A Look at Superintendent Zardoya's Tenure as She Prepares for New Job Under Chancellor

By  HEATHER HADDON

For almost a decade, District 10 Superintendent Irma Zardoya has presided over the largest district in the city and the second largest in the state. Keeping her job over that time in a district notorious for its factional school board battles that resulted in the firing of at least two of her recent predecessors was no small feat.

That she was able to maintain that delicate balance while bringing some advancements to District 10 schools, is no doubt part of the reason why Schools Chancellor Joel Klein entrusted her with one of the 10 new regions that will replace the 32 school districts next fall.

But with over 50 schools and thousands of parents, teachers and administrators, there are bound to be many perspectives on Zardoya's tenure. Here, we take a look at her record from the perspective of some who worked closely with her over the years. Zardoya was not available for an interview and didn't respond to a list of faxed questions by press time.

'A lot of pluses'

Zardoya, who has spent her entire career in public education, began work as a bilingual assistant, then moved on to teach. She developed a niche for herself in bilingual education while principal of a District 12 bilingual school. And while deputy superintendent of District 1 in Manhattan for four years, she began to explore more experimental educational methods.

Gail Walker, a Norwood mother of three and longtime parent leader, was on the selection committee that hired Zardoya in 1994. "She had a lot of pluses," remembers Walker, a health care professional. "She came in with very innovative ideas. She was a resident of the neighborhood. And she had a lot of energy."

Regardless of their views of her approach, most who have worked with her describe her first and foremost as "hardworking."

"She's very focused on instruction," said Sandra Lerner, a former district deputy superintendent and Board 10 president who is now an administrator at Lehman College. "That's a very difficult task in one of the largest and most overcrowded districts in the city."

Despite the difficulties, Zardoya implemented her vision, encouraging heterogeneous classrooms (mixing kids at different performance levels at several schools) and creating schools of choice -- smaller, themed-based programs within schools that have proven popular.

"I know she understands that children have different tastes and different paces," Walker said. "Her approaches mean she understands how children learn."

Nancy Dubetz, a bilingual education consultant and associate professor at Lehman, also praises Zardoya for her "child-centered approach," as she puts it. "She's brought in the right people to get reforms moving in the schools," said Dubetz, who has worked with Zardoya for a number of years. "These are the hardest kind of reforms to make, especially in such a large district."

Though she maintains a relatively low profile in the press, Zardoya is a master at soliciting additional resources to the district. "She's one of the city's most successful fundraisers,"

Lerner said. "The grants she's gotten have enabled her to provide professional development and extra services to students." Most recently, Zardoya secured a Wallace-Reader's Digest grant for staff development, one of only 10 school districts nationally that were awarded the prestigious grant of $750,000.

Zardoya also gets points from her colleagues for her dedication to professional development. "She's been very innovative in making connections between universities and schools" to offer teacher training, Dubetz said. "Irma's very supportive of helping teachers to work in urban schools." Zardoya has also encouraged mentoring among administrators, facilitating coaching between new and veteran principals.

And she has consistently worked with prestigious educational institutes, including Bank Street College and Teacher's College at Columbia. "Irma recognizes the advantages of professional partnerships," said Dubetz. "Most superintendents aren't aware of the benefits." Dubetz worked extensively with Zardoya on creating more effective bilingual programs. "Partnerships help accommodate children with diverse learning styles," she said.

'Focus on reading'

But others think that some of her training methods and educational approaches have been ineffective. Councilman Oliver Koppell gave mixed reviews of the district's curricula choices. Though pleased by the literacy curriculum -- which emphasizes the phonics methods that Klein also favors -- he is less satisfied with the non-traditional math methods.

"The hallmark of her tenure was her focus on reading," said Koppell, former president of the district's school board. "But our kids' abilities in math was a weak point due to the curriculum, the training of the personnel and their ability to teach the kids."

District 10 reading and math scores over Zardoya's tenure present a murky picture.

Achievement on the state exams have improved steadily in both areas, especially in decreasing the number of kids falling into level one (the lowest rank). Between 1999 and 2002, literacy scores at level 1 fell 3 percentage points, and passing rates (levels 3 and 4) rose 2 percentage points. Math saw even better advancement, with level 1 scores falling by almost 8 percentage points and passing rates increasing by over 3 percentage points.

But the connection between these advancements and ZardoyaÕs leadership are not crystal clear. In 1994, when she first took the helm, the district was ranked 27th and 22nd out of the city's 33 schools in literacy and math respectively. In 2002, the district fell to 27th and 28th in literacy and math -- still remarkably poor.

Walker gives Zardoya the benefit of the doubt. "To be honest, you can't point just to the scores," she said. "There are so many issues and politics involved."

And Koppell even gave her high marks for effort. "Irma has tried hard to bring the schools out of [failing] status," he said.

School board turbulence

Zardoya was forced to ride a turbulent wave of changing school board politics. For the first few years of her tenure, she was basically on the same wavelength as the members who hired her. But when a Koppell-led Riverdale slate swept out most non-Riverdale residents, the new majority clashed with the superintendent, particularly on her educational philosophy. Her reappointment in 1999 was jeopardized when the board tried to open the position to outside applicants. She was saved by Bronx political heavyweights who reportedly weighed in with Koppell.

The biggest rift of her tenure occurred when the board insisted that Riverdale get its own zoned high school at MS 141, a move that siphoned off precious middle school seats from a space-starved district. But in the end, Zardoya went along. "The Riverdale faction compelled her to do things," said Lois Harr, a Manhattan College administrator and education activist. "At some point, she had to choose to go forward with [the school]" even if it squandered precious resources, said Harr, who lives in Bedford Park.

"The school board has tied her hands in lots of things," Walker agreed.

Harr was discouraged that Zardoya was sidetracked from the rest of other district projects, including Jonas Bronck Middle School, which she helped found. "I wish Jonas Bronck hadn't been put on the back burner," said Harr, referring to the fact that the school, based at Manhattan College for now, still has no permanent home. But she said Zardoya was supportive of other campaigns she worked on as a member of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, like the fight for more schools and a more accountable School Construction Authority.

Walker also mentioned that she wished Zardoya could have devoted more energy to fully developing the district's parent center, which Zardoya started early in her tenure.

'Challenging role'

Whatever the past hurdles, they may pale in comparison to Zardoya's new assignment.

"It's a very challenging role that she has been given," Lerner said. "To put anyone into it will be very hard."

Walker echoed that sentiment. "I don't understand how she's going to handle the new region. Our district was already so large."

In her new role, Zardoya will have to figure how to successfully integrate districts 9 and 10 into a cohesive region of 93,314 students and 109 schools. "Irma's worked hard to develop an educational culture in District 10," Dubetz said. "District 9 has a whole different philosophy about literacy and curriculum." Score-wise, District 9 is one of the lowest performing districts in the city, especially in literacy. Some of its schools -- centered in Mount Hope, Highbridge and University Heights -- have been in and out of the so-called Chancellor's District, which supervises failing schools.

While Koppell is also "concerned about the burden placed on each of the new supervisors," Zardoya seems cautiously confident. "Change is difficult," she calmly said last month. "The operational side of the new plans is going to take time."

"I wish her well," Walker said. "I do believe she has a heart for the children."

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