Cathie Black's 1st Interview

The new NYC School Chancellor, Cathie Black, granted her first interview since her appointment on November 9th, which aired this morning on channel 7 Eyewitness news.  The lively and fast paced interview with Art McFarland touched on many topics including parent choice, which she values!  In fact, she herself exercised parent choice 15 years ago while attempting to secure a quality education for her own children.

During the course of the interview she constantly repeated the mantra, "children first".  When asked about how she might deal with Michael Mulgrew, the President of the NYC teachers union, on the topic of contract negotiation and teacher tenure, she said that hopeful they could meet in the middle somewhere or if not they would likely retreat to their respective corners.  First though, she said that she would likely need to determine whether or not the union realizes that in NYC, it's "children first".  Reading between the lines, I took this to mean that she would not be bullied by Michael Mulgrew and the UFT!  She was asked why she thought she was qualified for the job of Chancellor and how Mayor Bloomberg went about offering for the position.  To this, she dispelled the rumors that this appointment was done between friends in a non-professional setting.      

Overall my impression was that Cathie Black is a whip!  She exudes confidence and seems to have a good background understanding of the history and topics surrounding public education in NYC.  Her sleeves are rolled up and she's ready to hit the ground running on January 3rd when she officially assumes the role of the NYC School Chancellor!  This interview is a must see!  You may view the complete interview at Channel 7 Online.  On the home page it is in the video section.  The interview is entitled:  Up CLose:  Cathie Black Interview.  Note that this interview broadcasts in three parts, all of which may be accessed in the video section by using the Channel 7 Online link.     

Kiss Your Brain New York!  I think that Cathie Black is a friend of the children of this city!  We must continue to impress upon her, Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York that charter public school parents value parent choice, school co-location and equal funding for our children.  She seems to be an ally; however, this is prime time to cultivate an excellent working relationship... Put on your advocacy hats people and go Beyond Z for our kids!