Though he hasn't officially taken over the spot of Schools Chancellor (and might need a waiver from the state Education Department before he does) soon-to-be Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott continues to speak to parents and politicians about his plans. Though all he really has to do for approval is not be Cathie Black. Walcott said at Downtown Brooklyn's Church of the Open Door. "My style is different from Cathie's, just like Cathie's style was different from Joel's... What I want to dedicate the next 2½ years to is making sure that parents are fully engaged in the lives of their children." But he's gotta get through this lawsuit first! more ›

Now that the city has shaken off the stink surrounding Cathie Black's appointment as Schools Chancellor, new Chancellor Dennis Walcott is in the spotlight. And though he has the necessary experience, some aren't getting their hopes up. "I haven't seen a sign that there would be any changes," Kim Sweet of Advocates for Children told the Daily News. "Although it seems he will be making more of an effort to reach out to parents and communities, I hope that he'll actually listen." more ›

In an adorable photo opportunity yesterday morning, new Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott walked his grandson Justin to school, PS 36 in St. Albans, Queens. Walcott, who also attended PS 36 when he was a boy, told reporters, "I don't want him to be late on my first day." Of course, parents and teachers said they couldn't recall seeing Grandpa Dennis there before, but that's okay, with one dad telling City Room, "It makes me feel good because we’ll probably get some more money for the school." The good times ended because then Walcott had a four-hour meeting with an irritated City Council! more ›

Mayor Bloomberg discussed yesterday's surprising departure of unpopular Schools Chancellor-for-95 days Cathie Black on his radio show this morning, calling her a "phenomenally competent woman" (though he, according to Black's friend, "threw her under the bus"), adding, "I think that anybody who is willing to put themselves in the public arena and tries to help deserves a lot of credit." He also couldn't say exactly what tripped up Black's short tenure, "The real answer here is to say ‘O.K., water over the dam, under the bridge, what are we going to do next?'" Yeah, like, what about the impression that his third term is a damn mess? more ›

After Cathie Black's tumultuous (and ongoing) appointment process for the job of Schools Chancellor and her gaffe-filled first few weeks you'd think the public might be willing to give her a break. But nope. A new NY1-Marist poll shows that there is about as much public love for Black as there reportedly is in her eyes. Just 17 percent of voters think Black is doing an excellent or a good job, down from 21 percent in January. At least there isn't much further down she can go! more ›

Why was there no love for Cathie Black at a town hall meeting at P.S. 165 in Kew Gardens Hills last night? According to attendees, it was mutual! One parent told NY1, "The chancellor did a horrible job. She didn't answer one question. She doesn't care about the children at all. She just cares about numbers and statistics. There's no love in her eyes, there's no love in her heart." Now Joel Klein, there was a man with a compassionate face. more ›

Now that Cathie Black has taken the helm of the city's public school system, parents and politicians want to make sure she's got her priorities straight. One parent wrote in a survey sent by Manhattan BP Scott Stringer about classroom crowding, saying, "You can have a perfect curriculum and a perfect teacher, but if there are 30 kids in the class, then you don't stand a chance of your child actually getting a good education. The kids in my daughter's class can barely all fit on the rug and still see the board." But according to a Cathie Black Twitter account, she is more concerned with "a) Who is Al Shanker and, b) WHY IS HE VISITING ME IN MY DREAMS?!" more ›

And our long Schools Chancellor nightmare is over. Current Chancellor Joel Klein said he would be stepping down in January and, thanks to a court decision yesterday, he will. His replacement? Just as Mike Bloomberg sort-of wanted all along, former Hearst-exec Cathie Black will be wearing the crown. more ›

We're not sure that many people questioned Joel Klein's vow to leave his post as Schools Chancellor to take a job at News Corp., but he apparently needed to clear things up at his final Panel for Educational Policy meeting last night. He said he would be leaving on January 3rd, even if lawsuits block Cathie Black's appointment. He left with the advice, "We need to find better ways to work together, because if in the end we don't succeed in dramatically changing the outcome of our children, I believe we will lose the most important thing that makes America America, which is that education provides the key to the American Dream." Which is probably the Chinese Dream now. more ›

