Black Out, Walcott In At DOE

In a startling move Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that brand-new , who took the reins from Joel Klein in January, would be stepping down, effective immediately. Bloomberg wasted no time in selecting a replacement, tapping long-time Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott for the role.

“Leading our public school system is an incredibly difficult job,” Bloomberg said. “[Black] loves New York and she wants to do what’s right for the families and students that we serve. She and I met this morning and we have mutually agreed that it is in the city’s best interest if she steps down as chancellor.”

Black, who made her fortune in New York City in the publishing industry, was a controversial choice for the Department of Education, having no professional educational experience. Her appointment at the end of last year was met with protest from parents groups as well as teachers, and some members of the City Council made a strong effort to deny her certification on the state level.

Black spent the first few months of 2011 trying desperately to reconcile a huge need for funding in schools across the city with draconian cuts coming down from the state.

She also took flack throughout her brief tenure for the consolidation of multiple schools into already-crowded buildings.

In Walcott, Bloomberg has selected a man who has undeniable local cache. Queens-born and raised with a pedigree right out of the city’s public school system, Walcott could end up being the perfect answer to critics who claimed Black was wrong for the role because of her lack of NYC schools experience.

“Dennis Walcott has devoted his life to working on educational and youth services issues,” Bloomberg said. “He has earned two master’s degrees, one in education and one in social work.”

In addition to working as a kindergarten teacher, Bloomberg said, Walcott’s experience creating youth-based mentoring programs makes him the perfect candidate for the office.

Walcott said he was ready for the challenge.

“I’m just a guy from Queens, whose parents were raised in Harlem,” he said. “I’ve taught kindergarten, I’ve served on the old board of education, I’ve visited probably hundreds and hundreds of our schools. Walked their corridors, held the hands of the children, and talked to the moms and dads.”