蜜桃影视

The annual mobilization of 1 million young human beings into classrooms to begin or resume their education is probably the happiest day per capita on the New York City school district calendar.

That mood pervaded Mayor Bill de Blasio鈥檚 morning press conference last week at an Ozone Park, Queens, primary school with his ebullient new schools chancellor, Richard Carranza.

鈥淗e was grinning this morning when I saw him,鈥� de Blasio said. 鈥淭his is someone who really loves what he does.鈥�

Carranza has said that 鈥渢here鈥檚 no daylight between Mayor de Blasio and myself,鈥� and his remarks at P.S. 377 on the first day of school accentuated their like-mindedness. He called Equity and Excellence for All, de Blasio鈥檚 plan for improving student performance that has been faulted by critics as vague and unstrategic, 鈥渙ne of the beacons of light which brought me to New York City.鈥�

He maintained that 鈥渢here are no other cities across America that have provided the access, the universal access, to pre-K鈥� like New York City, and he told the mayor that 鈥測ou need to take a bow for your leadership in setting a vision鈥� for the 3-K for All early education program. (The city is in offering universal pre-K for 3-year-olds.)

There were hints that the two men may not be working off the same agenda, however, which may have reflected minor stylistic differences in talking about inequity in schools or a more significant disconnect.

Carranza has rarely felt the need to be circumspect during his five months on the job. He listed 鈥渄esegregating the schools鈥� as the top challenge facing the country鈥檚 largest school district after a citywide listening tour in the spring. He called school admission screens 鈥渁ntithetical鈥� to public education.

鈥淭he conversation around segregation is not divisive,鈥� he was quoted as saying by . 鈥淏ecause the conversation around integration is American.鈥�

Carranza never said the words 鈥渟egregation鈥� or 鈥渄esegregation鈥� in describing his goals at the press conference, even when a reporter asked for 鈥測our thoughts about desegregation.鈥� De Blasio, who has been faulted for refusing to describe New York City schools as 鈥渟egregated,鈥� didn鈥檛 use these words either.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the mayor understood the level of criticality, of being critical, that Carranza brought,鈥� said Matt Gonzales, director of the school diversity project at New York Appleseed, a nonprofit group that works to integrate schools. 鈥淚t requires a lot of humility to hear that the entire school district needs to be fixed.鈥�

The city鈥檚 , published last June, prior to Carranza鈥檚 arrival, avoided traditional descriptions of racial and ethnic divisions by focusing on whether schools are 鈥渞acially representative鈥� of the district鈥檚 total composition.

That strategy seemed in evidence when de Blasio was asked on Wednesday about 鈥減otential middle school desegregation鈥� in Brooklyn鈥檚 District 15, where he raised his children and served on the local school board. He called , which would end the use of academic screens in middle school, 鈥渁n opportunity to diversify classrooms in a positive, constructive way.鈥�

Another reporter asked the mayor what he thought of Carranza having characterized New York City in July as 鈥渙ne of the most segregated school systems鈥� (he also said city policies had ““). De Blasio said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e unified that we鈥檙e going to be making a series of changes.鈥�

鈥淏roadly speaking, I think the two are closely aligned,鈥� said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation who . 鈥淢ayor de Blasio has suggested his goal is to make New York 鈥榯he fairest big city in America.鈥� Chancellor Carranza has said, 鈥楲et’s start acting on鈥� Brown v. Board of Education. At the end of the day, you can’t be the fairest city in the country unless you tackle school segregation.鈥�

De Blasio noted that public sentiment 鈥渉as changed the dynamics in favor of diversification efforts.鈥� His proposal to eliminate the specialized school admissions test reflected Carranza鈥檚 priorities but also responded to 聽that New Yorkers are unwilling to tolerate elite public schools that are only 10 percent black or Hispanic in a system where nearly 70 percent of students describe themselves that way.

But here, too, the mayor seems to have stopped short of Carranza鈥檚 more radical opposition to academic screens anywhere. The mayor鈥檚 plan requires a vote by state lawmakers to change the 1971 specialized school law, which political observers consider unlikely. But some say he has the authority to unilaterally end the test in five newer specialized schools. He says city lawyers are looking into the matter.

Others are skeptical. De Blasio made up 鈥渢he legal question [about the five newer schools] out of whole cloth and buried it in the bowels of the corporation counsel,鈥� David Bloomfield, a professor of education law at Brooklyn College, told 蜜桃影视 in June.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lack of political courage,鈥� he said.

But advocates remain optimistic.

鈥淎 year ago we didn鈥檛 think the level of conversation that Carranza brings would even be possible,鈥� said Gonzales. “I want to see him convince Mayor de Blasio that the city and the communities want these changes.鈥�

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