2012 UCEA Convention

Mayoral Control and Civic Capacity in New York City Schools. Tiffanie Lewis, Pennsylvania State University
Using NYC as a case study, this paper draws on interview data from principals, district consultants and administrators, and principal’s union representatives to explore the impact mayoral control has on civic capacity and principals’ capacity to lead schools. Results suggest mayoral control has diminished the voice and participation of principals and parents in policy making while enhancing the participation of private groups and foundations.

Money, Power, Principals, and PR: Examining New York City School Accountability System Implementation Efforts, 1970-2008. Craig Martin Peck, University of North Carolina- Greensboro
This policy history offers a critical comparison of two different efforts to implement an accountability system in the New York City public schools. A plan initiated in 1970 made little impact, and fizzled out by 1978. After 2002, NYC school leaders designed and then successfully launched an accountability system in which each school was graded A-F. The paper considers why the second implementation effort succeeded while the first did not, and concludes with policy lessons.

The Disproportionate Erosion of Local Control: Urban School Boards, High-Stakes Accountability, and Democracy. Tina Trujillo, University of California-Berkeley
This case study of an urban school board’s experiences under high-stakes accountability demonstrates how board members embraced narrowly defined, individualized notions of effectiveness. It shows how the board severely constrained shared decision-making and local participation, and reveals how board members’ privatized habits of mind privileged values of standardization and efficiency. It concludes that accountability policies framed in terms of their potential to further democratic aims disproportionately reduce democratic control in urban settings.