Changing Course on School Reform: Strategic Organizing around the New York City Mayoral Election

Billy Easton

Community organizers and advocates in New York City developed a two-pronged strategy for change in the 2013 mayoral campaign and election after twelve years of market-driven reforms.

ew York City’s new mayor, the country. De Blasio represents an Bill de Blasio, represents a opening to begin a 180-degree shift in Ndramatic shift from his education reform in the United States. predecessor in the This did not happen by chance. It was area of education. Bloomberg was a the combination of a candidate who national trendsetter on market reforms captured the moment and a conscious focused on privatization, testing, and community-based advocacy campaign competition. De Blasio was elected on designed to capitalize on the mayoral an agenda of classroom investments, election to redirect the education student supports, parent and commu- debate. nity engagement, and a focus on teaching and learning and is already getting national press for changing BLOOMBERG: PROMINENT course on education. AMONG MARKET REFORMERS

This contrast captures the heart and The debates over education reform in soul of education debates raging across America have become highly polarized.

Billy Easton is executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education in New York City.

6 Annenberg Institute for School Reform Rather than dividing along traditional carried out that strategy more partisan lines, these battles have united effectively than any other mayor. many Democratic Party leaders and The signature policies of the Bloomberg conservatives to apply market principles era closely followed the market reform to education. President Obama’s model. Bloomberg wanted a skilled secretary of education, Arne Duncan, manager to run the schools like a and big-city mayors like Bloomberg and corporation, not a professional educator Chicago’s Rahm Emmanuel have led the – hence three non-educators as chancel- rush towards market reforms. They have lors. As described the backing of wealthy donors including it, “Mr. Bloomberg believes that those major hedge fund managers, venture raised in the corporate culture will do a capitalists, and foundations like Broad better job managing the schools than and Walton. For political and legislative those trained in schools of education” advocacy they have a number of (Hartocollis 2002). Central management well-financed organizations including staff included many non-educators with ’s StudentsFirst, Demo- backgrounds as investment bankers, crats for Education Reform (DFER), management consultants, and corporate Stand for Children, and 50CAN. lawyers. Management authority was Bloomberg used the bully pulpit of his devolved to building principals with a office, his virtually unchecked authority sink-or-swim philosophy similar to that over schools through perhaps the of corporate restructurings. nation’s most absolute form of mayoral The entire system was aligned to drive control,1 and his own personal wealth up the test score bottom line. Passing to aggressively promote his education state exams became a prerequisite for agenda. In an analysis of the November student promotion. Test scores became 2013 election results, Pedro Noguera, the key factor in grading and closing a professor of education at New York schools. Principals and teachers were University, told offered bonuses of up to $25,000 and (Layton & Chandler 2013):2 students were offered free cell phones Bloomberg really epitomized an based on test scores (Medina 2008). approach to reform that has been Bloomberg successfully lobbied the state sweeping the country and urban areas, to make test scores a major component endorsed by the U.S. Department of in teacher evaluations and tenure. As Education. Market-based reforms one principal described it, “The profit – charters, choice, school closures. margin in this business is test scores. Heavy emphasis on high-stakes That’s all they measure you by now” testing as a means of holding schools (Winerip 2006). accountable. Bloomberg probably Competition was considered a core driver of reform. Charter schools proliferated, 1 New York City’s version of mayoral control with 183 charters opening during the is stronger than in other cities like Boston Bloomberg years. School closings became or Chicago. The Panel for Education Policy pandemic, with 160 schools closed due to (defined by state law as the school board) their test-score-based grades. Frequently, voted in favor of former mayor Bloomberg’s proposals 100 percent of the time over a the buildings of closing schools were twelve-year period. Early in Bloomberg’s turned over to charter operators. School tenure, when it appeared the board would buildings were also subdivided to vote against him, he replaced the dissenters on shoehorn a charter school into the same the board the night before the vote (New York Sun 2004). This set a tone of compliance that building as a public school, in a practice was never again challenged by the board. known as co-location. 2 See also Pedro Noguera’s interview in this issue of VUE. The claim of the market reform move- ment is that the education system is

