GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

A month’s more time in the public eye has done nothing to lift Chancellor Cathie Black’s approval rating. The number of New Yorkers who approve of her work remains at 17%, according to a NY1-Marist poll released tonight.

That’s the same place last month’s Quinnipiac poll put Black and a drop from her 21% approval rating measured by Marist last February. And for context, the 17% figure is two percentage points below Governor Paterson’s approval rating at its lowest, a number Marist described as historically low.

Approval for the public school system’s performance overall is higher, but not by very much. Only 38% of respondents said they approved of the school system’s performance, and 20% rated the schools’ performance as poor.

School performance reports divided along racial lines. While 45% of white residents polled by Marist rated the schools highly, only 36% of Latino respondents and 25% of African-Americans did the same.

Approval was higher among households with children who attend public schools. A little more than half, or 53%, said they approve of the system’s performance. (more…)