Cathie Black, the chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, is taking issue with reports suggesting that she was not Mayor Bloomberg’s first choice to be schools chancellor, saying the mayor told her personally that he had not offered the job to anyone else. Black appeared Friday on Good Day New York.
The New York Times and Daily News reported today that Mr. Bloomberg had originally tried but failed to persuade Geoffrey Canada, a Harlem education leader, to take the job.
Ms. Black suggested the report did not jibe with what Mr. Bloomberg had told her in October, when he invited Ms. Black to the offices of his foundation to offer her the chancellor’s position.
“What he said to me is, ‘You’re the first person I’ve offered this job to,’ ” Ms. Black said during the Fox TV appearance
Ms. Black praised Mr. Canada, a prominent figure in the charter school movement and a political ally of the mayor. “Geoffrey is fantastic,” she said. “He’s an amazing educator.”
Canada has done amazing work, even gaining international praise as the leader of the Harlem Children’s Zone, a network of Charter Schools known for a cradle-to-college approach, proving all children can learn. Canada's program covers a 97-block area and 10,000 children.
Wonder if there would be all the outrage/backlash that currently exists for Cathie Black if Canada got the job? Black, who never attended public school and is White. Canada, who gained success against enormous odds, and is African American.
Let's not forget Canada is also a strong defender of charter schools and has been known to fire teachers who fail to improve test scores. so UFT would not have been happy with him at all. The union is afterall not even pleased with the documentary "Waiting for Superman," which shows Canada succedding with children against enormous odds.
Knowing Canada, he would never take the job because to do the job right, and his way, it would require drastic overhaul. You can watch Black deny she wasn't first choice at Dominiccarterreports.com.