A Brief History of the School of Education
A Brief History of the School of Education video
City College’s School of Education was founded in the spring of 1921. From the beginning, it functioned with its own separate faculty and conferred degrees in education to both undergraduates (Bachelor of Science) and graduate students (Masters of Science). The school also provided non-degree professional certificates for those who were teaching in the field and who wanted to pursue advanced study in such areas as: elementary education, secondary education, physical education, art education, and the teaching of music.
Before it became a School of Education, it was a department. In 1906 Professor Stephen P. Duggan, a faculty member within the Philosophy Department, became chair of the new Education Department. Professor Duggan was an alumnus of City College (1890, 1897). Along with leading the Education Department, he also directed the “Evening Session”, the first ever night school in the nation that offered a comprehensive degree bearing program, and “Extension Courses for Teachers”. In 1913 the “Educational Clinic” was established. It was one of the first educational clinics in the country to address the special needs of public school children. In 1917, Professor Duggan shifted his role within the college. He became chair of the Department of Political Science and continued to work actively on a variety of college-wide projects. He subsequently became the founder of the Institute of International Education.
In 1921 City College’s Board of Trustees established the School of Education. This became the fourth school within City College. The Evening Session and the Extension Courses were then folded into the newly structured School of Education. Professor Paul Klapper, a CCNY alumnus (1904) became the Dean. He had served as chair of the Education Department since 1917 and had worked closely with former Chair Duggan on a number of educational initiatives. For the next 15 years, Dean Klapper led the School of Education. He subsequently became the first president of Queens College, another senior college of the City University of New York.
Catherine Franklin, Ed.D.
3/24/21
Reference
McGurk, J. (June 1934). History of the School of Education, 1906 – 1934. Master of Science thesis. New York: City College of the City University of New York.
Rudy, W. Willis (1949). The College of the City of New York: A History 1847 – 1947. New York: The City College Press.
Timeline of the CCNY School of Education
Note: College, State and National Contextual information follows in italics text
In the Beginning: Pre-1906
--The Philosophy Department at the College offers elective courses in pedagogy:
By 1901 there are five “Pedagogics electives” taught in the Department of Philosophy. The goal of the courses is to have a balance between the “cultural and practical.”
• Ellis Island opens in 1892 as an immigration station. For 60 years, it is the busiest inspection station in the Nation. Millions of immigrants arrive in the country, streaming from Ellis Island. Poverty among them is widespread. Only .1 percent of 255,000 families have bathtubs and 88 percent share toilets.
1906-1909 A New Department of Education
--In 1906, City College creates a Department of Education and offers
Two new courses: “Secondary Education” and “School Administration and Management.”
--In 1907, City College initiates the first degree-granting evening program in the Nation in the newly established Department of Education.
• The Lower Eastside in Manhattan is the most densely populated 20-block strip of land in the United States. Jews, mostly from Russia and Poland make up over 90 percent of the population.
1910 - 1917 New Courses in the Midst of a Wave of Immigration
--In 1912, the Department of Education offers new courses such as “Education of Backward and Defective Children” and “Social Factors in Education.” Students in the classes observe testing and examinations being given in the newly established Educational Clinic. In 1914, the department offers the course “Educational Psychology” for the first time.
• The schools are full of immigrant children from crowded homes, many of whom are malnourished and ill with diseases such as measles.
• The testing movement is in its earliest stages. By 1910, 50 individually administered tests for various abilities are available; at the time, there is broad recognition that they have practical value.
• 1915-1918 WW One is being fought in Europe. The U.S remains out of the war for now, lacking a real army or supplies needed to enter the war.
1917-1920 The Division of Extension Courses
--By 1920, The Division of Extension Courses for the training of teachers is the first and largest vocational training undertaken by City College. It now offers 91 courses. The Division cooperates with agencies such as New York State’s Division of Adult Immigrant Education.
--In 1916, City College’s charter is changed to award degrees to female students; credit for extension courses can now be used toward a degree. Course registration increases from 2500 to 5376 with over 100 students specializing in education with a view to becoming teachers.
