State Education Commissioner David Steiner has announced an eight-member screening panel to review Mayor Bloomberg’s waiver request for his NYC schools chancellor pick, Cathie Black.

Unlike Black, all eight of the panelists have experience in the education field. The panel will be chaired by Dr. Susan Fuhrman, president of Columbia University’s Teachers College. The other members are (for details on their respective resumes, click here):

- Dr. Andres Alonso. CEO of Baltimore’s schools.

- Jean-Claude Brizard. Superintendent of the Rochester school district. (Rochester, as you’ll recall, is the hometown of LG-elect/Mayor Bob Duffy).

- Michele Cahill. Vice-president for national programs and director of urban education at Carnegie Corporation of New York.

- Dr. Ronald F. Ferguson. Senior lecturer in Education and Public Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kennedy School.

- Dr. Louise Mirrer. President and CEO of the New York Historical Society. (She has over 20 years experience as an academic administrator, most recently as executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at CUNY).

- Bernard Pierorazio, superintendent of the Yonkers public schools.

- Kenneth Slentz. Associate commissioner for the Office of District Services for the New York State Education Department.

“The commissioner will carefully review and consider the advice he receives from the panel. He will then apply the law to the facts presented and render a decision on the waiver request,” Steiner’s press release states.

“The request for a waiver of specified training and experience is part of a credentialing process. That process comprises an objective review of education, training, and experience to determine if an applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and experience that qualify him or her to perform the functions authorized by the credential.”

“Nothing in the law or regulation prescribes a time frame for this process. However, the Commissioner is mindful of Chancellor Klein’s scheduled date for departure and the need for prompt action.”

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