April 25, 2006
Queens, NY -
A former New York City school board president praised the mayor
and Schools Chancellor Joe Klein for raising the test scores of
children across the nation’s second largest schools system and for
ending social promotion during the Carol Gresser Forum, April 24,
on the St. John’s University campus.
Carol Gresser, now an adjunct professor of education at St. John’s
University, detailed at the semi-annual forum named in her honor,
mayor Bloomberg’s educational initiative, “Children First,” which
includes improving parent involvement; adopting a single, coherent
system-wide approach for instruction in reading, writing, and
mathematics; developing principals as key instructional leaders of
their schools; and the reorganization of the Department of
Education’s management structure.
Assessing the effectiveness of each goal, Gresser questioned the
large number of highly paid administrators at Tweed and the large
number of consultants "milling around the system.”
"It's hard to see how the reorganization saved $250 million and
become leaner," she said.
Gresser, noting that “single-curriculum” has been criticized by
educators as a "tightly scripted program for teaching," said she
hoped that a richer, exciting and more flexible plan be geared
toward individual teaching and learning styles.
"Most troublesome of all is the parents' belief that they have been
systemically disenfranchised and denied meaningful input in
decision-making," said Gresser, who called curriculum development a
"very serious problem."
Gresser gave the mayor and chancellor high marks for “Children
First,” and the bold decision to revamp social promotion.
"I believe students are relieved at getting the help they need,"
she said.
Gresser acknowledged that the use of public funds to establish
charter schools represented another area of controversy where
parents and the chancellor disagree.
"Like our public schools, some of the charter schools will
succeed and some won't,” said Gresser. “It depends on three
essential ingredients. -- strong, talented principals, smart
dedicated teachers, and involved parents."
Gresser said small high schools are a good idea.
"I'm especially excited at the broad range of options that will
be offered to students from the academically selective Brooklyn
Latin to the Academy for Young Writers to the High School for
Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture," she said.
"Andres Jackson High went from a failing school that no one wanted
to attend to four successful schools that have had waiting lists
for admission."
Gresser believes a sensible balance needs to be struck between
“teaching to the tests" and "learning to think,” but insisted
improved scores are cause for optimism.
Gresser commended the mayor for his plan to use a portion of
Campaign for Fiscal Equity funding to expand pre-K to a full-day
program for 4-year-olds and to initiate a half-day program for
3-year-olds.
“Let's help break the cycle of poverty and failure we see in
this city by expanding pre-K,” she said
Gresser also suggested that much of the criticism of the
Bloomberg/Klein administration could be resolved if "in this time
of mid-course correction, the first order of business is to embrace
the workers and consumers, bringing them aboard and making them
partners in the most important quest any of them will ever
undertake."