In New York City (and some key parts of the foundation world) all education eyes will be on a hearing room in New York City where councilwoman Eva Moskowitz is examining New York City’s small schools initiative. Columnist Andrew Wolf [sorry, he’s not available free online, a travesty] writes it up as follows:
In the absence of an independent Board of Education, Council Member Eva Moskowitz’s committee has emerged as the only game in town when it comes to governmental oversight of public schools.
That this subject [small schools] could even be discussed and debated is stirring concern in educational circles. Supporters say small schools make education more personal and nurturing; critics say they are too expensive, unproven, and promote a liberal agenda.
Wolf’s no fan of the initiative and gets a few zingers in but he’s still must reading for anyone interested in NY.
One Eduwonk source in a good position to know says that the real problems lie in the rapid growth of the initiative and some poor implementation not the ideological back and forth.
Stay tuned because (a) a lot of money is riding on small schools in New York (b) a lot of politics are riding on it too and (c) the small schools are very popular so expect some entertaining political theater of the kind only NYC can provide…