Interim Chicago school CEO says system he inherited was in bad shape

From The Chicago Tribune: Interim Chicago Public Schools chief Terry Mazany says the system was “in free fall" when he took over in November from CEO Ron Huberman. Mazany says he has worked to repair some of the strained relationships between the central office and its employees and to bring a "culture of calm" to a district that had seen three top executives in two years. Mazany has a new education plan that lays the groundwork for the types of changes he says will put the district back on track — transferring power from far-flung area offices back to the district's headquarters, improving employee morale, holding teachers accountable, closing or consolidating schools with low enrollment, placing a one-year moratorium on new charter schools to free up space for those already succeeding, investing in early childhood education and getting away from testing as the sole measure of a student's intellect. Mazany says he does not consider himself a candidate to become the schools' chief full time. Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel has said he wants a new chief in place by the time he takes office May 16.