10. In the last eight years, have the city’s schools improved, stayed the same, or worsened? How?
The decentralized education system was unresponsive because the power to take initiative was not given to those that needed it, and few were held accountable for failures. That more change has occurred in our City’s education system since 2002 than at any point in its history is a testament to mayoral control.

Still it is hard to tell what these changes have actually accomplished. Graduation rates are up 9.9% since 2005. But these numbers appear inflated due to the use of loopholes such as “credit recovery,” post-graduate changes to grades, the issuance of multiple credits for passing the same course and incentives to undercount the number of students who drop out.

State Regents test scores are up as well, but pass rates in the other large cities in the State (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers), which don’t have mayoral control increased by almost as much, or, in the case of Buffalo, more than New York City. Critics claim that the tests have been dumbed down and point out that results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress testing in New York City — a highly regarded federal test to rate schools, dubbed “The Nations Report Card” — shows no improvement or little improvement between 2003 and 2007.

When you put numbers first, you tend to forget that the numbers are supposed to represent actual students. Doing well on a test simply means knowing how to answer a specific set of questions, and can say little about being able to have a successful career and add to the richness of New York City’s culture and economy. And graduation rates could mean simply that more students are let through the back door despite not being able to complete the work.

A truly working education system can be judged by the life lessons passed onto the students and the legitimacy provided to the system by its stakeholders – teachers parents and students. The Department of Education and Joel Klein do not necessarily alone know what is best for the education system. Indeed, a decision that leaves parents or teachers feeling that their voice has been neglected is rarely the right one. We must foster faith by all involved in each other, so that all involved work to improve the system together to provide a better education for our children.

So, as a whole, while I believe that the system is better now under mayoral control, I donot believe that significant progress has yet been made. As Public Advocate I would hope to be a voice for the stakeholders in the system and hold the Department of Education more accountable.

11. Do you support Joel Klein remaining chancellor of the city’s schools? I do not believe that he should be fired, but on the whole, the next mayor in 2010 would be wise to get a new chancellor.

12. What’s an appropriate cap for charter schools, or should they exist at all (the current cap is 200 statewide)? The current cap of 200 charter schools statewide is hindering New York’s ability to receive federal stimulus funds for education initiatives. We should continue with the experiment of charter schools and continue to raise the cap modestly in order to maximize on the flow of federal funds to support New York City educational initiatives.

13. What’s the best way to improve a struggling public school? The best way to improve a struggling school is to invest in reducing class size especially K-3 by expanding capacity or building a new school in the area, reevaluating the principal and possibly replacing him or her and including new programs in the curriculum to engage children such as expanding the arts program and offering more vocational training.

I would also investigate partnering with local businessmen in an “adopt-a-school” type program for the school. Business leaders would work with the principal to improve education, and have the option of raising private funds for things such as scholarships supplies and personnel. A close working relationship with schools would also give students a ground floor to getting a job after graduation or during the summer, and provide internship opportunities during the school year.

In addition, the Department of Education should partner with local parents serving on PTA councils and Community Education Councils, empowering them to help turn the school around. A child’s education starts and ends at home, and the classroom merely colors what they learn. The Department of Education should give parents a reason to be engaged, as engaged parents more than likely means an engaged student.

More new ideas to improve our education system are available as part of “Change for New York: 100 Ideas for a Better City,” available for you to comment on at MarkGreen.com.

14. What’s the single greatest problem facing the city’s schools and what specific policy would you propose to combat it? While our schools face a litany of problems such as a lack of supplies like textbooks as well as dysfunctional and unresponsive programs for special education students, I believe that the number one priority should be reducing class size.

Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein have set a goal of 20 students per class from kindergarten through 3rd grade. But they have failed to achieve this limited goal and largely dismissed the importance of class size, with Bloomberg calling it “an interesting number.” Class size in New York City is 10 to 60 percent higher than neighboring suburbs, and higher than anywhere else in the State. Let’s actually achieve our goal of having no more than 20 students per class, rather than focusing on statistics and minor percentage up ticks in less concrete measures of success. One way of reducing class size without extraordinary capital investment is by splitting overcrowded schools into multiple groups with staggered start and end times so that the early schedule starts and ends two hours earlier than the late schedule. All groups would have an eight hour school day with classes that need more individual attention held in these additional time blocks, when there will be more space available.

This solution would allow the Department of Education to tap into the 2400 teachers without work assignments who remain on payroll, which is has cost the City $200 million in the past three years, to teach the increased number of classes. This models on private schools that provide schedules to more closely fit the schedules of parents. Likewise, this program would allow parents to chose from say, dropping their kids off at 7, 8 or 9 oclock and picking them up at 3, 4, or 5 oclock, providing greater flexibility, reducing unsupervised time for children and reducing crime among youth.

Other new ideas to reduce class size and improve our education system, such as an innovative tax incentive program for developers, are available as part of “Change for New York: 100 Ideas for a Better City,” available for you to comment on at MarkGreen.com.