Virtual District, Real Improvement: A Retrospective Evaluation of the Chancellor's District, 1996-2003

This study is a retrospective analysis of the outcomes of the Chancellor’s District, a virtual district created to improve New York City’s most poorly performing public schools. New York City Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew initiated the district in 1996 to remove state-identified low-performing schools from their sub-district authorities, and to accelerate their improvement by imposing a centralized management structure, a uniform curriculum, and intensive professional development. The initiative was terminated in 2003 when a new, Mayoral-controlled regime restructured the city school system.