Yesterday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the welcomed news that its overburdened school system would be getting 42 more schools-several special-need or vocational schools among them.This could be great news for kids in New York, who are cramped in overcrowded classrooms that might not target their specific learning needs. And the ones that do-like one alternative high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn, that is a particularly special place-occupy just a portion of another public school because space and resources are scant. So for a school system that has long been criticized for being too easy to get lost in, new, specialized schools could mean great news for school-age kids. Said school chancellor Joel Klein: “Instead of looking for kids who fit the needs of the school system, what it used to be, we have now designed a school system that fits the needs of the kids.”This also fits into Bloomberg’s big-picture view of education, which stresses school choice and the idea that competition breeds a healthy system. That theory has its opponents, especially when you’re talking about vouchers in the public-private-charter system, but these are public schools. We look forward to seeing what happens in the fall.
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