Veteran of City Hall Finds Meaning Among Kindergartners

 

Speaking of warriors for kids, few rival Eva Moskowitz, who was hired by my friends Joel Greenblatt and John Petry to start the Harlem Success Charter School -- and then roll out 40 more.

Ms. Moskowitz, the intractable former history professor who often bumped heads with the city teachers union and the Bloomberg administration, left politics after a failed run to be president of Manhattan. With extra funding from two hedge fund executives, one who helped turned around P.S. 65 in Queens, Ms. Moskowitz started the Harlem Success Charter School this year, setting out to practice what she preached during her frequent clashes with the chancellor, the mayor, and the union...

Some amazing results already!

...Optimism seems to be the best word to describe student achievement at Harlem Success so far, according to the school's self-reported preliminary assessments. For literacy and math, the regimented Success For All curriculum includes regular assessments every few weeks. According to the school, 45% of first-graders, most of them from the surrounding neighborhoods, began the year reading at grade level. Now, 83% are reading at or above grade level.

Veteran of City Hall Finds Meaning Among Kindergartners

By SARAH GARLAND
Staff Reporter of the Sun
December 21, 2006

http://www.nysun.com/article/45528

The red carpeting, vaulted ceilings, and long-winded testimonies that characterize City Hall are things of the past for Eva Moskowitz, a former City Council Education Committee chairwoman. These days, she spends her time surrounded by bulletin boards covered by drawings, listening to the chatter of bouncy kindergartners at her new charter school in Harlem.

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