New schools chancellor appointee Cathie Black visited Department of Education headquarters at Tweed Courthouse for the first time today, exactly a week after Mayor Michael Bloomberg surprised the city with her appointment.
Black met with the members of the chancellor’s cabinet, which includes all of the deputy chancellors and heads of various departments, said spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz. She also introduced herself to many of the staff, Ravitz said.
If Black becomes chancellor, she will enter the department as a virtual unknown to many of its staff. Black has almost no experience in education, and her appointment came as a surprise even to some of current Chancellor Joel Klein’s senior aides.
Since Bloomberg announced Black’s appointment last week, the chancellor appointee has been sequestered from the press and the public. Yesterday, Deputy Mayors Harold Wolfson and Dennis Walcott, as well as the city’s chief lobbyist Micah Lasher, were spotted by Times reporters at Hearst’s headquarters meeting with Black.