New York City (followed closely by New Orleans) is my favorite city for education reform. I've praised Joel Klein and his team before for their remarkably advanced thinking and doing on changing the meaning of "school district."
This NYT article on the chancellor's decision to close four more schools is just the latest among many reasons to admire their work. This quote from one of Klein's ablest deputies, John White, is a keeper:
This proposal is a reflection of our belief that in some schools there is simply not the capacity to fulfill our promise to kids to prepare them for the future.
NYC is thoughtfully building America's new urban school system, one--as I argued in this article--that is premised on a four-step process:??close failing schools, open new schools, replicate great schools, repeat. (To learn more about NYC's efforts, see Paul Hill and team's excellent recent report on district portfolios and Mayor Bloomberg's recent speech about his third term initiatives.)
-Andy Smarick