Gadfly couldn't be more pleased that Hunter College ed school dean David Steiner will be moving to Albany in October as the new New York state education commissioner. Steiner brings ample reform credentials to the table. He's probably best known for helping start Teacher U at Hunter, an innovative teacher preparation program run by leaders from three of the best charter school organizations around (Uncommon Schools, KIPP, and Achievement First). He's also a big proponent of preparing teachers to teach a strong liberal arts curriculum (read his chapter in Fordham's Beyond the Basics) and he was one of the first researchers to take a long hard look at the syllabi of top-ranked ed schools. (He found that most were unfortunately dominated by constructivist and progressive thinkers.) There's a new reform Sheriff in the Empire State, and we hope he shapes up those teacher prep scalawags or makes 'em skedaddle.
"A Hunter Dean is to Lead State's Education Dept.," by Jennifer Medina, New York Times, July 28, 2009