• On April 6, 1917 the U.S, enters World War One. In need of techniques for separating potential commissioned officers from ordinary enlisted men Military leaders call upon psychologists to assist in the war effort by developing group IQ tests to help do the sorting job. Almost 2 million U.S. Army recruits are group- tested.
• In 1917, Federal Law declares Puerto Ricans citizens of the United States.
• The flu pandemic of 1918 kills 675,000 Americans, more than the U.S. casualties on all the wars of the 20th century combined.
• In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving women the right to vote.
1921-1929 Establishment of A School of Education
--In 1921, the School of Education is established with Paul Klapper as Dean. There are nine faculty members in the School and it offers twelve courses in areas such as: Kindergarten/Pre-school, Leadership and Special Education.
--Between 1924 and 1926, the New York State Education Department discontinues teacher certification examinations in favor of requiring professional education for all new teachers. After 1930, liberal arts graduates entering teaching will be required to have taken professional courses. These changes result in uniform educational qualifications for all teachers, urban and rural.
• Congress passes the 1924 National Origins Act, affirming and extending the exclusion of Asian immigrants and setting national quotas for Europeans, severely restricting those from Southern and Eastern Europe.
• There is growing attention to physical handicaps of children such as poor vision, malnutrition and heart trouble. The Settlement House movement helps bring attention to the plight of poor and immigrant families; many are malnourished and ill.
• By 1914, all major urban school systems in the U.S. have publicly-funded kindergartens open for five-year-olds.
1929-1933 Eight Groups of Courses in Education
--The School of Education now offers eight groups of courses, including Educational Psychology, Trade Education and Industrial Arts, and Leadership. Advances continue to be made in the field of testing and measurement of intelligence.
--The School of Education reorganizes its group of courses on Methods of Teaching in the Elementary School to reflect the influence of progressive education.
--There are large increases in public school enrollment. Enrollment in the School of Education reaches 7,083.
• Between November and March, the American Banking system shuts down completely and the global economy slides into depression. Over 15 million people are unemployed. In the 1930s, the students at CCNY are among the poorest in the country. A large percentage are Jewish, predominantly from Eastern European immigrant families. The Great Depression devastates these families and those of many other working-class New Yorkers.
• Because of student political associations and protest activities, the President of City College and his subordinates violate student free speech rights--43 CCNY students are expelled, 38 are suspended and hundreds hauled before campus disciplinary boards, inquiring into their beliefs and activities.
1934-1939 Progressive Education Influences and the First Course in Negro History and Culture
--The School of Education increases the number of credits for a Master of Science degree to 34 and allows students to opt for an examination rather than a research thesis.
--Dr. Max Yergan, a full-time African-American faculty member in the History Department who is listed in the college bulletin as teaching primarily in the School of Education, develops and teaches the course “Negro History and Culture.” It is the first time the course is offered within any of the city colleges.
--The School of Education offers courses off campus in two progressive schools, the Little Red School House and the Ethical Culture School. The instructors listed in the bulletin are teachers from these schools.
--Dean Paul Klapper resigns to become President of Queens College.
• IQ and other tests are in even fuller use during World War Two than in World War One.
• On January 30, 1933, Hitler is sworn in as chancellor of Germany. On April 1, in Germany, there is a nationwide boycott of Jewish shops and a disbanding of trade unions. Jews are purged from public service. In March of 1934, there is an anti-Nazi protest in New York City outside of Madison Square Garden where a rally in support of the Nazis is taking place.
• Dr. Max Yergan, who is teaching at CCNY, is co-founder and Director of the International Committee on African Affairs. Other co-founders are W.E. Dubois and Paul Robeson.
• 1939 World War Two begins. The United States doesn’t enter the war for two more years but provides material support to the Allies.
1940-48 Activity Courses and War Courses
--Incoming undergraduate students to the School of Education can get elective credit at admission for “war courses” offered by New York City high schools.
