What is the Future of Education Reform in New York City?

Other than Tom Allon, the NYC mayoral contenders cause me GRAVE concern about the future of ed reform in NYC after Bloomberg (but I would have said that when Vincent Gray won in DC, yet reform continues; and at least none of them want to get rid of mayoral control):

None of the likely contenders in the 2013 race for New York City mayor said Monday that they would lobby to scrap mayoral control of the city’s public schools in favor of the system it replaced in 2002: 32 neighborhood school boards with oversight and hiring powers.

But each of those likely to run for City Hall next year offered careful critiques of how they would improve upon the Bloomberg administration’s stewardship of the school system, as they faced off at a candidate’s forum in Upper Manhattan.

The forum, hosted by the Web site GothamSchools.org and Manhattan Media, was an hourlong discussion on a main topic in the election among five likely candidates — all Democrats but one, Tom Allon, Manhattan Media’s president and chief executive, who switched to the Republican Party last month.

There was no outright sparring among the five, but Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, cast perhaps the most critical view of the past decade of school stewardship, saying he saw a lack of progress, particularly in the second and third terms of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. 

Continue reading...