GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

After nearly 40 years working in New York City schools, Deputy Chancellor Eric Nadelstern is retiring.

As a top aide to former Chancellor Joel Klein, Nadelstern was the architect of many of the city’s key initiatives, including the move to give principals greater freedom to run their schools as long as the schools met the city’s performance standards.

Nadelstern is the Department of Education’s most senior educator in an administration that has often been criticized for being filled with officials who lack experience in schools. He began teaching in 1972 at Dewitt Clinton High School, the high school from which he graduated, and has since worked at almost every level of the city’s education system.

Speculation that Nadelstern might leave the DOE has been mounting since Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he was replacing Klein with Hearst publishing executive Cathie Black. Nadelstern had been often suggested as a potential successor to Klein, and many observers thought he would be an obvious choice for the new Chief Academic Officer position created to secure Black’s appointment. That position went to a younger Klein deputy, Shael Polakow-Suransky.

It’s unclear why Nadelstern is leaving mid-year. In December, Nadelstern told a group of school network leaders that he planned to stay “at least through June,” which prompted speculation that he would leave at the end of the school year. (more…)

(Photo courtesy Chartock)

The executive director of the State University of New York’s charter authorizer, Jonas Chartock, is leaving to lead a New Orleans-based teacher training program as it expands around the country, SUNY officials announced today.

Beginning in January, Chartock will head up the “Leading Educators” project. The group currently runs a professional development program in New Orleans aimed at keeping strong teachers in the classroom by grooming them for leadership positions that don’t take them away from students.

UPDATE: Chartock just weighed in with more details on the program. He will be charged with expanding the program around the United States, though he said that the group hasn’t yet finalized the first school districts and charter school chains where the program will initially grow. The national expansion won’t necessarily mean replicating the New Orleans program exactly as it is now, Chartock said, and part of his job will be to adapt the model for teachers in other school systems.

The program in New Orleans is currently part of New Leaders for New Schools, the Manhattan-based group whose co-founder, Jon Schnur, served as an advisor to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, but will become an independent non-profit, Chartock said. The “Leading Educators” program is modeled after a similar teacher training program launched in the United Kingdom by Jay Altman, who now runs a charter network in New Orleans. (more…)

Well, that was fast. It hasn’t been two weeks since the Department of Education said goodbye to its press secretary and now it’s about to wish another member of the truth squad farewell.

Much like a retired teacher, press deputy Danny Kanner is headed to Florida. After eight months in Tweed, he’s leaving to become Governor Charlie Crist’s spokesman in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat. Kanner won’t be straying too far from education issues, as they’ve already become a major part of Crist’s campaign.

In April, Crist made headlines when he decided to veto a bill that would have given teachers one-year contracts, effectively eliminating tenure. Though popular with Republican leadership — Crist’s party at the time — the bill outraged teachers and their unions.

Kanner’s departure could give new press secretary Natalie Ravitz an opportunity to shape the press office, though Ravitz said it was “to be determined” whether Kanner will be replaced. Other positions, such as for a Spanish-speaking press officer, have gone unfilled.

David Cantor, head of the Department of Education's press juggernaut, is leaving. (Courtesy of Cantor.)

After five years of taking our phone calls and returning most of them, Department of Education Press Secretary David Cantor is moving on.

He had the job longer than any of his predecessors, overseeing both periods of high-frequency press outreach and long droughts of stay-the-course defense.

His departure will make it even harder for reporters to extract information out of an opaque organization, especially considering he’s leaving behind an office full of recent hires. It will also finally allow him to escape from complaints — sure to return given the dismal budget climate — that the school system spends too much money staffing its press office.

Cantor is going over to Widmeyer Communications, where he’ll remain on the education beat as the senior vice president in charge of PreK-12 education, arts, and philanthropy. Widmeyer was founded by Scott Widmeyer, an operator in the education world who cut his teeth working for teachers union president Al Shanker. But it does work for the non-union side of things, too, including the Gates Foundation and Pearson.

Cantor sent over this statement: (more…)

Melody Meyer

Here on the education beat, it’s impossible to avoid getting to know the folks in the Department of Education’s press office. And even though we’d rather skip the press office when we’re seeking information, we have to admit that the truth squad includes some pretty cool people. 

One of them is Melody Meyer, who is leaving the DOE today after two three! years as a deputy communications officer. Starting next week she’ll be heading communications for the Global Impact Investing Network, a socially responsible investment project that launched at last week’s Clinton Global Initiative meeting. Department officials say they’re looking to replace Meyer, but no one’s been lined up yet.

A few things you wouldn’t know about Meyer from her quotes about charter schools, new schools, and other topics: She was the longest holdout among press officers to join Facebook, but you can find her there now. (more…)