Klein, Unions At Odds Over SURR Changes

Klein, Unions At Odds Over SURR Changes

Chancellor Joel I. Klein and school labor leaders had Rashomon-like interpretations of the Jan. 20 announcement that 10 city schools were added to the state's list of Schools Under Registration Review.

"We are gratified that New York City was the only district in the state with schools that improved sufficiently to be removed from the SURR list this year and that the number of failing schools in New York City remains at a near-record low." said Chancellor Klein in a Jan. 20 statement, citing the three city schools which tested sufficiently well to be removed from the SURR list.

'Troubling Trend'

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten saw the overall increase as the problem.

"What's troubling here is the reversal of the trend of many more schools coming off the list than going on it - not to mention the dramatic drop in the number of schools coming off the list, from 16 last year to just three this year," Ms. Weingarten said in a Jan. 20 statement.

The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, meanwhile, saw the announcement as clear evidence that more support was necessary for school Principals.

"This year's SURR school report is a disturbing reversal of a positive trend," CSA Vice President Ernest Logan said in a Jan. 20 statement. "We owe it to the students in these schools to immediately take steps to get their education back on the right track and give the Principals of these schools the additional resources and personnel they need to be successful."

Schools on the SURR register have three years to get off the list, or face closing. The schools must meet specific targets for percentage increases in testing set by the state. If by the end of the second year on SURR, the schools are not meeting those standards, the Chancellor can direct the district to develop a redesign plan, which would include shuttering the offending school. However, once on the chopping block, the school can still test its way out of the hangman's noose.