De Blasio Pledged Progress for Schools. For $582 Million, Change Is Slow.
Even as New York City’s schools opened their doors for the new year this month, the clock was ticking on the future of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s boldest education initiative.
His Renewal School program, which pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to turn around the city’s most troubled schools, has entered its fourth school year, and Mr. de Blasio has said that decisions will be made in November about shutting down or merging schools that have not sufficiently improved. There are currently 78 schools in the program.
When Mr. de Blasio announced the program in November 2014, he outlined a vision in stark contrast to the policies of his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg. Where Mr. Bloomberg closed schools that had performed poorly, opening hundreds of new, smaller schools in their place, Mr. de Blasio said that troubled schools would be wrapped in supports. He promised “fast, intense progress.” . . .