Crains New York - March 11, 2013 - (Page 9)

GOP candidates: Odd men out? T he first Republican-only mayoral debate, sponsored by Crain’s last week,left three important conclusions for the six months before the primary in September.This is an unusual collection of candidates who differ sharply with the four Democrats in the race and whose electability remains an open question. ● Odd. Only one is a Republican, even by the meaning of that word in New York City. Former Bronx Borough President Aldolfo Carrión still isn’t a member of the party because his registration is “unaffiliated”and he will be the Independence Party candidate. Newspaper publisher Tom Allon and nonprofit executive George McDonald were Democrats until only recently. Supermarket owner John Catsimatidis says he is a Clinton Democrat and has supported lots of people in both parties. That leaves former MTA boss Joe Lhota as a New York City Republican—socially liberal and otherwise pretty conservative (see more on Mr. Lhota below). ● Different. The most striking thing about last week’s debate, which I moderated, is how much their views differ from the Democrats’. Asked to grade Mayor Michael Bloomberg on a scale of 1 to 10, the votes ranged from an 8 (Mr. Car- GREG DAVID rión) to a 10 (Mr. McDonald), with most at a 9. I hope someone puts that question to the Democrats, but I’d be surprised if Bill de Blasio or John Liu goes higher than a 5. All the GOP candidates ruled out retroactive raises for city work- DR. PAMELA CANTOR How to turn around failing schools A s the race for City Hall heats up,several candidates have now called for a moratorium on closing schools. They say closure is not a strategy for improving education. Neither, however, is letting low-performing schools continue doing business as usual. We don’t need another study. There is already a growing body of research right in our own city about why schools fail and how to reverse the damage. We must tackle the obstacles to education that stem from poverty. These barriers are recurring and predictable, but most struggling schools lack the tools, preparation and support to address them. Go into any of them and you will likely find distracted,tuned-out,angry students; teachers unprepared to handle disruption or motivate children; and principals overwhelmed by kids with enormous needs. Instruction is dumbed down; punitive discipline undermines progress. These are not excuses but challenges to overcome. For the past decade, my organization, Turnaround for Children, and others have worked with the Bloomberg administration to reverse failure. While school closures have received more media attention, we have learned a tremendous amount from investments in turning around schools. We have identified three things that lay the foundation for success: building a student support system that gets children the help they need in a community mental-health center or in school; training teachers in classroom management and instructional strategies; and strengthening leaders’ skills to drive schoolwide improvement. These efforts get schools to the point where teachers can teach and children can learn. After three to five years, most of our partner schools report higher attendance, fewer suspensions and 911 calls, and ers. Most attacked the teachers’ union for protecting bad teachers. All opposed or showed great caution toward any city action affecting inequality with laws like paid sick leave, living wage or even a higher minimum wage, with many wanting to include a training wage or lower amount for young workers. There are differences among them, especially on education, but they are modest differences, all in all. ● Iffy. What none of the GOP candidates did was make a convincing case that he is electable. None can spend the $100 million Mr. Bloomberg did in 2009 or even the $60 million he did in 2001. Their name recognition is low to nonexistent. A few have significant albatrosses, including the continuing questions about Mr. Carrión’s previous campaign spending and the generous salaries Mr. McDonald and his family collect from his nonprofit. A personal note: Many of you know by now my inappropriate use of the word “jerk” to describe Rudy Giuliani (if not, just Google it and enjoy my discomfort). What I should have done was ask Mr. Lhota directly whether he would represent the return of Mr. Giuliani, whom he served as first deputy mayor. Rudy redux might be welcomed by Republicans but not by many others. Mr. Lhota tells me the answer is no. I am sure another debate moderator will explore that issue in future months. higher test scores. It’s not easy. We ask a lot of principals and teachers, and require their full commitment.As many as a third of teachers leave after our first year in a school. We have ended partnerships early when schools don’t meet our basic requirements, such as hiring a full-time social worker or allowing us to train every teacher for at least one hour per week. In other words, there will always be schools that should be closed. However, we should be more thoughtful about it. We must identify metrics besides test scores that indicate whether a school is on the path to improvement. The challenges facing our public schools, particularly in highpoverty communities, will only grow. New, rigorous state standards will magnify the differences between high- and low-performing schools. The achievement gap will only get wider, with more schools deemed to be “failing.” But during this mayoral campaign, let’s not boil the debate down to “close schools” versus “fix schools.” Let’s examine what we’ve learned about transforming failing schools. Reforming them is serious work, and political leaders should take it seriously. Pamela Cantor, M.D., is founder and CEO of Turnaround for Children, a nonprofit organization that partners with low-performing schools to address the obstacles to teaching and learning that stem from poverty. March 11, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 9 http://www.mogil.com http://www.mogil.com http://www.crainsnewyork.com/2013topentrepreneurs http://www.crainsnewyork.com/2013topentrepreneurs

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - March 11, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
STARTUP GUIDE
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - March 11, 2013