DOE hires new charter schools leader

Posted by Philissa at 1:05 PM

The city is gearing up to open 50 more charter schools in the next few years, and it needs a charter schools leader to fill a void in the "Office of Portfolio Development" (formerly the Office of New Schools). Yesterday, Chancellor Klein announced that he has hired Michael Thomas Duffy, the executive director of a pioneering charter school in Boston, to fill that position, reports the Sun today. Duffy is familiar with the bureaucratic challenges of getting charter schools up and running and told the Sun that he is relieved that Klein and Mayor Bloomberg will support his work; the leadership in Boston is less charter-friendly.

Duffy also told the Sun, "All of the easy options for charter schools to locate in city space have been taken. We're going to have to get more creative about the locations for these schools." We'll have to wait to find out whether that statement is ominous or open-minded.