Mayor Bloomberg knew that students could not learn in an atmosphere of violence and chaos.
So when violence spiraled out of control at some of the city’s large high schools after he took control in 2002, the mayor — spurred by complaints from the teachers union and The Post’s campaign for school safety — dispatched emergency teams of police and school safety agents to stabilize the buildings.
Critics charged that Bloomberg was turning the schools into a police state.
But his “Impact” crackdown worked, NYPD data show:
* Overall crime in the schools dropped 22 percent from 2002 to 2008.
* Violent crime fell 19 percent.
* Robberies plunged 44 percent.
* Assaults plummeted 31 percent.
Even United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who wants to rein in mayoral control, agrees the laser-like focus on school safety succeeded.
“The work we’ve done together with the NYPD has, by and large, created safer schools. We’ve figured out how to defuse situations,” she said.
Among the changes brought about by Bloomberg’s crackdown:
* The number of NYPD school safety officers has increased to 5,000 from 3,500 in 2002.
* Inspection teams have been brought in to evaluate conditions and help devise long-term safety plans.
* Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has given principals the green light to suspend the worst-behaved students for longer periods of time.
* Twenty-eight special detention centers or “learning centers” were opened to educate the suspended students.
* The disciplinary code stiffened punishment for bullies, and the city offers more anti-violence counseling and guidance services for troubled kids.
* The city shut down large, chaotic high schools and replaced them with smaller academies with fewer kids.
Mayoral control of the schools also means accountability.
In 2003, after reports surfaced that violent students who assaulted classmates were being routed back into schools because of bureaucratic bungling, Bloomberg was credited by Weingarten for apologizing and immediately fixing the problem.
“We will not let a small number of students sabotage our schools,” Bloomberg said at the time.
Civil libertarians argue the NYPD presence in schools has gone too far — pointing to abuses that include the handcuffing of a 5-year-old kindergartner.
“School discipline has been taken away from educators and given to the Police Department,” said Udi Ofer of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
But many principals and teachers disagree with that assessment.
Hillcrest HS Principal Stephen Duch, who converted the Queens school into seven small academies, said, “When kids don’t feel anonymous, they have a sense of belonging. There’s automatically going to be less disciplinary problems in the building.”