Education after Bloomberg
The former mayor’s greatest legacy is creating a mass movement against education reform
- Topics:
- Education
- Michael Bloomberg
- New York
Now that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has left office, speculation is rife about his legacy, particularly on education, a signature issue during his three-term mayoralty. But experts searching for clues as to the administration’s impact on education in test scores, dropout numbers, graduation rates and countless other measures are missing the real story. Although New York under Bloomberg became the nation’s most data-driven education department, his lasting effects are not numbers but people: specifically, a cadre of student activists who are the most fearless and effective voices for American educational equity since the postwar desegregation fight.
Since Bloomberg took office in 2002, a plethora of New York City youth-led movements have coalesced in direct opposition to some of the administration’s signature initiatives, such as closing failing schools, encouraging the growth of charters and slashing budgets. Campaigns by student-led groups like Urban Youth Collaborative, the Dignity in Schools Campaign and the Respect for All coalition have achieved many victories, including the preservation of free student subway cards, the rewriting of the citywide school discipline code to limit suspensions and the adoption and implementation of Chancellor’s Regulation A-832, an anti-bullying policy. While many of these
