New York City doesn’t need a national search to find a new leader.
First, it needs a search committee that includes parents and experienced educators.
Second, it should recognize that out-of-town candidates will waste a year or two getting to know the system and whom to trust.
My advice: Look in our own backyard.
Two people who are eminently qualified to step in and take charge on day one: Dr. Betty Rosa and Dr. Kathleen Cashin.
They are now members of the the New York State Board of Regents. Both have been teachers, principals, and Superintendents. Both are well-grounded in the bigger picture of state and federal policies. Both have leadership qualities. Both have deep understanding of the needs of students and educators.
Neither is a showboat.
They check all the boxes.
Either would be a great chancellor.
Don’t waste any more time looking, Mr. Mayor.
Set up a search committee.
Those are my candidates.
If you open up the process, my hunch is that these two wonderful, experienced, eminent educators will be at the top of the rankings.
You can’t go wrong with either one.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I have interviewed both for research that I am doing and I would hate to lose their leadership in the Regents. I agree with finding someone from within, but someone who would not cause us to lost their leadership elsewhere.
Speaking here as a 71-year-old, shouldn’t we be looking for someone younger — say 60 or 65? Cashin is 70.
I agree with Diane – but we also need to understand the political forces influencing de Blasio. He went totally backroom to pick a charter guy that took Broad money, which is why he was on Eva Moskowitz’ list.
Perhaps more important than WHO is picked is – what is the criteria and why aren’t NYC’s parents, teachers and students involved in the process?
I want to like my new boss but I will be deflated if they aren’t philosophically opposed to privatization and standardization. It would energize teachers to get back classroom autonomy and voice in the next administration.
The fact that De Blasio is consulting with Moskowitz and seeking her approval for the next Chancellor strongly suggests that teacher “classroom autonomy and voice” are not, to put it politely, a priority.
If NYC teachers want that autonomy and voice, they should be looking to West Virginia, not City Hall or 52 Broadway.
There is no evidence whatsoever that de Blasio “consulted” with Moskowitz. For you to begin that sentence with “the fact that” really doesn’t help your argument. Maybe that is true, but I find it very hard to believe.
What is true is that Moskowitz listed Carvalho along with a bunch of other names as candidates that would meet her seal of approval — something that I know every educator desires since it is so difficult to achieve the “seal of approval” from Eva Moskowitz. I mean Betsy DeVos had to work very hard with her nasty policies to make sure Eva Moskowitz would be willing to say she was a wonderful choice whose philosophy was right in line with Moskowitz’ herself.
I actually thought that it was possible that de Blasio figured who better than Carvalho to speak out when Moskowitz once again defends her need to suspend so many non-white kindergarten children because she insists that so many violent 5 year olds win her lotteries (but only in schools that have virtually no white students).
I imagined Moskowitz sputtering at any of her most reprehensible actions being questioned by someone using facts — especially when that someone was the person she insisted was a great choice.
But it wouldn’t surprise me if Carvalho realized that he couldn’t be the yes man to the privatization billionaires and be overseen closely by Mayor de Blasio.
Carvalho IS the yes man to the privatization billionaires
Cashin would be an excellent choice. Ageism is discrimination.
I would be fine with either of these choices. However, is there not one person who has spent a lifetime working at the DOE and moving up the ranks who is worthy of this position?
As a parent, my priorities are: someone who knows the system and is willing to talk honestly about the choices and trade offs involved in changes. Someone who thinks creatively about solutions to segregated schools that doesn’t involve upending a system entirely so that the solution makes the situation worse. Someone willing to call out the lies of the pro-charter folks trying to get richer at the expense of the poorest students. Someone willing to direct serious resources toward the “due process” system to make sure complaints against teachers are dealt with in a timely fashion and that principals whose reaction to complaints is “my hands are tied there is nothing I can do” are called out for their laziness. But someone with enough experience in the classroom and running a school to understand that throwing a teacher in a room of 35 unruly children and expecting her to teach them with no real means to discipline them because the administration isn’t providing any real solutions is more often demonstrating poor administration rather than poor teaching. But someone also willing to stand up to the teacher’s union when that is called for, too.
And someone willing to look into complaints like the one Leonie Haimson had where there are complaints that the money for renewal schools seems to have been spent wastefully or even corruptly and provide transparency to parents about how those resources are spent.
Is that asking for too much? I want someone with an open mind who listens to the facts, explains clearly their thinking by addressing the facts, and tries to make things better. Not perfect. Just better.
NYC PSP,
Both Rosa and Cashin spent their lifetimes working their way in and up and through the NYC system.
Thank you – I didn’t know that. But I’m glad they have power where they are. I was wondering if there wasn’t someone else lower down in the DOE who was a good choice to be promoted to chancellor.
If both Rosa and Cashin came from positions under the chancellor, are there others like them still at the DOE?
Diane,
What ever happened to Joshua Starr? I thought he was supposed to be a good guy but his name is never mentioned anymore.
(I’m now contradicting my desire for someone from within the DOE, but I always thought he seemed like the kind of education leader I would want.)
He is now president of PDK International (Phi Delta Kappa).
I just hope the DeBlasio doesn’t pick a Bloomberg-Klein retread. Those names are floating in the ether.
Sorry, but we need Rosa and Cashin to stay on the NYS Board of Regents. Too much is at stake for the entire state now with ESSA changes, Next Generation standards, online testing, and the APPR mess. Certainly NYC can find other good candidates besides them.
NY be Happy – Pick Local, a TRUE high quality Educated fit – Miami is a smoke and mirrors Charter school Takeover – a place where mid career teachers makes LESS THAN $50,000, End of Career teachers make less than mid salary scale — (only the few who were already at the top years ago make top of salary scale) – money was taken off of the backs of the mid career teachers – the Union only supports new turnaround teachers, very old teachers, other personal (custodians, subs, secretaries) NOT the main core of teachers.
– all the while the superintendent is acting like a Reality TV star https://kafkateach.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/welcome-to-the-carvalho-show/