NYC Schools Chancellor-In-Chief

Oops.  No need for advertising back room deals.

It looks like Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided to take the backseat to the state education commissioner in reaching a deal to appoint his choice for the next chancellor of the NYC schools.  The New York Times coverage of the story over the last few weeks has been exhaustive.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg reached a deal Friday to save the tottering candidacy of Cathleen P. Black to be the next chancellor of New York City schools, agreeing to appoint a career educator who started as a classroom teacher to serve as her second in command.    

As a result, the state education commissioner, David M. Steiner, has agreed to grant Ms. Black, a media executive, the exemption from the normal credentials required by state law for the position, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

So, the next overseer – or better said, CEO – of the nation’s largest school system will be the chairwoman of Hearst Magazines.  Ironically, the man she replaces, Joel Klein is to become an executive vice president of the News Corporation.  If they can ever get his job description down in writing, she will be ably assisted by a second-in-command who might actually know something about education, but could have little if any power.

Nice message Mayor Mike is sending to the American worker bee.  Work hard all your life, and you, too can be supervised by someone who knows nothing about what you do 9 to 5.  But, you can still aspire to be number two in charge, at risk of no one taking you seriously.  Sound familiar? 

In my opinion, the issue of Ms. Black’s exemption for the credential required by New York State law is serious, but not necessarily because she lacks mandated administrative experience in an educational setting, or applicable coursework.  She has never been to graduate school.  And yes, Virginia, you do learn something about education by going to graduate school.  Any graduate school.  In any field.  Learning to think is a good thing.  There is a reason why the teachers who will be under Ms. Black’s supervision need to obtain a Master’s degree during their first five years in the classroom. 

Despite my “big picture” cynicism about this appointment, I am very, very sympathetic to the idea of needing to “think outside the box” to solve problems as complex as those represented in the inadequacy of the NYC school system – especially when remaining inside the box has proven inadequate.  And of course, no one knows what kind of Chancellor Ms. Black will be.  For the sake of the children and families of New York City, I hope she succeeds.  If she does, we will be able to analyze the positive qualities she brought to the job, and attempt to replicate them in future educational leadership.  And if the opposite is the case, we will need to engage in a dialogue far more critical than the one will are spouting now, and move on towards finding the right box to think inside of.