Dennis M. Walcott (born September 7, 1951) is the former Chancellor of the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

. He succeeded

Cathie Black Cathleen Prunty "Cathie" Black (born April 26, 1944) is a former New York City Schools Chancellor. On April 7, 2011, Black stepped down from her position after 95 days on the job. Her appointment to replace longtime Chancellor Joel Klein was ann ...

, who resigned in April 2011 after only three months on the job. He was succeeded as chancellor by

Carmen Fariña Carmen Fariña (née Guillén; born April 5, 1943) is a former New York City Schools Chancellor and head of the New York City Department of Education. Announced by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on December 30, 2013, she was the first New York City ...

. He is the president and chief executive officer of

Queens Public Library The Queens Public Library (QPL), also known as the Queens Borough Public Library and Queens Library (QL), is the public library for the borough of Queens, and one of three public library systems serving New York City. It is one of the largest li ...

. Although Walcott lacks training as a schools administrator,Daniel Massey, "Meet the new guy: Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott", "Crain's New York Business," April 7, 2011 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110407/FREE/110409898 he served nine years as

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Deputy Mayor for Education and was a member of the NYC Board of Education. He required a waiver from the

New York State Education Department The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the supervision for all public schools in New York and all standardized testing, as well as the production and administration ...

under Education Commissioner David M. Steiner. Walcott is a former employee at Amistad Day Care Center and holds a master's degree in the education field. Prior to joining

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

in 2002 as Deputy Mayor for Education, he headed the New York chapter of the

Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...

.New York City Department of Education website, February 2009, "Q+A with Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott" http://schools.nyc.gov/AboutUs/SchoolNews/CitySchools/Issues/022009/walcott.htm In March 2016, Walcott was selected as president and CEO of the

and was criticized for overseeing the Library's first branch closure despite increased funding.

Early life and education

Walcott is the son of immigrants from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and St. Croix. He is a native of

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. He attended

Francis Lewis High School Francis Lewis High School (FLHS) is a selective public high school located in Fresh Meadows, in the New York City borough of Queens. It is one of the most-applied-to public high schools in New York City with 9,468 applicants in 2016. Operated b ...

, and he earned a bachelor's degree in 1973 and a master's degree in 1974 from the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...

in Connecticut. He earned a Master's in Social Work from

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1980. Walcott's early employment was in counseling. In 1974, he began a one and a half year tenure at the privately run pre-kindergarten Amistad Child Care and Family Center in

South Jamaica, Queens South Jamaica (also commonly known as "Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located south of downtown Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been established, the neighborhood is a subsectio ...

Public service work

In 1975, Walcott founded the Frederick Douglass Brother-to-Brother mentoring program. He went on to become president and chief executive of the New York Urban League for 12 years, where he expanded educational and youth service programs. He also served as executive director of the Harlem Dowling Westside Center, expanding services to children and families in need. In 1993 Mayor

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...

appointed him to the predecessor agency to the Department of Education, the

New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

. His term extended into the mayoral term of mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

. He also taught as an adjunct professor of Social Work at York College, and was a talk show radio host on community issues. Under Walcott's direct leadership, after 30 years, the Queens Public Library closed their first Library branch ever in Court Square in Long Island City despite increased funding for Libraries by the city, the area's population growth and multiple efforts by community members to ensure continuous library service. Local Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer condemned Dennis Walcott for his inability to prevent the closure despite years of notice in advance of the situation.

East Ramapo oversight

Walcott was assigned to review the budgetary and academic failures in the

East Ramapo Central School District East Ramapo Central School District is a school district in Ramapo, New York, United States. It is headquartered in the Senator Eugene Levy Dr. Jack R. Anderson Education Center. History 20th century On March 4, 1952, seven school districts m ...

, which is mostly made up of

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

. He angered some in the community in December 2015 when he recommended that the state assign a committee with veto power to oversee the school board, and that boys and girls use the same bus services, something not permitted by the community's rabbis.

Personal life

Walcott and his wife Denise have four children and eight grandchildren, who have attended New York City Public Schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walcott, Dennis 1952 births American librarians American people of Barbadian descent American people of United States Virgin Islands descent Fordham University alumni Living people New York City School Chancellors Politicians from Queens, New York Queens Public Library Deputy mayors of New York City Educators from New York City Francis Lewis High School alumni University of Bridgeport alumni