By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Schools Chancellor Joel Klein is taking a page out of boss Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s book, announcing an administrative shake up on Monday that he hopes will reinvigorate the Department of Education.
Klein announced that Sharon Greenberger, formerly the president of the School Construction Authority, would be the education department new chief operating officer.
Mark Sternberg, who was a founder and principal of the Bronx Lab School, was appointed deputy chancellor of portfolio planning, which means he will oversee the creation of new schools.
The DOE said the aim of the moves was to “focus and improve central administrative support of schools.”
“With the worst fiscal crisis in 30 years as well as new school governance legislation, it is more important than ever to provide top-quality support to our schools as responsively and efficiently as possible,” Klein said in a statement.
In another major move, Klein merged the education department’s division of teaching and learning with the division of school support, and put deputy chancellor Eric Nadelstern in charge of the department. The consolidated division will work with schools to help them develop their curriculum.
The chancellor also created a brand new position, "deputy chancellor for community engagement," to which he appointed Santiago Taveras, who was formerly the deputy chancellor of the Teaching and Learning department.
That move is intended to be part of a “broader effort to bring the perspective of public school families and community partners to policy decisions,” according to the DOE.
