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MetroBEATDECEMBER 2006 Education continued page update 29 • 21Progress Report Cards Will HoldSchools AccountableBy MayorBloombergFrom Day One, improvingaccountability hasbeen the foundation ofour Administration’s historic‘Children First’ schoolreforms. By tearing down the system’s oldpatronage-ridden bureaucracy, and setting highexpectations for teachers and students, we’returning our schools around, we’re helping ourchildren perform at higher levels, and we’reclosing the achievement gap between poor andminority students and their peers.Now we are putting the finishing touches ona powerful new tool that will help every one ofthe city’s public schools better fulfill its missionof giving our children the education they needand deserve. It’s a brand new report card—butit won’t be grading students; it will be gradingschools.Starting this year, more than 330 schoolsthroughout the city are being evaluated in afirst, pilot round of progress reports. Then, nextyear, every school in the city will be graded onreports that will be mailed to every public schoolparent, as well as posted on the Department ofEducation’s website.These progress reports will evaluate each schoolon three key factors. The first, school environment—comprisingattendance levels and newsatisfaction surveys from parents, teachers andstudents. Second, student performance—includinghow many students are meeting and exceedingstandards in English and math, and how theycompare to other schools—especially those withMOVIE REVIEWsocially and economically comparable studentbodies. The third, final, and perhaps most importantfactor, is student progress. Are individualstudents in each school progressing from year toyear? If so, by how much? And are strugglingstudents really getting the help they need to gainground and reach their full potential?The scores from all three of these areas willbe rolled together into an overall grade, rangingfrom ‘A’ to ‘F.’ That’s going to give all of ourparents the hard, cold facts about which schoolsin our city are succeeding and which are lagging.Only then, can we truly work together to improveresults for all our kids.I’ve always believed in the power of dataanalysis as an incredible management tool. Thisis the driving force behind Compstat, the NYPD’sweekly analysis of crime around the city, whichhas guided our historic crime fighting successover the past decade. It’s also the reasoningbehind 311, which is helping us more efficientlyaddress New Yorkers’ biggest quality-of-life concerns.Now, we are going to use data to identifyand support the progress being made in ourschool system, and to hold schools accountablefor achievement. No more excuses. No moresweeping problems under the rug. Those schoolsand principals that actually succeed in improvingstudent performance will be rewarded and thosethat don’t will face consequences. Because whenwe say we are putting ‘children first’ we meanit—and measures like this report card will ensurethat children—and no one else—always comefirst in our public schools.#Ice Caper: Happy Feetby jan aaronBlending cute antics with music, dance and atinge of darkness George Miller’s photo-realisticcomputer animated Happy Feet is a treat for allfor all ages. Although it was in the works for severalyears, the first scenes with tens of thousandsof Emperor penguins in icy Antarctica surprisinglyrecall the recent March of the Penguins.Focusing in on the mating of Norma Jean(Nicole Kidman) and Memphis (Hugh Jackman),we see her handing off their egg to him as shegoes off to distant fishing waters, leaving him toface the bitter cold period of incubation.Memphis is careless during the hatching periodand blames himself when their offspring Mumble(Elijah Wood) turns out to be the only penguin inthe flock that can’t carry a tune—a prime requirementfor acceptance in this community. But thelittle guy can dance—he’s a born tapper, withspeed, moves and grace to rival tap master SavionGlover, who provided the motion-capturing dancingfor the fuzzy bird.His terpsichorean skills are not cool to theelders here—led by cranky high priest HugoWeaving who blames him for the fish famine.Mumble, now an outcast, starts wandering, hispath riddled with unknown dangers, introducingsome big-action scenes featuring (can be childfrightening) hungry birds and a sharp-toothedseal, only to be befriended by five small hip,Latino penguins (led by Robin Williams) whotake him to an extravagantly feathered penguin(Williams again) who serves as some sort of aguru. Here, Mumble is embraced as “Big Guy”and he enjoys a world less rigid than EmperorLand.Mumble’s salvation lies in finding out what’shappening to all the fish and he persists althoughhe is warned by an elephant seal (the late SteveIrwin) that it will be a perilous mission.Eventually, his close encounter with Earth’sdominators and the debris of their civilization,uniquely envisioned from the bird’s point ofview, is sobering. After providing mankind witha thoughtful lesson in global ecology, the movieconcludes with an upbeat ending that leaves youthinking.And if you’re looking for family fare onBroadway, be enchanted by the charming MaryPoppins, with its dazzling special effects.