--The School of Education offers an additional course in the group of courses it calls the Activity Program: “Visual Instruction: Integration of Visual Materials in the Activity Program.” The SOE requires all students to take the course: “The History of Culture and Education: The Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Relation to Culture.”
--In 1943, the New York State Education Department adds the requirement for a fifth year of study for all high school teachers.
--Max Yergan, the African-American professor who developed and taught the course “Negro History and Culture,” is not reappointed as a professor at City College as a result of the New York State Rapp-Coudert hearings where informers report that Yergan’s course is “liberal and progressive.”
• The Rapp-Coudert hearings are held by a New York State legislative committee established to investigate the State’s educational system; City College, the largest and most famous of the city’s public colleges, becomes a main focus of the Committee. Acting City College President Harry Noble Wright assists the Rapp-Coudert Committee in its investigation of City College faculty and staff by submitting a list of potential CCNY informers. The investigations and subsequent trials lead to the dismissal, non-reappointment or resignation of over fifty faculty and staff at City College.
• December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor is attacked by Japan and the U.S. enters World War Two.
• On August 6th and 9th 1945, The U.S. detonates two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom are civilians. 1945 is V-J Day as World War Two ends.
1949-1953 Attention to Children of Puerto Rican Descent
--For the first time, the School of Education offers a course “The Teacher and the Community: Meeting the Needs of Children of Puerto Rican Descent”
--The School of Education begins to offer additional elective courses in the latest technology useful for teaching: “Radio and TV in Education”, “Preparation of Audio Visual Aids” and “Use of Audio-Visual Learning.”
• After World War Two, migration to the U.S. from Puerto Rico accelerates. By 1955, 500,000 to 550,000 Puerto Ricans have settled in New York City. In 1954, $30 million is sent from Puerto Ricans in New York to relatives in Puerto Rico.
• In 1949, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) begins demanding lists of textbooks from colleges and high schools. New York’s Feinberg Law places a “security officer” in each school district whose job it is to file an annual report on the political beliefs of every teacher. In the early 1950s, the U.S. Senate’s Internal Security Subcommittee resumes the work initiated by the Rapp-Coudert Committee at the city colleges. In 1953, the NYC Board of Higher Education creates its own committee to continue these investigations. By 1958, fifty-seven CUNY faculty and staff are dismissed, resign under pressure, or retire because of the McCarthy investigations.
1954-1960 Calls for New Teacher Preparation Programs Amid a Climate of Both Progress and Distrust in the Nation
--There is an increasing demand for teachers in all branches of education
The NYC Board of Higher Education asks the city to increase funds in order to inaugurate new teacher preparation programs and to improve those presently in operation at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
--The first female students (outside of the School of Education) are admitted to City College.
• In 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education the U.S. Supreme Court finds separate schools for black and white children unconstitutional. Kenneth Clarke, a professor at City College who testified before the Court receives an award for distinguished service.
• In the summer of 1954 polio is a big fear.
• In 1953-54, the Board of Higher Education investigates 105 professors and clerks at the college for alleged “Communist affiliations.” In 1955-56, the CCNY Student Council bars Paul Robeson from appearing at the College’s Academic freedom Week because of Communist affiliations.
• In 1957, the Soviet Union launches Sputnik. The White House establishes a science office for the first time. The National Defense Education Act is passed providing millions for math, science and gifted education.
1960s Shifts Back to Progressive Education and a New Teachers Union
--Progressive education goals such as challenges to traditional education and opportunities for the disadvantaged become more prominent.
--In 1966, the New York State Education Department adds the requirement of a fifth year of study for all elementary teachers.
--In March 1960, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is founded and in November organizes a major strike. In December 1961, the UFT is selected as the collective bargaining unit for all New York City teachers.
--Less than a decade later, Mayor John V. Lindsay with the support of the Ford Foundation, establishes three demonstration districts in minority neighborhoods (to explore decentralization of school administration), one of which is Ocean Hill-Brownsville. A decision by that community board to transfer 19 teachers and supervisors leads to a strike by the UFT because the union feels the transfers threaten job security for all teachers. In the fall of 1968, the strike shuts schools during 36 of the first 38 days for a million students. In 1969, the State Legislature replaces the three demonstration districts with a citywide version of decentralization.
