Children First
Mayor Bloomberg's (R - NY) plan to redesign the city's school districts is being met with opposition by Brooklyn’s District 14 President, Juan Martínez. The new structure was announced at the New York Urban League’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. symposium. The restructuring is in an effort to create 1,200 “great” schools for New York’s 1.1 million public school children.
The reorganization is expected to provide principals and teachers with the tools and support necessary to effectively reach their classrooms. Martínez questions how will a system that is already inadequately funded going to provide for all of NYC’s children. New York State school children comprise 37% living in New York City, yet the city receives only 34% of all state funding. “ “Two white males will dictate a one-size-fits-all solution to the public educational system’s problems,” warns Martínez. “A centralized system will only make it business-like, something that should be avoided when dealing with children, as it will take away the independent voice. With a decentralized system, however, every voice will have the ability to express problems and concerns.” warns Martínez. “A centralized system will only make it business-like, something that should be avoided when dealing with children, as it will take away the independent voice. With a decentralized system, however, every voice will have the ability to express problems and concerns.” Martínez feels greater access to technology is needed for all the public school children, not just those fortunate to live in the wealthier districts. With the new plan the question of parental involvement, an important component to healthy schools, also remains to be seen.
In the new plan, the current 40 school district offices will be streamlined and consolidated into 10 Instructional Divisions. The divisions will be headed by 10 highly qualified Regional Superin-tendents, who will work under the supervision of Chancellor Joel I. Klein. The Regional Superinten-dents will be primarily based in the Department of Education Headquarters, and will also have offices in 10 Learning Support Centers. Schools will work collaboratively in groups of 10 or 12 under the leadership of a local instructional supervisor who will report directly to a Regional Superintendent. The new system will be introduced in the Fall of 2003.