#Thanksgiving DialogueBy Jill LevyMy house has finallyquieted down. The turkeyand various leftovers havebeen distributed among ourfamily who joined us forThanksgiving. The stains have been removedfrom the carpets and the fingerprints from thewalls have been washed away.A few of our guests, family friends for morethan 60 years from the old Bronx neighborhoodleft us with another type of leftover: We reminiscedabout our childhoods and young adulthoods.And in between the memories, we talked agreat deal about the issues before us today—draftor no draft, the war in Iraq, the Middle East, theeconomy, fossil fuels and the environment, healthcare and yes, education.While our experiences varied, we agreed uponone thing: We had all been taught, and learned,the basics. We were literate and could add, subtract,multiply and divide. Spelling was often achore for those among us who did not love toread, but spell we can. Written compositions werearduous, but our skills proved to be more thangood enough to get us through our college years.We all agreed that lab work in science gave usan opportunity to understand the concepts andbecome “creative” with chemistry, biology andphysics. Some found basic art and music appreciationcourses time to “horse around.” Others,like myself, heard music that opened up a newworld for us. Some discovered performing artsand found themselves wholly engaged.Our thoughts turned to classmates who tookcommercial or general courses in high schoolas alternatives to a Regents or college track.We wondered how many of them would havedropped out of school altogether had they nothad alternatives. And we spoke about today’sstudents, their challenges and their opportunities,and the pressure to take and pass all the standardizedtests required of them.Bemoaning a new lifestyle of scheduled andprescriptive activities with little time for creativefree play, the grandparents among us saw a differentkind of intelligence arising, one that leftless time for personal social development, butthoroughly immersed in technology. How wouldthis phenomenon affect personal and politicalrelationships? No, we couldn’t come to consensusabout whether this was a good sign or abad one nor could we agree upon the merits ofstandardized testing. What we did agree on wasthat there was too much stress and competitionin the lives of young children and their parents,and that too much stress and competition furtherisolate people in a society already suffering fromalienation and too little community.No sooner did the last guest leave, however,than my thoughts returned to the serious matter athand, our contract, its implications for the futureof education and most importantly for maintainingexcellence in school leadership, retainingexperience and encouraging the developmentof new leaders. I give thanks for family, friendsand health. Soon, I hope we will all give thanksfor a successor contract that is respectful andequitable.#Jill Levy is the president of the Council ofSupervisors and Administrators.GIVE YOUR GROUPS THE THEATRICALEXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!THEATER REVIEWTarzan Swings On BroadwayArrivesonBroadwayMarch24BY Jan AaronTarzan, the new Walt Disney Co.’s attractionhas swung into the Richard Rogers Theatre fora long run. The musical version of the Disneyanimated film has been beautifully and imaginativelystaged by Bob Crowley. While not aslavish as “The Lion King,” it manages to enchantand entertain its target family audience.The opening dazzles, with images that elicitoohs and aahs: a series of effects simulating astorm and shipwreck, followed by an underwatersequence in which onstage actors are seenswimming furiously. Then the action shifts to abeach, which the audience seems to be looking atthrough an overhead camera.Surely, this is the most cinematic Broadwaystage show—images permeate the productionand surround-sound Lunt-Fontanne Theatre envelopes • 46th the St. & audience. BroadwayOfcourse, the flying apes and Tarzan are what theaudience yearns for and they aren’t disappointed.Thanks to the considerable expertise of aerialdesigner Pichón Baldinu of “De La Guarda,” theyfly through the trees and above the audience’sheads in heart-stopping daredevil fashion, choreographedby Meryl Tankard and accompaniedby Phil Collins’ score.The book by David Henry Hwang sticks faithfullyto the classic story of a boy raised by apeswho undergoes an identity crisis after meetinga beautiful human girl, Jane, here played bythe charming Jenn Gambatese. As Tarzan, JoshStrickland, a former “American Idol” finalist,does fine by his part, and is a real hunk to delightthe teenage girls who were there in numbersthe night I saw the show. The excellent ChesterGregory II sings, dances (sometimes hangingupside down) as Tarzan’s buddy, Terk. The boomingShuler Hensley as Kerchak, the apes leader,and Meryl Dandridge, as Tarzan’s loving Simianmother are excellent.Notable in the first act are Tarzan’s battles withRichard Rodgers Theatre • 46th St. & BroadwayNew Amsterdam Theatrea ferocious 42nd leopard St. & Broadway and a giant spider. The secondact is devoted to Tarzan and Jane’s story has somecharming moments such as his language lesson.Tim Jerome, provokes laughter and giggles as800-439-9000Jane’s ditzy professor dad. If you’re looking toentertain the youngsters—treat them to Tarzan.($38.75-$76.25)#or 212-703-1040www.disneyonbroadway.comSpecial Group Rates for 15 or more• No deposit & flexible payment policies• FREE Group Leader ticket availableCertain restrictions apply. Offer not available for all performances. Discount tickets subject to availability. Not all seats are discounted. Blackout dates may apply.Minimum purchase required for group leader ticket. Ask your group sales representative for complete details.