Billy Easton VUE 2014, no. 39 7 focused on the adults, not the students, new direction in education reform. and that the market reformers are the The organization I lead, the Alliance ones focusing on the students. Bloom- for Quality Education (AQE), is a berg used this exact talking point: statewide coalition of parent, commu- “The school system is not being run for nity, and teacher organizations fighting those that it employs; it’s being run for for educational equity and successful those that it was put together to serve, reforms.3 The dominance of market namely the students” (Medina 2003). I reformers over the politics of educa- give credit to the market reformers for tion nationally and Bloomberg’s message discipline, but is this really an impact in defining the terms of political accurate description of their focus? debate, not only in New York City but I would say not. also at the state capitol, have made it extremely difficult for us to win more The market reform agenda primarily than minor victories. It was as if there focuses on the adults in the system by were an impenetrable ceiling we could emphasizing who runs schools, who not break through. So AQE and our works in schools, and what the rules key allies – Make the Road New York, are for employment. Market reformers the New York City Coalition for like Bloomberg have failed to focus Educational Justice (CEJ), New York primarily on the students because they Communities for Change, and the place very little emphasis on what goes Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC)4 on in the classroom. Bloomberg – decided to push the envelope on the presided over some of the most robust education agenda in the 2013 mayoral debates on education policy in the election. Together, we put together a entire country, but they focused on sophisticated two-pronged approach to administrative and structural issues. defining the terms of debate in the Bloomberg took bold and controversial mayor’s race. positions on social promotions, school closings, teacher evaluations and Some of the groups favored a cam- tenure, and school governance. But on paign built around extensive issues which could be considered more community engagement with an student centered, such as the quality emphasis on policy development. of the curriculum, ensuring arts and Others advocated a hard-hitting music in every school, college pre- campaign that relied on communica- paredness and guidance counseling, the tions, candidate engagement, and most effective strategies for supporting grassroots mobilization. In order to teachers, programs for English lan- achieve both goals, two coalitions were guage learners, and whether to extend organized. The first, A+ NYC, united learning time, the Bloomberg adminis- fifty-one parent and community tration – and market reformers organizing groups, neighborhood generally – were silent. organizations, social service groups, a wide array of education advocacy groups, and citywide and statewide DEFINING THE TERMS OF THE coalitions. The second, New Yorkers DEBATE: A TWO-PRONGED for Great Public Schools (NY-GPS), APPROACH joined thirty-four community organiza- tions and labor unions, including the New York City’s largest community groups organizing on educational 3 For more on AQE, see www.aqeny.org.‎ justice began meeting in late 2011 to 4 For more on CEJ and UYC, see Maria plan a campaign to capitalize on the Fernandez and Ocynthia Williams’s article in mayoral election in order to push for a this issue of VUE. See also www.nyccej.org and www.urbanyouthcollaborative.org.

8 Annenberg Institute for School Reform Coalition for Asian American Children policy experts, and the Annenberg and Families, Harlem’s First Corinthi- Institute for School Reform at Brown ans Baptist Church, United Parents of University, which provided research Highbridge, the Communications and policy analysis and technical Workers of America, the Transporta- support to A+ NYC. The policy hub tion Workers Union, and the United provided one-stop shopping for Federation of Teachers. Many groups, candidates’ campaigns and community such as my organization, Alliance for members alike and helped ensure that Quality Education, joined both the community-based charrette was coalitions, while some opted for one guided by high-quality policy research. or the other. The charrette engaged more than 1,000 These two campaigns employed parents, students, and community dramatically different tactics, and both members in envisioning the school proved highly effective at shaping the system they wanted. The results were public debate on education. The shared compiled and refined by a design team goal was to see the next mayor, no of educators, academics, advocates, matter who won, implement policies parents, and students and taken on the that replaced the market-reform road in a blue school bus that served agenda with a student-centered as a publicity magnet, a mobile opportunity agenda. A secondary goal outreach tool, and place for 1,828 was that the next mayor should help New Yorkers from all five boroughs to drive a new direction in school reform vote for the recommendations that nationally by using New York City’s most reflected their visions for the bully pulpit to articulate a successful schools. Four mayoral candidates vision for reform and provide a spoke at the send-off of the bus tour, compellingly positive counter-narrative and The New York Times did a major to the market reformers. feature story (Sangha 2013).5

The policy recommendations emerging A + NYC: RE-ENVISIONING THE from this process provided the basis SCHOOLS THROUGH PARENT, for an Education Roadmap for the STUDENT, AND COMMUNITY Next Mayor, which translates the visions of everyday New Yorkers, ENGAGEMENT informed by top-notch policy research, The defining purpose of +A NYC into an actionable plan to dramatically was to engage parents, students, and reform the school system.6 communities around defining a new direction for school reform under the next mayor. We employed a collabora- NEW YORKERS FOR GREAT tive, community-based design process PUBLIC SCHOOLS: CHANGING known as a charrette, primarily THE NARRATIVE ON PUBLIC employed by architects and often EDUCATION applied to community development In April 2012, before NY-GPS went projects where buy-in and joint public, Michelle Rhee, the national ownership from diverse stakeholders face of the market reform movement, is desired.

