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The New York Sun: Front Lines of Reform

February 19, 2004

By J.P. AVLON

New York City is engaged in an all-out effort to save the promise of a public school education. Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Klein set the direction of the reforms from City Hall, but much of the real work is being done on the ground in the communities. And while educrats and the teachers union are often obstacles, support for reform is coming from private citizens who bring a New Yorkers' sense of urgency, innovation and ambition to an arena that has suffered profoundly because of a perennial "wait 'til next year" attitude.

Richard Kahan and his team at the Urban Assembly exemplify this effort on the frontlines of education reform. Mr. Kahan began his career after law school by working in the administration of Governor Carey - itself tasked with a massive and often thankless turnaround task during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s.

Mr. Kahan made a name for himself moving forward long-stalled projects such as the development of Battery Park City and the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. His playbook for these projects proved good training: Build personal credibility with the leaders of divergent interests, anticipate the stumbling blocks, incorporate the community opposition, set ambitious but achievable goals, and forge ahead. This approach led to great success in real estate development during the 1980s, but it is in the field of education reform that he is aiming to make his most lasting impact on our city.

It all began with a public-private partnership called Take The Field, which Mr. Kahan founded with Bob Tisch and Tony Kiser. The idea was to use private funds to revitalize long-neglected playing fields in public schools.

The effect was electric, sandlots turned into first-rate playing fields, without excessive cost to taxpayers. The message to the students was equally eye-opening: You are valued and will have a great future if you work hard and apply discipline and sportsmanship to all areas of your life.

In 1997, Mr. Kahan applied that spirit to the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice - the first of the four small public schools he has opened with the Urban Assembly and New Visions for Public Schools.As with Take the Field, the improved facilities and increased choice sent the message that each individual student was valued. In sharp contrast to the assembly-line process imposed by the Board of Education for decades, Mr. Kahan believes "You can't educate a kid who feels lost and anonymous."

But it was with the end of the board of education in 2002, combined with Mr. Bloomberg's education reforms that the door opened fully for the Urban Assembly. "The Mayor and Chancellor have created possibilities that were unimaginable just two years ago," Mr. Kahan said, "including the opportunity for a program like ours to grow."

Indeed, each of the Urban Assembly's schools is geared toward building upon the students' personal interests and their prospects for the future. The Academy for Careers in Sports sensibly applies practical structure to high school students' interest in professional sports, including careers in sports medicine and management.

The Bronx Academy of Letters (in the interest of full disclosure, I sit on its Advisory Board) builds on student interest in writing and prepares them for careers in journalism and publishing. The New York Harbor School, formed in partnership with the South Street Seaport Museum and the Waterkeeper Alliance, relates all elements of students' education to the harbor that enabled the initial growth of our city.

Most private citizens would consider the creation of four schools a decent life's work, but Mr. Kahan is determined to build on the brand credibility of the Urban Assembly by aiming to open five more schools in the coming year, including the first-ever all-boys public school centered on history and citizenship. The aim is to have Urban Assembly schools serve as "incubators of innovation," attracting the best teachers, offering interested students and their parents the kind of personal attention and specialized experience offered to private school students exclusively in the past.

The Tweed Courthouse gang is discovering that edicts from on high are not enough to ensure that well-intentioned reforms reach students in the classroom - there are simply too many opportunities for "creative noncompliance." These smaller theme schools, supported by a combination of public and private funds, are a promising way to achieve a balance between innovation and accountability.

Education reform does not translate to headlines in the way that bringing down the crime rate does; lives are saved slowly on this front - not as highstakes responses to armed hold-ups, but one child at a time, one day at a time. The effect over time, however, is no less dramatic.

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