New NYC schools chief takes the helm

Former Hearst Magazines chairwoman Cathie Black started work Monday as chancellor of the nation's largest public school system, vowing to put the "pedal to the metal" as she visited schools in each of New York City's five boroughs.

"For me, this is a dream. It's a dream job, a dream opportunity, a chance to make a difference," Black said at Public School 262 in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, the first stop on her tour.

Black and Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited classrooms at P.S. 262, also known as El Hajj Malik El Shabazz School after Malcolm X.

Bloomberg announced in November that he had chosen Black to succeed Chancellor Joel Klein, who left to take a position with News Corp.

Many New Yorkers opposed the appointment of a publishing executive with no background as an educator to head the school system. Opponents filed three lawsuits challenging the state education commissioner's decision to clear the way for Black by waiving the required education credentials; their petitions were denied last week by a State Supreme Court justice.

There was no sign of opposition Monday as Black sat in on classes and met with small groups of students.

"It's a privilege to be here and I need your wishes for good luck too," she told students at North Queens Community High School, a so-called transfer school where failing students get intensive counseling to steer them back on track.

In the Bronx, she passed through a metal detector at the High School for Violin and Dance, one of four small high schools sharing a building that formerly housed one high school. She watched a dance class and listened to violin students play variations on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."