A Progressive Chancellor to End The Tale of Two Cities in Education

Job Description for Chancellor and Interim Board of Education !PEP" for New York City
November 2013 A fundamental change of direction and leadership for New York Citys public school system is long overdue. The business model favored by Mayor Bloomberg has undermined public confidence in this essential institution of democracy and greatly exacerbated racial and class inequities. Business elites are running the school system for other peoples children, often for their own anti!democratic political and privatization agendas. The effect has been devastating. Students, even elementary school students, are stressed and bored by the testing regimen; parents are worried and confused by constant changes and choices that are equally unsatisfactory; educators are demoralized by these constant changes and the little support they receive; and communities are seeing their neighborhood anchors being taken over by outside groups and their youngsters scattered elsewhere. The mayor elect of our city needs to begin a new era for public education modeled along progressive lines in both process and substance. Until the present laws governing education in NYC expire in a litlle more than a year "June 2015#, Mayor DeBlasio maintains complete authority to implement change; first with the selection of the chancellor, as well as an interim Board of Education "remedying the present Panel for Educational Policy#.

The Independent Commission on Public Education is calling for a progressive chancellor to become the very first, Human Rights in Education leader for the City of New York. All eyes in the nation will be upon the selection of the next individual seated at the helm of the largest public education system in America.
The process of selecting the next schools chancellor and mayoral appointees to the Board of Education should be public, transparent, and inclusive. Selecting the new schools chancellor and members of an interim Board of Education are vital opportunities to restore public trust in the city's concern for our children and their futures. Thus, the mayor's transition team should hold two hearings; the first is needed in order to gather public input concerning a short list of individuals' names who they regard as representative and having experience for these important education posts; and the second hearing to provide public feedback on those selected for the short list$ prior to the mayor making a formal announcement of who he has decided upon. iCOPE has developed these ideas over time with months of discussion with grassroots allies, and formally presents the following:

Job Description for Chancellor and Interim Board of Education !PEP" for New York City
Leaders of the public education system should exemplify the highest ethical standard and should hold themselves accountable to the public they serve. The Schools Chancellor for New York City should desire to model a human rights in education framework, and be a champion of civil rights. They must have a firm understanding and progressive vision of public education. This person should have many years of successful experience as a teacher, principal, and superintendent of a major urban school district.

A Progressive Vision of Public Education

These new leaders of the city education system should be able to articulate a vision of public education that: Supports its fundamental role in a democratic society to both educate and model democratic behaviors and which demonstrates opposition to corporate education reform including privatization, high stakes testing, school closings, charter schools, and top down decision!making.
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Supports schools as neighborhood anchors which can serve as centers for learning including adult education, culture, and recreation for all ages.
2. 3.

Values education as a fundamental human right and implementing educational policies and practices in accordance with human rights principles and policies indicated throughout this document.

Experience and Track Record in Urban Education

The schools chancellor and members of the Interim Board of Education should have track records in urban education that demonstrate: 1. Knowledge of and support for curriculum and pedagogy that develop children in a holistic manner: their skills, aesthetic sensibilities, and intellects, their social & emotional growth, their mental and physical wellbeing, and their emerging civic responsibilities in addition to being child!centered and culturally relevant. 2. Recognition that the students from impoverished communities have been denied much of the richness of the early childhood and pre!school training that their more affluent fellow students have had; and that it is the obligation of the school community to remedy this situation by providing a multitude of supplemental academic support and partner with other city agencies to provide wraparound social services in compensation. 3. Commitment to second language acquisition as part of childrens basic education and which supports development of the childrens mother tongue "dialect and heritage# while developing the second language.

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4. Aligning special education programs towards meeting the cognitive and neurological needs of children and away from social control in service of the school! to!prison pipeline. 5. Working closely with those most affected by decisions made at the school and district levels to develop educational programs and policies responsive to their needs and values and support for mechanisms for meaningful participation in the educational decision!making process by teachers, parents, students and local communities so those most affected by decisions have the strongest voice and sufficient information. 6. Commitment to the use of portfolios and projects to assess student learning where appropriate to the integrity of the subject matter and student learning style. 7. Use of successful initiatives to end the School to Prison Pipeline with positive discipline / intervention practices that include restorative justice rather than a punitive justice/character building. Implementation of successful initiatives to close the resource and achievement gap and to design educational equity into the school system.
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Instituting high quality professional development for teachers and developing programs for high quality classroom life for students and teachers alike as both are key factors in student academic and social growth.
9.

Leadership and Advocacy

The new leaders of New York Citys education system should be advocates for:
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Major increases in school funding so class size can be smaller, support services can meet student needs % especially for ELL and special education students, students with disabilities, and appropriate educational resources can be made available. Restructuring the New York City school system in accordance with human rights standards of participation and to maximize the school systems effectiveness with other local bodies like the 59 Community Planning Boards $!%&'()!*+,,-.(%/! 0')1(*'!*+-.*(20!%+!*+..'*%!0*&++20!%+!+%&')!*(%/! 34'.*('0.
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Working with local colleges and universities committed to this progressive vision of education to greatly improve the professionalism of teacher preparation and support for prospective and beginning teachers, with an emphasis on recruiting and supporting teacher candidates early on in their K ! 12 programs who reflect the diversity of New York City neighborhoods.
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4. Taking responsibility for school safety away from the NYPD and returning it to school communities as a whole. 5. ! Providing inclusive and comprehensive Early Childhood Education. #!

Re!establishing career and technical education for all high school students, to offer Career and Technical Education, "CTE# pathways for students choosing to enter the trades, and to encourage the entry of young women into non!traditional employment as well as maintain the Arts, Sports and After!School programs.
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7. Ending no bid contracts and making more accessible the competitive contracting and bidding process to small businesses, especially those whose owners are Black, Hispanic/Latino, women, and/or community!based. 8. Downsizing of top!heavy Networks/Clusters that drain the budgets of small schools or schools that are potentially 'phased out' and the elimination of the ATR excessed pool "former rubber rooms#.

The Independent Commission on Public Education www.icope.org Endorsers !list in formation" Coalition for Public Education / Coalicin por la Educacin Pblica !CPE/CEP" http://www.forpubliced.org Black New Yorkers For Educational Excellence !BYNEE" www.bnyee.org The Mothers Agenda NY !aka The MANY" 66676'3)'%&',3./7+)4!! If you or your organization are interested in signing onto this document as an endorser, please call or write to iCOPE: Phone: 718!499!3756 Email: icope@mail.com

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