During the last 10 years, New York City has opened 535 new schools, leading to the most dramatic improvements in student achievement in city history.
With more school options and better teaching, we’ve seen test scores rise. Graduation rates have also improved — on average by 20 points, in some cases doubling that of the schools they replaced. New schools are also far more popular with public school families, ranking higher on parent surveys and receiving a flood of applicants year after year.
A study by the independent education research group MDRC confirmed how well our new schools are working. Among other things, the study found that they “markedly improved graduation rates for a large population of low-income, disadvantaged students of color.”
But creating new schools is not without tough choices.
In many cases, we create a new school by replacing one that has consistently failed our students. These are difficult decisions for us and for school communities, which may feel an attachment to a school’s name and history. But when a new school works well in the same building — providing a brand-new option for the same community, without displacing students — the response from parents and students is overwhelmingly positive.
This strategy has succeeded in spite of roadblocks set up at every turn by the teachers union. For two consecutive years, the United Federation of Teachers has filed lawsuits to try to prevent the replacement of failing schools. Fortunately, the courts last year allowed us to proceed — with a judge writing in his decision, “If the failing public schools are not closed, students may be subject to substandard educational environments which will obviously cause them to be considerably harmed.”
The union has even undermined an effort it claims to endorse: creating meaningful teacher evaluations that provide support and guidance for educators. Last year, New York City applied for $58 million from the Obama administration to support struggling schools. To qualify for that funding, we first needed to come to an agreement with the teachers union on a meaningful evaluation system for these schools.
Unfortunately, the UFT insisted on conditions that would undercut real accountability and make it harder to remove ineffective teachers. As a result, our schools and students lost out on millions of dollars.
Mayor Bloomberg and I refuse to abandon these students, and that’s why Thursday night, the Panel for Educational Policy will consider replacing some two dozen schools that need immediate, aggressive interventions to improve. As part of this process, each of these schools will be replaced with a new school next fall, and all current students will be guaranteed a spot for next year.
The best teachers stay, the least effective go and the students benefit.
We also hope this strategy will make the schools eligible once again for millions of dollars under a model, called Turnaround, that’s been endorsed by the Obama administration.
So Thursday night, as the public and panel hear arguments from both sides about what will happen to these schools, we should remind ourselves that closing schools is not a punishment.
This is about providing our schools with the opportunity to thrive and giving our students, families and city what they deserve: a high-quality education, regardless of zip code, race or ethnicity.
Walcott is New York’s schools chancellor.
