Cashing In

Maybe it is time for Joel to cash in in favor of Cashin. I've been looking for reactions to the Times' article on Cashin. The UFT's blog, Edwize.org has a comment. They love the fact that Cashin uses the UFT Teacher's Center for PD. My feeling is that the UFTTC ain't nothing special and PD has become very overrated, but at least the folks there are real teachers, not some 25 year olds with little or no experience, ala Columbia. What probably works there is the consistency and real world connection that Cashin makes to her principals, teachers and communities (which means choosing curriculum that is content rich) and the fact that people are left to do their job if they produce results. From Edwize:
"The story, by David Herszenhorn, says that Cashin’s results are in many ways a rebuke to Klein and Bloomberg. “Dr. Cashin’s results should be an easy reason for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein to gloat, a triumph in their takeover of the nation’s largest school system. But in many ways, her success rasies questions about the thrust of their recent efforts to reshape the school bureaucracy.”
It goes on to detail the fact that Cashin is a member of the “status quo crowd” that Klein constantly derides, a lifelong city educator who is not swayed by principal empowerment. What’s more, “while Mr. Klein has dealt with the teachers’ union on a war footing, Dr. Cashin has made the union a partner.”
Region 5 uses the UFT Teacher Centers exclusively for all its PD. They aren’t named but are clearly referenced in the story, and are clearly responsible for a good measure of the region’s successes.
Watch carefully what happens next. Klein cannot let this stand. He was quoted in the story indirectly (and he had his deputy Andres Alonso respond to claim that the region’s outstanding scores in reading and math may mask weaknesses in other areas). But he’ll have to react. Let’s hope it’s not Cashin’s head.

from October
The Los Angeles School District, 2nd largest in the country has just picked a Superintendent, a recently retired US Navy Admiral, an Afro American who currently resides in Washington, DC. The school district will come under a form of mayoral control on January 1, 2007, however, the LA School Board excluded the mayor from the process and made their selection before its powers are sharply diminished.
The trend around the country is to select businessmen, lawyers and military folk. In NYC we haven’t seen a Chancellor from within the system for almost twenty years.Lately knowledgeable educators have been cast aside as potential superintendents. Retired military leaders have been chosen in a number of cities. The real “plot” is a plan to “federalize” teachers, chose a military type as school system leader, make teachers wear uniforms, “salute” their principals and send “disloyal teachers,” aka union leaders to the equivalent of Guantanemo. Am I too paranoid?
Other cities have chosen corporate types, after all if you could run a major corporation you can run a school district. Right? The Walmart managers might be available. Instead of the corporate path to profits–sending jobs off shore, our schools face the reverse problem, “off shore” workers are flocking to our shores.
Talk radio, blogs and folks in bars love discussing “what if?” If Steinbrenner fired Torre who would be the next Yankee manager? and on and on.
If Klein left who would be the next Chancellor?
NYC has never had a female Chancellor. Two Afro American Chancellors, three Hispanic and a number of Jewish Chancellors, but no women.
Kathy Cashin is the Regional honcho in Region 5 (School District 19,23,27) which has lead the city in both ELA and Math score growth in each of the last three years. Michelle Cahill was a leader at the Carnegie Foundation before joining Klein, she’s a Deputy Chancellor and a top policy advisor at Tweed. Barbara Byrd Bennett was a Community Superintendent in NYC, the founder of the Chancellor’s District and just retired as Superintendent in Cleveland.
On the business side you can point to Richard Parsons, the CEO at Time Warner and an Afro American.Ken Lay is no longer available and neither is Bernie Ebbers, unless it’s part of a work release program.
On the military side we have our Morris High School, CCNY graduate: Colin Powell.
And, of course, there’s this guy from Arkansas who seems to have a lot of time on his hands.

A Note from me: Barbara Byrd-Bennett did not found the Chancellor's District. I know her. She makes Joel Klein look good