By YOAV GONEN, Education Reporter
Last updated: 7:30 am
June 26, 2008
Posted: 3:23 am
June 26, 2008
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said it was the best year of his tenure. There were gains in state reading and math scores and incentive programs for teachers, principals and students. Klein touched on these issues, and some controversies, in an exclusive interview with The Post.
Q: You've talked about how smoothly the school year started - did it stay that way?
A: What surprised me was how smooth it was given all the changes we made. Remember, we eliminated the regions, downsized the bureaucracy, downsized central [administration] and brought in all the school support organizations. That's a lot of stuff, if you will, and compared to the first reorganization, there's no question that this was much smoother.
Q: What are some of the highlights of the school year?
A: I think the major highlight of the year is the [test] results. I'm a results guy, and the results were big. Probably the second major thing was the implementation of the accountability system, which I believe is long-term, big and meaningful . . . The charter scores were really dynamite. To have charter schools in the city of New York that are 92 percent African-American and Latino, 80 percent poverty, performing at the same level as the state of New York or even a little better is really a remarkable thing. [And] we got a pay-for-performance deal with the UFT [United Federation of Teachers].
Q: Speaking of charters, there is some opposition growing in District 22 to the Hebrew Charter School that could open there in 2009. Are you concerned at all that it's going to turn into a lightning rod the way [Arabic-themed school] Khalil Gibran did?
A: I hope not. We've done [dual language] schools with such success . . . I think [the Khalil Gibran issue] was a combination of two unfortunate things - a lot of misunderstanding about what Khalil Gibran was about and then a real focus on the principal, the original principal, and I think that created some noise. I hope this Hebrew charter school - which again will be dual language, which has got zero religion to it - will be successful, but I guess we have to stay tuned.
