BP MARKOWITZ STATEMENT ON APPOINTMENT OF BROOKLYN NATIVE DR. JOHN KING AS NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER

Brooklynites and New Yorkers couldn’t be prouder today than to see one of our own, Dr. John King, Jr., a favorite son of Flatlands, appointed as the new commissioner of the New York State Education Department. Dr. King was born to parents who worked in education—in fact, his father was the first African American principal in Brooklyn—and his public school education at schools like P.S. 276 prepared him well to earn degrees from Harvard, Yale and Columbia, head up the Brooklyn-based Uncommon Schools charter school network and, most recently, serve as deputy state education commissioner. Dr. King will need to draw on some of that ‘Brooklyn attitude’ as he continues to work on the sweeping reform agenda set by the Regents and to ensure our public school students—including more than 300,000 in Brooklyn—succeed and reach their goals.”