• The new City College Acting President, Harry N. Rivlin, was previously the Dean for Teacher Education for the City Colleges and Chairman of the Queens College Education Department. He is a graduate of City College and had his first nine years of teaching at City College (1930-1939). In accepting the job, he says he is “torn between two loyalties, my responsibilities to the education of teachers and my gratitude to City College.”
• In 1961, two CCNY students join the Freedom Riders to protest segregated facilities in interstate bus stations in the South. They are arrested and sentenced to two months in a Mississippi prison and a $200 fine. One student, a young woman, is jailed for over two weeks. Sixteen members of the City College chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) protest beatings of Freedom Riders in Alabama by 200 white citizens by picketing the Trailways and Greyhound bus terminals in downtown Manhattan.
• In 1964, Congress passes the Civil Rights Act.
• In August 1964, the United States enters the Vietnam War. By 1967, the number of troops in Vietnam reaches 500,000. By 1967, the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches 500,000. There are huge protests in major U.S. cities.
• In 1965, Congress passes the Voting Rights Bill and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) providing federal funds to schools with high numbers of disadvantaged children.
• President Lyndon Johnson signs the bill beginning the Medicare Program, and the Head Start Program begins; in the first year it serves 1,300,000 children from poor families.
• In June 20, 1969 in an historic event, a man walks on the moon.
1970s New Teacher Certification Exams and a New Workshop Center
The School of Education has 96 faculty members, including a Foundations of Education Department with 29. Doyle Bortner is the Acting Dean. From the Mid-70’s until 1976, Joshua Smith serves as Dean. He is the first Black Dean of the SOE.
--In 1971, the School of Education hires its first bilingual faculty member. By the mid- to late 1970’s, five more are hired.
--New York State introduces the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations: a Liberal Arts and Sciences test (LAST), a written assessment of Teaching Skills (ATS/W) for provisional certification and a video-taped Assessment of Teaching Skills for permanent certification.
--In 1972, the New York State Education Department directs its Commissioner to officially register all programs of study in colleges, requiring that the programs show evidence of “careful planning.”
--The School of Education continues to offer courses in technology areas such as radio and TV education and for the first time a course description includes computers. Administration and supervision courses now include data processing and computers in education. With an active New York City teachers union, management courses that are offered include “Collective Negotiations in Public Education.”
--In 1972, Lillian Weber receives a grant to open a Workshop Center with the goal of supporting individualized instruction and open-corridor/open classroom teachers.
• On May 4, 1970, The National Guard opens fire on unarmed students at Kent State University who are protesting the war in Vietnam, killing four students and wounding nine. In protest, millions of college students across the country go on strike.
• In January 1973, the Paris Peace Accords are signed ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The draft ends and is replaced by an all-volunteer army.
• In April 1970, the first Earth Day is organized. Congress passes the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is created.
• Congress passes the All Handicapped Children Act. It requires federally funded public schools to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day to children with disabilities.
• The 1970s ushers in a remediation effort at CUNY for “underprepared” students admitted under open enrollment.
• In 1975, New York City suffers a fiscal crisis, which has a devastating effect on CUNY and City College. All non-tenured and non-secure faculty and staff members are let go and many entire programs are shut down. Tuition is imposed on CUNY colleges for the first time.
• In April 1977, Congress passes Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 states that institutions of higher education must provide accommodations and services to students with disabilities, who self-disclose their disability and request accommodations.
1980s Continuing Progress in Bilingual Education and Environmental Education
--From 1979 until 1983, Arnold Webb, from the New York City Department of Education, serves as Dean. From 1983-1985, Jim Neujahr serves as Acting Dean.
From 1985-1991, Leonard Beckum, a Black administrator who has worked for West Regional Lab serves as Dean.
--In 1980, the School of Education gets State approval for a program leading to a Bilingual extension certificate (an extension to certification in Elementary Education/Childhood Education).
