Now that the city has shaken off the stink surrounding Cathie Black's appointment as Schools Chancellor, new Chancellor Dennis Walcott is in the spotlight. And though he has the necessary experience, some aren't getting their hopes up. "I haven't seen a sign that there would be any changes," Kim Sweet of Advocates for Children told the Daily News. "Although it seems he will be making more of an effort to reach out to parents and communities, I hope that he'll actually listen."
Walcott has quickly displayed himself as someone in touch with the needs of the city's school system. Four generations of his family have attended city public schools (including his grandson), and yesterday he told a group of Queens parents, "I want to be the chancellor for people who have needs, who have been ignored. I will be accessible to you, plain and simple." And even if parents don't agree with him, he at least has the background to understand the issues. "There's a chance for some adult dialogue, and I'm cautiously optimistic that some of these policies could actually be changed," said Bertha Lewis of the Black Institute.
Meanwhile, a few sources say Walcott, who was Bloomberg's deputy mayor for education, wasn't consulted when Bloomberg appointed Cathie Black. One source told the Post, "virtually nobody at City Hall knew," and when asked if Bloomberg told him about Black, Walcott avoided the question and said, "The mayor has said he's moving forward."
