By Barbara Martinez and Michael Howard Saul
(From The Wall Street Journal, November 12th, 2010)
Cathie Black isn’t expected to take the helm of the country’s largest school system until next month, but the battle lines are already forming.
Ms. Black is garnering some leeway from critics of her predecessor even as she faces resistance from other key stakeholders in the city’s sprawling educational bureaucracy.
Zakiyah Nasari, a parent and member of the organization Save Our Schools, says she is giving Ms. Black, the head of Hearst Magazines, the benefit of the doubt. The group–which has adamantly opposed many of the initiatives of Ms. Black’s predecessor, Joel Klein–wants the Department of Education to roll back the use of state tests in school report cards and do more to help those students deemed not proficient, issues that the teachers union agrees with.
Ms. Nasari’s organization, a coalition of community groups that has also fought school closures, was created after new state test scores showed that only 42% of city children are proficient in English and 54% proficient in math.
“We hope Ms. Black will be an ally to move forward and really open a dialogue and include us as key stakeholders in decisions,” Ms. Nasari said.
On Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced Ms. Black’s appointment earlier in the week, defended his decision to select a veteran manager, rather than someone with experience in education.
“This is one of the biggest management jobs in the country,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “You need somebody that really knows how to manage, and this woman does. This is exactly the right person for the job.”
One of Ms. Black’s tasks will be to sit before City Council hearings, which can become contentious.
On Thursday, City Councilman Charles Barron denounced Ms. Black’s selection as schools chancellor on the steps of City Hall. Several council members have said they will oppose the waiver Ms. Black would need from the state education commissioner in order to serve as chancellor.
At the same time, Ms. Black is likely to have an ally in the leader of the council, Speaker Christine Quinn, arguably the second most powerful person in city government after the mayor. Ms. Quinn has been a strong ally of the Bloomberg administration, praising Mr. Klein as an “incredible partner to the council” in efforts to improve middle schools and expand full-day pre-kindergarten.
“But his work is far from over,” Ms. Quinn said of Mr. Klein, “and I look forward to working with Cathie.”
Still, some natural allies of Ms. Black aren’t ready to get too cozy. Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, which was often aligned with Mr. Klein’s policies, said Ms. Black’s first order of business should be to “blow up” the teachers union contract “and start over with one that emphasizes excellent teaching.”
The organization has also helped fund political fights that have been in line with Mr. Klein’s policies.
But Mr. Williams called on Ms. Black to kill a signature Klein policy: the school progress reports that grade schools from A to F. “Either scrap them, or stop telling parents they are tools for them to use,” he said. He contends the reports are confusing and misleading.
“She can send a signal right there that she’s going to be real,” he said.
Mr. Williams said his organization won’t be shy about “pushing” the DOE when it thinks they “aren’t going far enough.”