--The Workshop Center has its 10th anniversary.
--Social studies methods professors teach an activity-oriented curriculum.
--Harold McKenna develops a program in Environmental Education for students working for degrees in Secondary Education: Biology.
--In 1985, the Center for Worker Education (CWE), an adult degree program based in lower Manhattan, is granted permanent approval in 1985 by the New York State Education Department. The Center offers a B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education, a program that becomes a part of the School of Education Accreditation Unit.
--In 1984, the North Academic Center (NAC) building is completed, replacing the 6,000-seat Lewisohn Stadium, and the School of Education moves into this building.
• In 1983, the National Commission for Excellence in Education issues a report A Nation at Risk that ushers in the “educational excellence” and standards movement, a repudiation of progressive education.
• In 1981, the first AIDS cases are reported. The Gay Men’s Health Crisis is founded. By 1987, AIDS has killed 20,000 Americans and for the first time, the U.S. President proposes measures to address HIV.
• Forty years after the Rapp-Coudert dismissals, encouraged by a public campaign, the City College Faculty Senate and the University Faculty Senate, the City University of New York’s Board of Trustees unanimously adopts a historic resolution, which expresses regret at the injustice done to the faculty and staff who were dismissed or forced to resign in 1941 and 1942 because of their alleged political associations and beliefs. The resolution promises to “safeguard the constitutional rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association and open intellectual inquiry of the faculty, staff and students of the University.” In April 1982, ten CUNY faculty members who had been dismissed during the McCarthy era are granted retroactive pensions. The Board of Trustees says the dismissals were the result of the “shameful era” of McCarthyism.
1990s Leadership Instability and A Loss of Programs and Faculty Members
--The number of School of Education (SOE) faculty members is down to less than half of the 105 it was in 1975. As CUNY consolidates programs at fewer campuses, the SOE loses the School Psychology program, along with four tenured faculty members.
--The 1990s is a time of leadership change in the School of Education: From 1991-1993, Martin Marin serves as Acting Dean; from 1993-1995, Jim Neujahr serves as Acting Dean for the second time; from June 1995 to 1997, David Bushler from the College of Liberal Arts and Science (CLAS) becomes Acting Dean of Humanities and the Arts, and Acting Dean of Education; from 1997-1998, Samuel Frank, serves as Dean; in 1999, Al Posamentier is appointed Dean.
--The State Education Department has set 80 as a minimum percentage of passing scores on teacher examinations for an education program to remain accredited by the State of New York; as a result of its low percentage of passing scores on the teacher certification examinations, the School of Education is put on probation by the New York State Education Department. This results in a reorganization of the School of Education and its placement for several years within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). In response, the School of Education introduces new and rigorous admissions requirements for undergraduate majors, as well as a School of Education Admissions Test known as the SEAT exam.
• CUNY abandons Open Enrollment at all the senior colleges in the system.
• School Choice vouchers emerge and get many supporters; the Charter School movement begins, supported by New York State legislation.
• On July 26, 1990, George H.W. Bush signs The Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark bill.
• On August 18, 1990, the Ryan White Act is passed and by 2020 distributes more than 20 billion dollars in grants to states and cities dealing with the AIDS epidemic and provides services to more than half a million people.
2000-2009 New Departments and Technology Progress for the School of Education
--In 2000, the SOE creates the position of Director of Technology. Responding to a State mandate to re-register all education programs and to limit the number of education credits for a degree, the SOE drops the required 3-credit technology course for undergraduate and graduate majors from its programs of study, opting instead for an across the curriculum approach to technology.
--In 2001, The School of Education receives a $3 million federal grant “Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology” 9 (PT3) to support the development of technology in the SOE such as establishment of a Multimedia Center. Faculty members reserve the Center to spend time with their students on state-of-the-art software and hardware; the Multimedia Center has open lab hours for students to work on assignments for their courses, search the Internet, borrow equipment, and get technology advice. The program in Transformative Literacy is now the only program to require technology courses for majors.
--The SOE selects the TaskStream platform to collect and process SOE and student data.
