Helen Zelon, Author at City Limits

03

The grades are out, and so is the list of schools that might close because of them. But what’s the difference between an A and a B when the DOE…

ByHelen Zelon 7 minRead time

26

Sep 2011

Education

In Public School Reform, What Can Private Money Buy?

Bill Gates has donated more than $5 billion to improve U.S. schools. But he sees little bang for all those bucks. What do other philanthropists—and the school systems who’ve benefited…

ByHelen Zelon 11 minRead time

31

Aug 2011

News Uncategorized

New Child Welfare Head Faces Mountain of Challenges

Ronald Richter just got what the mayor calls a “thankless” job—running the Administration for Children’s Services. We asked ACS’s sometime allies and frequent critics in the advocacy world what Richter’s…

ByHelen Zelon 21 minRead time

29

Jul 2011

Education Government

New York's School Principals Struggle Quietly Amid Teacher Controversies

The headlines are full of concerns about teacher tenure, teacher pensions, teacher layoffs. What do some of the city’s principals have to say about the challenges their schools face?

ByHelen Zelon 3 minRead time

07

Jul 2011

Education

Outcome Of School Violence Crackdown Hard To Detect

Early in the Bloomberg administration, the city put more cops and stricter rules into some of the most dangerous schools. Tracking the program’s effect is complicated by other policies that…

ByHelen Zelon 6 minRead time

09

May 2011

Education Government

The Principal Is New. The School Is Closing.

With new boss Dennis Walcott, the city school system gets a new chance to improve relations with parents and teachers. But there’ll be no second chance for Robeson High in…

ByHelen Zelon 18 minRead time

06

Apr 2011

Government

Human Factor Looms Large In ACS System

The recent indictment of two Administration for Children’s Services workers in the death of a Brooklyn four-year-old has focused new attention on the city’s system for detecting and stopping child…

ByHelen Zelon 1 minRead time

07

Mar 2011

Government Justice

Veteran Provider Takes Big ACS Job

The Administration of Children’s Services has announced the appointment of Charles Barrios, a licensed psychotherapist with decades of service at Good Shepherd Services in Brooklyn, as Deputy Commissioner for Family…

ByHelen Zelon 1 minRead time

14

Feb 2011

Economy Education

Credits As Collateral: Schools Withhold Records If Debts Unpaid

Some students transferring to public school arrive with no educational records because a private or parochial school has withheld them until tuition debts are paid.

ByHelen Zelon 13 minRead time

26

Jan 2011

Economy Government Justice

Questions About Mayor's Plan To Run Youth Jails

Few would deny that state-run juvenile detention facilities are flawed. But a Bloomberg bid to take control of some of those sites has raised a new set of issues.