A day after Schools Chancellor Joel Klein shocked the city by announcing his resignation, he described his accomplishments as “the most far-reaching [and] transformative — whether you like it or not — set of reforms in America.”
Klein, the longest-serving city schools chief in recent history, noted, “What I’ve always said from the beginning is, if this is not controversial, it will be meaningless.”
And, he added, “It’s indisputable [that] we played big and got big results.”
Speaking at an educational summit in Manhattan, he said, “You can argue about how much, you can argue which metrics matter, there’s no question from 2002 to 2010 New York students made progress by every means or measure that is out there.”
He made these others points:
* “I accept the fact that we did not, I did not, do as well in terms of building community support [and] explaining what we were doing.”
* “I don’t think the people in the central office can fix schools, I think that people in schools fix schools . . . so I’m a big believer in school-based accountability.”
* “If I could wave a wand and change one thing in the school system right now in any place in the United States it would be to truly professionalize teaching — make teaching not built on what I call the trade union model of lockstep pay, life tenure and seniority.
“I don’t think that works. If it were based upon merit, on career ladders on real accountability . . . that I think would work.”
He said he had fielded hundreds, if not thousands of e-mails in the past 24 hours — some from well-wishers, some from opponents.
He’s planning to meet with his prior adversary and partner in education, former United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, to reminisce over a glass of wine. He said he hadn’t yet spoken to current UFT chief Michael Mulgrew.
Klein’s announcement had been followed by a powerful whirlwind of emotions
“I’ve spent eight-plus years of my life engaged in what I think is the most meaningful work I’ve ever done,” he said.