The record of Andres Alonso, possible candidate for New York City Chancellor
Many names have been floated as possible candidates to be the next Chancellor, in Gotham Schools and the NY Post. Among the possibilities offered are several who seem unlikely, including Bob Hughes of New Visions, given that he has never been educator and has focused on expanding the New Visions charter school network, all of them co-located in DOE buildings – as well working to preserve the network structure, which is almost universally despised by parents, teachers and principals, and which Bill de Blasio has promised to eliminate.
Other unlikely names include Carmen Fariña, former Deputy Chancellor under Klein, who is apparently happy in her retirement; and Shael Suransky, the current second in command at DOE, who helped devise the current school grading system that relies 85% on test scores, and who has defended the current regime of school closings and charter expansion.
Among the more reasonable names put forward are Kathleen Cashin, a highly respected Board of Regent member from Brooklyn and former NYC Superintendent. Two other possible candidates who have been cited are Joshua Starr, currently Superintendent in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Andres Alonso, former Deputy Chancellor under Joel Klein, who recently left his job as Superintendent of Baltimore’s schools.
Although Alonso is not as toxic as some of the other men who have served as top educrats under Klein, including Chris Cerf, John White, Jean-Claude Brizard and Marc Sternberg, his record has not been unmarked by controversy. Below is a brief summary of his