A Socialist Mayor in a Capitalism Driven City: Can They Co-Exist?
The culmination of an election is a coronation, the swearing in with pomp and circumstance and the Mamdani ceremony fit the bill. Thousands of supporters, taking place on the steps of City Hall, a choir from an elementary school with Mandy Patinkin, a poem written for the occasion, Bernie Sanders administering the oath of office…
Mayor Mamdani Chooses a Chancellor
Mayor-Elect, and only hours away from Mayor Mamdani began briefing insiders re his choice for chancellor, Kamar Samuels, a Department of Education lifer. See NYT here and Gothamist here. On the cynical side I’m asked, “Whose his rabbi?” You don’t make it to the finish line without the right push. Chancellors these days run the…
Will Mayor Mamdani, City Speaker Menin and Governor Hochul “Play Nice?”
As the ball drops and Mayor/Elect Mamdani becomes Mayor Mamdani and on New Year’s Day his block party and inaugural speech to tens of thousands of NYers: a victory lap and rolling out his platform: affordability and public safety will be at the top of his list. A week later the 51-member City Council will elect…
Putting the Cart Before the Horse: Should We Take “The Road Less Traveled?”
Our current chancellor is aggressively campaigning to be continued in her job: the first question should be, are we satisfied with the current education model? Eric Nadelstern, a former deputy chancellor offers prescient advice, Mamdani’s biggest mistake at this time would be to focus on a governance system before his administration has come up with a better system of…
Who’s the Next Chancellor? and Who’s Going to Select Her/Him?
Chalkbeat, the online education news site (If you don’t subscribe (it’s free), you should) muses re the next chancellor and mentions a number of names, speculation, mere guesses. First, changing chancellors in midstream is not recommended, you either inherit the last chancellor’s leadership team or replace them in the middle of the school year, neither…
Do Transition Teams Impact Mayoral Policy Decisions?
Transition Committees are not mentioned in the City Charter, a combination city constitution and bylaws, a slim 150 plus pages. Mayors-elect select experts, friends, former high ranking city officials to serve on committees, Mamdani, quickly, appointed an experienced, very experienced deputy mayor and a close associate as chief of staff. Mamdani announced he is appointing Dean Fuleihan as his first deputy…
Responding to Pedro Noguera’s Flawed Critique of Mandami’s Education Agenda
One of my favorite education books is my autographed copy of Pedro Noguera’s “The Trouble with Black Boys: Race, Equity and the Future of Public Education” (2006). Over the years I occasionally chatted with Pedro at NYU, thoughtful and challenging conversations. A few years ago Pedro decamped to UCLA, our loss. A recent Pedro essay, “Filling in…
Reconnection for Learning: A Community School System for New York City (11/67)
In a hotly contested four-way race he defeated the establishment candidate, a progressive endorsed by the Liberal party, the city facing enormous problems, I’m referring to John Lindsay in 1965. In the 1960s the nation was torn apart by an unpopular war, a rising civil rights movement and bubbling urban violence across the nation. Cities…
Time for Mayor Mamdani to be Bold, Time for a Bottom Up School System
“The school is the primary unit for delivery of services to students and parents, and should also be the primary decision maker for all matters large and small. And who better to make decisions about curriculum, instruction, assessment, budget expenditures, purchases, et al than those who know each kid’s name, their families, and the communities they come…
From Campaigning to Governing: Climbing the Mountain
Zohran wins!! Champagne corks pop, probably more likely beer can tabs click!! The victory speech, beginning by quoting socialist Eugene V Debs was stirring, watch here, a speech to be remembered, perhaps the beginning of the end of the Trump dynasty, After the celebration, the post coital reality, governing. The next two months the interregnum, a…
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Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 