+ First, A NYC created an online policy 5 For more on the PS 2013 charrette process hub featuring twenty policy briefs on and the bus tour, see the article by Fiorella issues as diverse as arts education, Guevara in this issue of VUE. 6 Complete details on A+ NYC, including the police in schools, teaching quality, and policy hub, the Education Roadmap for the school turnaround. The briefs were Next Mayor, and details on the charrette and authored by member organizations, the bus tour, can be found at http://aplusnyc.org.

Billy Easton VUE 2014, no. 39 9 announced the formation of Students- and other corporate reform advocates. FirstNY with a plan to spend $50 Our agenda defined a significant million over five years to perpetuate portion of the education debate in the Bloomberg’s education legacy (Phillips campaign, while StudentsFirst and the 2012). She announced a board of other market reformers were seen as A-teamers including , Geof- increasingly irrelevant to the mayoral frey Canada, Eva Moskowitz, and election. hedge fund and venture capital heavyweights like Paul Tudor Jones, Engaging the Candidates to Transform Ken Langone, and Dan Loeb. She hired the Public Narrative Bloomberg’s chief lobbyist as executive director. Our campaign goal went beyond locking in the next mayor’s support for a few issues. We wanted to push a Mobilizing the Grassroots totally new direction – which required For the community organizers, this a powerful narrative. To be relevant, massive infusion of money and power we had to capitalize on the real-time in support of Bloomberg’s market tensions of a major election campaign, reforms signaled: “Game on!” In without favoring one candidate over August 2012, NY-GPS took action, another. We needed to capture public issuing a report documenting the attention with a sharp critique of the conservative political agenda of failings of Bloomberg, connected to a StudentsFirst’s financiers and calling on positive agenda to increase student candidates to reject their contributions success. Turning the education debate (Grynbaum 2012; NY-GPS 2012).7 in the mayoral election into a referen- We built momentum by getting dum on the Bloomberg agenda would forty-six elected officials and candi- provide a powerful springboard for the dates for city council and other elected next mayor to implement a more offices to take the pledge. Three successful opportunity-based agenda, candidates for mayor – including de regardless of which candidate won. Blasio – vowed not to accept Students- Most political observers predicted that First funds, while City Council Speaker 2013 would be a Democratic year in Christine Quinn, the mayoral front- New York City, so NY-GPS focused runner at the time, said she would primarily on impacting candidates in accept it. This dividing line continued the Democratic primary. In traditional throughout the campaign, with de grassroots advocacy campaigns, Blasio taking the most progressive communities publicly place demands education positions and Quinn often on elected officials. But we took a focused on maintaining ties with different approach, based on the Bloomberg. understanding that the most effective We followed the report and candidates’ way to make our agenda relevant pledges in November with an indoor would be to get candidates to commit rally at First Corinthians Baptist to pieces of it, so that the candidates Church in Harlem packed with a themselves would be the most effective crowd of over 1,400. All four major public advocates of the agenda – thus candidates showed up. NY-GPS was capturing considerable media attention on the map. From this point forward and framing the political debate. we out-organized StudentsFirst, DFER,

