By Alex Davidson
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein named District 25 Superintendent Michelle Fratti Monday as the only Queens school official to be appointed as a regional superintendent to oversee the Department of Education’s transition to a centralized system governing the city’s public schools.
Fratti, who worked in middle schools in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, was a mathematics teacher and served as principal of PS 194 in Whitestone before becoming District 25 super. She will head Division 7, which includes parts of Brooklyn and all of Staten Island.
“The focus of our reorganization is to create a clear and direct chain of command that emphasizes instruction and accountability in our schools,” Klein said. “Our regional superintendents will be at the center of our efforts to dramatically improve our schools and to give all our students the best possible education.”
Fratti did not return calls for comment.
Under Bloomberg’s plan, Queens will be divided into three regional districts: Districts 25, 26, 28 and 29 are bundled together in Division 3; Districts 24 and 30 are grouped with Brooklyn’s District 32 in Division 4; and District 27 is in a group including Brooklyn Districts 19 and 23 in Division 5.
Judith Chin, who was superintendent in charge of the school system’s Center for Recruitment and Professional Development, will head Division 3. Reyes Irizarry, former superintendent of Brooklyn-Staten Island high schools, will oversee Division 4. Kathleen Cashin, superintendent of District 23, will be leading Division 5.
All regional superintendents will begin serving July 1, 2003 and will earn $165,000 a year.
Bloomberg introduced the 10 regional superintendents throughout the city to replace the current superintendents. The regional administrators will coordinate with 100 local instructional supervisors to manage 10 to 12 schools each and 10 new learning support centers where parents can meet with department officials.
Under the plan, Division 3 in eastern Queens will have 135 schools, with approximately 129,538 students, Division 4 in western Queens will have 96 schools and 107,840 students, and Division 5 in south Queens will have 101 schools and 91,854 students.
Klein said the regional superintendents were selected based on their instructional leadership capabilities and their capacity to address complex educational issues. He said they will work with other city administrators to implement new teaching methods and to help raise overall student achievement.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 1-718-229-0300, Ext. 156
