Three months after announcing a second major overhaul to the city’s public education system, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein unveiled Tuesday the long-awaited details of his reform plan — which offers principals an array of new support options and, now, gives them just a month to pick one.School administrators have until May 15 to buy into one of three “learning support organizations,” which will go into effect when the city’s 10 regional offices are officially dismantled in the fall.
In a reversal of the old top-down leadership system, the new bureaucracy allows principals to select the support system they believe best fits the needs of their school, rather than holding them accountable to a regional superintendent.
In exchange for more choices, principals will have to pay for their support services out of their school’s budget — which the chancellor promised to supplement using the millions of dollars saved from slashing the regional offices. “We are transforming a school system based on compliance ... to one that empowers principals to make key decisions about what’s best for students and their school communities,” Klein said.
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