With the resignation of Cathie Black, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott was named the third school chancellor this year alone.
Walcott, a graduate of Queens’ Francis Lewis High School, has served as Deputy Mayor since the beginning of the Bloomberg Administration in 2002 and has been City Hall’s point person on all educational and youth policy.
“The progress we have made in our schools over the last nine years has been extraordinary,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “I am pleased to announce that Dennis Walcott – a key part of, and a leader on, all of our education reform initiatives – will serve as the city’s new schools chancellor.”
“With my children and my grandson, my family now represents four generations of New York City public school children, and I am determined to ensure that we deliver what our parents expect and deserve – a higher quality education,” said Walcott after thanking the mayor for the opportunity to serve the city’s 1.1 million school children.
Walcott has prior experience working in education. He has been a member of the New York City Board of Education, a kindergarten teacher, and an adjunct professor of social work at CUNY’s York College.
“[Walcott] will bring both the knowledge and the sensitivity needed to further the agenda needed to serve NYC’s kindergarten through 12 population,” said York College President Marcia Keizs.
Borough President Helen Marshall added, “As a former teacher, and deputy mayor for almost a decade, Dennis is fully aware of the high stakes involved in each child’s education…As a ‘guy from Queens,’ and in his role as deputy mayor, he has visited hundreds of schools over the years and been involved in every issue related to education during his years in the Bloomberg administration.”
Cathie Black resigned from her post as New York City Schools Chancellor on Thursday, April 7, after plummeting approval ratings and the recent loss of four of her deputy chancellors, as reported by The Daily News and New York Times web sites.
Critics berated Black, a former Heart magazine executive, for her lack of experience in the education field. She was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg three months ago when the previous chancellor, Joel Klein, resigned as well, according to published reports.
In a NY1/Marist poll of 772 residents released on Monday, she was approved by 17 percent of respondents. Out of them, 2 percent said she was doing an excellent job, while 15 percent believed she was doing a good one.
The former chancellor required a waiver from state commissioner of education, David M. Steiner, to get around the prerequisites of the position, as requested by Bloomberg. The standard chancellor salary is $250,000, a Department of Education spokesperson said.
New York State law dictates that the chancellor for the city has the powers and duties of the superintendent of schools.
To serve as a superintendent, one must be eligible for a school district leadership certificate. To receive one, a candidate must be a graduate of a college or university approved by the state education commissioner and also complete 60 semester hours in graduate level courses.
Additionally, by the time of the chancellor’s appointment, the candidate must have completed three years of teaching experience “satisfactory to the commissioner in public or non-public schools.”
As of September 2007, state administrative code also mandates that those seeking a superintendent post must hold a master’s or higher degree from an institution approved by the department of education. Alternatively, the candidate can complete a state program specifically geared toward a certificate as a school district leader.
Cathie Black did not meet these extensive requirements, but Walcott comes closer with a master’s degree in education from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, according to his biography on the Office of the Mayor’s web site.