--In 2002, the School of Education becomes independent of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and organizes itself into three departments.
--In 2002, the School of Education submits successful proposals for Teaching Fellows from the New York City Department of Education in several certification areas. Within a few years the number of teaching fellows studying at City College is over 600.
--In 2004, the School of Education achieves national accreditation through the National Council of Teachers of Education (NCATE).
--Between 2002 and 2018, the Secondary science program receives multiple grants to provide certification programs for prospective middle and high school science teachers and to offer professional development for practicing K-12 science teachers.
--City College joins the New York City Men Teach Initiative with Walter Griegg as the campus director of the program. City College has the largest number of students enrolled in the program of all the CUNY campuses.
--In 2007, taking advantage of New York City’s position as the center of the national theatrical world, the SOE launches a Graduate Program in Educational Theatre.
--In 2009, the graduate program in Secondary Spanish Education grades 7-12 is approved and begins offering classes. An undergraduate major is already being offered.
• The New York City Teaching Fellows Program is initiated by the New York City Department of Education as a strategy for dealing with severe teacher shortages in certain subject areas and districts, especially those in high-needs schools. Teaching Fellows begin working full-time as teachers of record on a temporary license (Alternative B) from the New York State Education Department after just a summer of intensive preparation.
• In 2002, Congress passes the No Child Left Behind Act. The goal of the Act is to eliminate achievement gaps among groups of students by 2014.
• In November 2008, Barack Obama is elected President, a historic event; he takes office in the middle of a financial crisis in the U.S.
• In 2009, the Race to the Top initiative is incorporated into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and includes provisions such as standards, data systems for assessment and a call for more qualified school staff. The political climate puts much of the blame for the achievement gap on teachers; there is political support for teacher certification programs outside of higher education causing a large decline in enrollment in Schools of Education nationwide.
• In 2004, a three-member panel appointed by New York Supreme Court Justice Leland DeGrasse recommends that the New York State Legislature provide an additional $5.6 billion per year to the New York City public schools. After a decade of struggle, a lawsuit by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity results in a final Court ruling that the state’s school funding formulas discriminate against New York City. By 2020, the City is still owed 3.4 billion dollars.
• In January 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio announces the launch of the New York City Men Teach Program with initial funding from the Mayor’s Office. The goal of the program is to increase the number of young men of color committed to the education of a diverse student population.
2010-2020 New Programs in a Climate of Change in Faculty and Leadership
--The School of Education now has 33 full-time faculty members; the number of adjunct instructors increases to almost 100. The School of Education is reorganized from three departments into two that are more equal in size and faculty and student characteristics: “Teaching and Learning” and “Learning, Leadership and Culture.”
--In this decade, there are many changes in leadership in the School of Education: In 2010, Dean Posamentier resigns from CCNY and Doris Cintron, Associate Dean of the School of Education becomes Acting Dean; in August 2012, Mary E. Driscoll becomes Dean; in 2016, when President Lisa Coico appoints Dean Driscoll the Acting Provost of CCNY, Associate Dean Gretchen Johnson becomes Acting Dean; after almost two years as Acting Provost, Mary Driscoll returns to the Dean position; in 2020 she resigns to become Academic Vice President at Regis College in Boston; Professor Edwin Lamboy becomes Acting Dean.
--New York State is the first in the country to adopt tests for students aligned to the Common Core standards with the goal of preparing students for college; in 2014 New York State begins to require an additional teacher accreditation examination, the edTPA, which includes a videotape of the applicant teaching in an actual classroom. The SOE Multimedia Center and the Learning and Technology Resource Center support students in preparing for this examination.
--The SOE gains approval for several new programs: A fully online program for certified teachers who would like to add an additional certification in Special Education: Teaching Students with Disabilities (TSWD) grades 1-6 and grades 7-12; a certificate program in Teaching Students with Disabilities Birth to Grade 2, and in 2019 a new undergraduate Science Education program: “Science Learning and Public Engagement” for students who would like to prepare for careers in non-profit science-oriented organizations such as museums, zoos and botanical gardens.