After rumors that Harlem Children's Zone leader Geoffrey Canada was Bloomberg's first pick for Schools Chancellor, Cathie Black seemed a little defensive. But there's nothing to worry about, Black, because Canada thinks you're great. He told the Daily News, "I'm in the minority, but I think it's a tremendous appointment...We have diminishing dollars from city and state budgets, but higher expectations for student performance. The only way to do that is to create partnerships with the business world and the clergy." Speaking of, the NY Archdiocese has its own school problems. more ›

It is safe to say that Mayor Bloomberg's selection of Cathie Black as the next Schools Chancellor has been something of a fiasco. But one thing that hasn't been clear in the past month of Black-bashing is if the former-Hearst executive really is who Bloomie thinks is "exactly the right person for the job" and, whoa, looks like she wasn't the right person. The NY Times today gets through Bloomberg's veil of secrecy to uncover the fact that the mayor first asked Geoffrey Canada, the 58-year-old founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, to take the gig. more ›

Cathie Black may have her waivered to become the new Schools Chancellor but that doesn't mean parents who are angry about it are taking it lying down. Attorneys Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum yesterday filed a lawsuit on their behalf arguing that Education Commissionar David Steiner acted "unlawfully" when he waived her. more ›

When Cathie Black was first introduced to the city, one of the most obvious signs of her lack of city school knowledge was that her own children attended a private boarding school in Connecticut. But when asked whether she would put her kids in a public school today, she favored honesty instead of the obligatory pro-public schools soundbite, saying, "I don't know what we would be doing. I would love to look at all of the schools. It's about choice for parents." How lovely it would be if everyone had the option to spend $30,000 a year on high school. more ›

Last night, soon to be Chief Academic Officer Shael Polakow-Suransky spoke to Staten Island education leaders about his new job. Unfortunately, he didn't seem 100% sure on exactly what it is. "We're going to start Jan. 1, so we have some time to work those things out," he said. However, he does know that whatever he ends up doing, Schools Chancellor Cathie Black will be in charge, and declared, "I am very clear and she's very clear: She's the boss." more ›

After being criticized by the press for, among other things, not being available for interviews, the new Schools Chancellor finally sat down with ABC 7 to discuss her new job. And among the first questions was, "What makes you feel you're qualified?" Try not to punch anything, but Black said, "We're all human beings. It is about people." She then goes on to talk about "tough times," being open to new ideas, and making tough but informed decisions. Check out the interview below: more ›

Yesterday evening, after a drawn out decision-making process full of panels, waivers and lawsuit threats, state Education Commissioner David Steiner approved a waiver that allows Cathie Black to serve as city Schools Chancellor, with Shael Polakow-Suransky serving as the city's first chief academic officer. And in case you question his judgment, he has taken the time to explain why he thinks Black is right for the job. more ›

It is done: After an agreement that there would be a second-in-command with actual education experience, the state Education Department has granted Mayor Bloomberg's pick Cathie Black a waiver to take over as the Schools Chancellor of the largest public school system in the country. The publishing executive has been a controversial choice but State Education Commissioner David Steiner wrote, "It is my judgment that, when viewed in its entirety, Ms. Black's training, background and experience are substantially equivilent to the certification requirements set forth in law." more ›

Now that Mayor Bloomberg has accepted state Education Commissioner David Steiner's suggestion that city Schools Chancellor appointee Cathie Black serve with a second-in-command more familiar with the education system, there seems to be nothing keeping him from granting the waiver that would allow her to serve. Except for those possible restraining orders. Steiner is expected to grant the waiver as early as today, but now more opponents are threatening legal action if she is granted the position. more ›

With the announcement that Bloomberg's Schools Chancellor choice Cathie Black would serve with a second-in-command with extensive education experience, one would think that the controversy over her appointment would slowly roll to a stop. But no. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and other city pols say they will file a temporary restraining order to Block her appointment, which Jeffries said state Education Commissioner David Steiner didn't want to approve anyway. "Commissioner Steiner appears to have made this decision in the back room with Mayor Bloomberg whispering in his ear. By all accounts he was not comfortable with the appointment of Cathie Black, but he appeared to bow from immense pressure from City Hall and the mayor's rich and powerful friends to strike a compromise that is not in the best interest of our children." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg and the rest of New York state have reached a compromise about what to do with Cathie Black, and it looks like they got their advice from The Office. Like Jim Halpert and Michael Scott before them, Black will serve as Chancellor with city DOE worker Shael Polakow-Suransky serving as somewhat of a co-manager. This leaves Black to take care of all that "bigger picture" stuff while Polakow-Suransky, who is currently the DOE's Deputy Chancellor for Performance and Accountability, will probably take care of everything actually having to do with the schools. more ›

