Since Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him chancellor of the New York City Department of Education in 2002, Joel Klein has drawn headlines, praise, and criticism for his hard-nosed leadership of the nation’s largest public school system. His tenure has become a leading example for those arguing for and against mayoral control of urban school systems.  A former assistant attorney general in the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the longest-serving New York City schools chancellor in history, Klein oversees thirty-two school districts, 1,400 schools, more than one million students, and an operating budget of more than $20 billion.

During Klein’s tenure, the district has started dozens of small high schools, worked aggressively to remove ineffective teachers, created an autonomy zone for high-performing schools, reworked problematic collective bargaining provisions to promote teacher performance pay, instituted an A through F grading system for every school, encouraged the formation of charter schools, and overhauled the department’s human resources and information technology systems. His supporters have hailed these moves as examples of breakthrough leadership; his critics have charged his administration with a misguided embrace of business practices, inattention to curricula, secrecy, and disinterest in community input. 

Please join us as Chancellor Klein reflects on his tenure and offers lessons for efforts to dramatically improve the nation’s urban schools.