7 For a full copy of the report and to learn more about NY-GPS activities go to the website www.nygps.org.

10 Annenberg Institute for School Reform Putting Pressure on the Candidates to candidates joined us, de Blasio in Take a Stand on Wedge Issues person, in publicly committing to eliminate A to F letter grades for We identified a few key wedge issues schools and take other steps to reduce where the candidates had to take a yes the role of testing. or no stand, making it difficult for them to equivocate. In January 2013, During the course of the campaign we we called for a moratorium on school also persuaded candidates to support a closings and co-locations. At a press proposal for college-ready community conference on the steps of City Hall, schools and persuaded de Blasio to we were joined by three mayoral make fair rent for charter schools into candidates, including de Blasio, in a campaign platform – under Bloom- calling for the moratorium. Quinn, still berg, taxpayers picked up the tab for the front-runner, came out against the charter schools located in public school moratorium. The wedge issue strategy buildings. was working, by creating divide lines In May we sponsored a candidates’ among the candidates and between the debate. The timing could not have candidates and the Bloomberg admin- been better. Anthony Weiner had just istration. Our issues, and thus the entered the race days before and was direction of school reform, were being followed by a huge media emerging as central issues in the entourage. We got lucky. Over sixty mayoral campaign. media outlets covered our debate, For the next wedge issue, we vowed to which was moderated by Zakiyah go to Albany and fight for $3 billion in Shaakir-Ansari, advocacy director of court-ordered Campaign for Fiscal AQE and a mother of eight. With a Equity funding that the state govern- carefully planned format, we asked ment has reneged on. Bloomberg was tough questions and got the candidates consistently absent in school funding on the record on more issues. fights. All the candidates jumped on board, including de Blasio, who Challenging Claims about Student committed to join parents in Albany in Outcomes fighting for the needed funds. We were fortunate that as the cam- This was followed by a press confer- paign progressed, de Blasio chose to ence where the four major candidates frame his candidacy as a repudiation committed to ending racial disparities of the Bloomberg legacy – across the in school suspensions and replacing board, not only on education. His harsh discipline policies with restor- fundamental theme was challenging ative justice. Anthony Weiner, by income inequality. His top policy contrast, wanted to make it easier to agenda item, which he announced very suspend students, which provoked the early in the campaign, was taxing Urban Youth Collaborative to organize millionaires to fund full-day pre-K and a rapid response demonstration – sup- afterschool programs. This agenda of ported by NY-GPS – outside Weiner’s equity and resources invested in proven home (Cramer 2013). opportunities helped considerably in NY-GPS developed a policy proposal advancing our narrative. But with our for steps the next mayor could take to wedge issues, NY-GPS also pushed the deemphasize standardized testing. envelope on this narrative as it applied While federal and state policies drive to education. current testing policies, Bloomberg used mayoral control to heighten the role of testing. Again, the four major

Billy Easton VUE 2014, no. 39 11

Our message was that Bloomberg’s legacy was one of failure and the next mayor needed to deliver success by Rather than a reactive message that focused focusing on teaching and learning. on the market reform frame of administrative “ CAMPAIGN OUTCOMES

reform and mayoral control, our message De Blasio won with almost 75 percent of the vote. Education was ranked as a “challenged what Bloomberg claimed as his top issue by voters in exit polls, and de Blasio supporters were opposed to greatest strength: educational outcomes. Bloomberg’s education policies by a large margin. AQE’s Zakiyah Shaakir- Ansari was appointed to the transition team, and the market reformers were left out – resulting in a New York We placed a lot of emphasis on Daily News article titled “Bill de Blasio communications.8 Rather than a Gives Cold Shoulder to Education reactive message that focused on the Reformers” (Chapman 2013). market reform frame of administrative From the beginning of the campaign, reform and mayoral control, our we envisioned national media outlets message challenged what Bloomberg writing stories that described the claimed as his greatest strength: outcome of the election as a repudia- educational outcomes. Our key facts: tion of Bloomberg’s education reforms. • Three-quarters of high school The Washington Post wrote exactly graduates enrolling in City that story, opening with the assertion University of New York (CUNY) that de Blasio “intends to dial back or community colleges needed abandon many of the education remediation (CUNY 2011). changes outgoing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg aggressively implemented • Only 13 percent of African Ameri- in the nation’s largest public school can and Latino students graduated system” (Layton & Chandler 2013). ready for college.9 But the end of this tale is yet to be seen. • Ninth-graders were in kindergarten The real challenge is to continue when Bloomberg’s reforms began, supporting and pressuring Mayor de yet only one-third of them could Blasio to provide leadership on educa- read, write, and do math at tion reform that is as assertive as grade level.10 Bloomberg’s but with a wholly different agenda and one that is much more 8 For more on the communications strategy, see successful for New York City students. Julian Vinocur’s article in this issue of VUE. That could have the potential to shift 9 NYC Department of Education, School- the direction of school reform nationally. Level Regents-Based Math ELA Aspirational Perfomance Measure, 2011-12. 10 NYC Department of Education, New York State English Language Arts and Mathematics Test Results, 2011-12.

12 Annenberg Institute for School Reform REFERENCES

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Medina, J. 2003. “Chancellor Gives Out Report Cards, Failing 50 Principals,” New York Times (January 4), www.nytimes. com/2003/01/04/nyregion/chancellor-gives- out-report-cards-failing-50-principals. html?ref=joeliklein.

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