Third-graders will begin trooping through the Tweed Courthouse next spring, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday, making good on a promise to mingle students with top school administrators.
“It will send a message that in New York City, education excellence is available to all who seek it regardless of age or circumstances,” declared the mayor at a press conference in the once-notorious building that now serves as headquarters for the Department of Education.
Chancellor Joel Klein said the one-time courthouse – remodeled last year for an astonishing $89 million – would accommodate 200 students at a time for intensive two-week sessions focused on literacy.
Bloomberg put the added cost of the classrooms at $7.5 million.
The importance of the announcement was underscored by the presence of top mayoral aides as well as architectural drawings showing every square foot of the new Tweed Academy, likely the highest honor ever accorded the corrupt politician for whom the structure is named.
Klein was so pumped up that he hugged Deputy Chancellor Diana Lam after she spelled out several ambitious programs for students, parents and the public that would eventually use the building at all hours, including weekends.
“When you exert leadership, what you’ve got to do oftentimes is change the culture,” said Klein.