--In spring 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the School of Education moves all education coursework online. This is extended to summer and fall 2020 and spring 2021.
--The School of Education forms a committee to plan for its Centennial celebration.
• Between 2010 and 2012, without federal aid to states and local governments to ease the 2008 crisis, 570,000 jobs are lost in state and local governments many of whom are teachers.
• The number of charter schools in New York City grows; by 2013, 95,000 New York City students are in charter schools.
• In 2017, public colleges and universities in the United States for the first time need to raise more money from tuition than they receive from their State governments.
• In early spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hits New York City and New York State hard causing New York State to close all public schools with classes taught online. CUNY does the same. To assist with the COVID-19 pandemic, The CUNY School of Medicine at CCNY graduates its first class several months early.
• Congress passes the CARE Act (the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020) providing funds to all citizens and expanding unemployment benefits. In December 2020, Republican and Democratic Leaders agree on a second CARE act.
• On May 25, 2020, George Floyd is killed by a police officer in Minneapolis setting off weeks of protest marches all over the nation and the world.
• In November 2020, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are elected President and Vice President of the United States. Kamala Harris is the first female Vice President and Vice President of color.
Researched and compiled by Gretchen Johnson, School of Education
3/24/21
School of Education Deans (from 1970s onward)
Doyle M. Bortner, Acting Dean, 1970
Joshua L. Smith, Dean, mid-1970s – 1976
Arnold W. Webb, Dean, 1979 - 1983
James L. Neujahr, Acting Dean, 1983 – 1985
Leonard Beckum, Dean, 1985 – 1991
Martin Marin, Acting Dean, 1991 – 1993
James L. Neujahr, Acting Dean, 1993 – 1995
David Bushler*, Acting Dean, 1995 – 1997
Samuel Frank*, Dean, 1997 – 1998
Edward Lilly*, Acting Dean, 1998 – 1999
Alfred S. Posamentier, Dean, 1999 – 2010
Doris Cintron, Acting Dean, 2010 – 2012
Mary E. Driscoll, Dean, 2012 – 2016; Acting Provost 2016-2018
Gretchen Johnson, Acting Dean, 2016 – 2018
Mary E. Driscoll, Dean, 2018 - 2020
Edwin M. Lamboy, Interim Dean, 2020 – 2021; Dean, 2021 - present
* During this time period, the School of Education is reorganized and placed within the College of Liberal Arts at Sciences until 2002.
We are grateful to Henny T. Wong, Director of the Office of Technology, who created this list.
Deans' Oral History Project
As part of the centennial experience of the School of Education, we were interested to hear from our former deans and their recollected memories of leading the School of Education. Working with the History and Technology Centennial Committee, we created seven questions.
- When did you serve as Dean? How long did you serve?
- What were the unique situations that you faced as Dean?
- What were your hopes for the School of Education?
- What were your surprises/observations with your role as Dean?
- Was there a particular moment/situation that seemed most memorable?
- What were you most proud of while serving as Dean?
- How has the School of Education made an impact on public education, on NYC families and beyond?
The Deans were given these questions in advance of the interview. Each interview took between 30 - 50 minutes. Catherine asked the questions and Doris recorded the interview and provide technical direction and support. We then reviewed each interview and edited it to 15 - 20 minutes. In addition, we created a ten minute clip which contains notable comments from each dean's recorded interview.
Due to time and scheduling issues, we were unable to interview all of the former deans of the School of Education. We intend to reach out to the remaining deans at a future time.
We hope you enjoy listening to these interviews and learning more about the School of Education from the perspective of our former deans.
