Chancellor Joel I Klein

Recent Speaker

New York City Schools Chancellor

November 25, 2008

"Address to the National Press Club"

Joel I. Klein became New York City schools chancellor in July 2002 after serving in the highest levels of government and business.  As Chancellor, he oversees more than 1,450 schools with over 1.1 million students, 136,000 employees, and a $15-billion operating budget.  When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appointed Mr. Klein, a native New Yorker, as the first Chancellor of the newly-reorganized Department of Education, he called the new Chancellor “a true leader who never shies away from the tough and sometimes controversial decisions that are necessary to implement change.”
 
Mr. Klein’s comprehensive reform program, Children First, is transforming the troubled public school system that existed when the Mayor was elected into a system of great schools.  Student performance is rising, there are increasingly more and better choices for students, schools are safer, and educators are receiving additional autonomy, while being held accountable for progress. 
 
Highlights of the first four years of the Children First education reforms include:  the end of social promotion in third, fifth, and seventh grades; creation of a wide array of academic supports for struggling students, including an intensive Summer Success Academy; establishment of new supports for parents, including parent coordinators in every school and a Translation and Interpretation Unit; the launch of the Impact Schools initiative to improve school safety; and the expansion of small schools and charter schools to provide additional high-quality educational options for students.
 
The next phase of Children First will make the entire system even more accountable for student achievement, while expanding the authority of principals to create the learning environment they think is best for their schools.