N.Y. District Braces For State Takeover

By John Gehring

Roosevelt, N.Y.

Basir Mchawi strides through the halls of Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School with a walkie-talkie in his hand. "Take off the do-rags!" the principal shouts at male students wearing headscarves. "Get to class, walk and talk!"

It's still early, but the principal is already juggling competing demands. A frustrated parent is waiting for him at the school's office. Inside classrooms, students take practice exams to prepare for New York's mathematics assessment. But right now, Mr. Mchawi vents.

He's frustrated with the negative publicity that is swirling around the Roosevelt school district, whose long-standing academic and fiscal problems drove New York lawmakers to pass a recent measure that calls for a state takeover of the system. "The media has painted a totally negative picture and one that is distorted," Mr. Mchawi said. "The rap that the school and the district is taking is an illusion. It's promulgated by people not from here. Are we where we want to be? No....