Catherine Franklin, Associate Professor
Doris Grasserbauer, Director of the Multimedia Center
- James L. Neujahr, Acting Dean from 1983 – 1985 and 1993 – 1995
- Leonard Beckum, Dean from 1985 -1990
- Alfred S. Posamentier, Dean from 1999 - 2010
- Mary E. Driscoll, Dean from 2012 – 2016 and 2018-2020
- Gretchen Johnson, Acting Dean from 2016 - 2018
- Highlights from the Dean Interviews, May 2021
Conversations about the Workshop Center
Lucy Matos
Lucy Matos is a founding teacher of Central Park East Elementary School. She taught early childhood. I met her in 1981, when she was teaching second/third grade at Central Park East 2. Lucy became the director of Central Park East 1, when Deborah Meier left to start the Central Park East Secondary School. Lucy left CPE 1 and was the founding principal of Ella Baker Elementary School.
Bruce Kanze was a long-time classroom teacher, beginning as a social studies and Black and Latin American studies secondary education teacher. He moved to teaching fifth/sixth grade at Central Park East in 1980. He became the director of Central Park East 2 in 1994. He has also been a long-time adjunct lecturer and supervisor of student teachers at City College and Queens College.
Lucy and Bruce have worked together for years and spent time at the Workshop Center.
The purpose of this video was to develop, in personal terms, a picture of the way the Workshop Center for Open Education helped to shape and guide teachers. This video is about Lucy Matos's personal experiences with Lillian Weber and growth as a teacher.
Deborah Meier
Deborah Meier is a leading progressive educator. During the early 1970s, she started Central Park East Elementary School, which grew into Central Park East 1, Central Park East 2, and River East elementary schools, and the Central Park East Secondary School. She went to Boston in the 1990s and started the Mission Hill K -8 School. Ms. Meier has written extensively about the misuse of testing to measure student learning and to evaluate teacher value. She maintains a blog at roger@indefenseofchildhood.ccsend.com .
Vivian Wallace
Vivian Wallace was a student at City College when the Workshop Center for Open Education was formed in 1972. She had a long history working with the Workshop Center. She was also a founding teacher of Central Park East Elementary School in East Harlem. She helped to found Central Park East 2 and has continued to mentor new teachers in progressive education.
Jim Neujahr and Lillian & Henny Wong
Jim Neujahr was a professor of education in the Elementary Education Department at CCNY when Lillian Weber asked him to work with her at the Workshop Center for Open Education with Henny Wong and others. Jim considers Lillian Weber and his affiliation with the Workshop Center to have been the most important shapers of his understanding of teaching and learning. He was the acting dean of the School of Education and continues to do activity based work with public school children in the New York public schools.
Lillian Wong was a long-time public school teacher in the New York City school system. She taught from second through sixth grades in schools in Manhattan and Queens. She taught in the Open Corridor classroom and was mentored by the Workshop Center advisors. The advisors made weekly on site visits to the school.
Henny Wong taught for decades at the Workshop Center. He created a hands-on science center which included a system of gerbil tanks and pond water tanks that helped teachers who came to the Workshop Center figure out how to set up their tanks in their classrooms. He also created a darkroom in the Workshop Center and taught photography. Henny is currently helping professors in the School of Education use technology in our classes.
Santiago Taveras
Santi (Santiago Taveras) got his bachelor's and first master's degrees from City College of New York. While at City College, he attended the Summer Institute, which was part of the Workshop Center for Open Education. He credits his work at the Workshop Center with shaping his educational view. He taught at Central Park East 1 Elementary and Central Park East Secondary Schools and then at East Side Community High School, where he was the founding assistant principal. He was the founding principal of both Banana Kelly High School and The Academy for Careers in Sports in the Bronx and became deputy chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. He has developed project based curriculum and taught leadership classes at the College of New Rochelle and the NYC Leadership Academy. He currently is a student support manager for 26 high schools in the Bronx and has volunteered to lead the Mott Haven Campus Regional Enrichment Center serving the children of essential workers and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Santi has devoted his life to teaching the students of New York City and beyond.
Michael Trazoff
Michael Trazoff was one of the founding teachers of Central Park East Elementary School. He was one of the few male kindergarten and first-grade teachers in the Board of Ed school system. Michael graduated from City College and the Workshop Center for Open Education. He applied the coursework and philosophy he learned in the curriculum into the everyday activities of the classroom.
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Last Updated: 03/25/2023 16:15