In the wake of a state panel recommending against granting a waiver to allow Cathie Black to become NYC Schools Chancellor, the NY Times reports that Mayor Bloomberg's administration tried—in secret— to seek a compromise with the state: "State officials proposed that City Hall consider the second appointment to settle concerns about Ms. Black’s lack of experience in education, these people said Wednesday. But talks fell apart by Tuesday, and that afternoon David M. Steiner, the education commissioner, hardened the state’s position by saying publicly that he was disinclined to approve Ms. Black unless she had an official with education experience to help her run the system." more ›

MyFoxNY reports, "A state education panel has recommended that Cathie Black not be granted a waiver by the state to become the next New York City schools chancellor... Four members of the panel voted no, two voted yes, and two were undecided." Black, the Hearst publishing executive, is Mayor Bloomberg's controversial choice to head the country's biggest public school system, and a waiver is required because she doesn't have education credentials. MyFoxNY adds, "State Education Commissioner David Steiner said he would take the vote, which is non-binding, into consideration." Also, Bloomberg thinks credentials are overrated! more ›

A group of angry parents, teachers and concerned citizens plan to file a 15,000-signature petition to state Education Commissioner David Steiner today urging him to deny a waiver that would allow Mayor Bloomberg's appointee for new Schools Chancellor, Cathie Black, to assume the position. Steiner has set up an advisory panel (which has been met with its own share of criticism) to review the waiver, but many say Black is completely unqualified to run the nation's largest school system. One parent told NBC 4, "there's really a phenomenon out there of general outrage at this nomination." But do you know who's not outraged (at the nomination)? Gloria Steinem. more ›

Amidst the drama over Mayor Bloomberg's appointment of Hearst Magazines head Cathie Black as the new Schools Chancellor, former (or, still current) Chancellor Joel Klein has remained pretty quiet. Other than thanking Bloomberg for giving him the "best job of my life," and that he decided two terms was enough, he hasn't given much of a statement about just how sudden his resignation was. And now sources tell the Daily News that it may be because Bloomberg had grown "disenchanted" with Klein. "Joel is very astute when it comes to relationships. He saw what was happening," said one source. "He wants to make some money and take on a new challenge. It made sense for him to go when he did." more ›

Yesterday, State Education Commissioner David Steiner appointed an eight-member advisory panel to review a waiver that would allow Hearst Magazines head Cathie Black to become the city's new Schools Chancellor despite her lack of educational experience. But Bloomberg sent the panel a warning, saying that if they didn't appoint Black they will literally not be able to find anyone else to do the job. Anywhere. Forever. He asked, "How would you get somebody else? I don't know what you'd do if you didn't [get the waiver]...I don't know why anybody would come if you didn't do this." Yes, why would any educator apply now that they know Bloomberg is looking for business moguls? more ›

After a week of silence on her end and mounting criticism from around the city, Bloomberg's pick for next Schools Chancellor finally spoke out. And it was kind of creepy. Cathie Black still needs state Department of Education Commissioner David Steiner to green light her appointment, since she has no education experience. But after meeting with Department of Education Cabinet members, she told reporters, "I will be the next chancellor." No word on if she accompanied that statement with the Jedi mind trick hand wave. more ›

More people are asking state Education Commissioner David Steiner to deny a waiver that would allow Cathie Black to officially become the city's new Schools Chancellor, despite her lack of education experience. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer announced in a statement, "At 5:30 p.m.today, Borough President Scott M. Stringer will stand with Manhattan PEP appointee Patrick Sullivan to announce a resolution demanding that the Panel for Educational Policy be given the opportunity to consider the issuance of a proposed waiver to chancellor-designate Cathleen Black." The city Legislature's black, Latino and Asian caucus is on the case as well. more ›

A lot of people have been complaining about new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black and her lack of experience in education, but now a school board member is actually trying to do something about it. Mayor Bloomberg plans to submit a waiver request to the New York State Department of Education because Black has no education experience, and Panel for Educational Policy member Patrick Sullivan is asking the state DOE to deny Bloomberg's requests. He wrote that her appointment was "simple cronyism," and believes the panel should review her case. Civil Rights lawyer Norman Siegel said, “Today we begin a people's campaign to say no, no to the waiver for Cathleen Black." more ›