Seeking to block Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s move to seize control of struggling schools, Mayor Bill de Blasio set out in March to highlight the scope of his efforts to improve the city’s most troubled schools.

In visits to Boys and Girls HS in Brooklyn on March 10 and Richmond Hill HS in Queens the following week, the mayor touted the progress being made as a result of his $150 million turnaround program, which gives the 94 targeted schools three years to produce results. The program provides coaching for principals and additional resources to hire more staff, add social services and provide training for the teachers.

Longer instructional time is also part of the formula. To date, Department of Education officials said, 54 of the 94 schools have added an extra hour of instruction and all schools will have it in place by September.

“The status quo is not acceptable,” de Blasio told reporters. “That’s why we are giving struggling schools something they’ve never had before: the leadership, focus and support they need to finally succeed. This is what real change will take.”

De Blasio noted that he had inherited schools that had been long-neglected by his predecessor. “Many of these schools have been broken for years, and they won’t be fixed overnight,” the mayor said. “But make no mistake: This strategy is working.”

De Blasio appointed veteran educator Aimee Horowitz to oversee the School Renewal Program. He said Horowitz would be mimicking the NYPD’s CompStat program to pinpoint issues quickly and demand accountability from principals.

De Blasio was blunt in his assessment of Cuomo’s own approach, which would nullify all contracts and hand the schools over to an outside entity.

“If schools are put under state control, well, I’m sorry, with all due respect to Albany, I believe we know a lot more about what we need for our children than bureaucrats in Albany do,” he said at the news conference at Richmond Hill HS.

Principal Michael Wiltshire testified to the City Council on March 19 that the staff at Boys and Girls HS has assessed where each student stands academically and developed individual plans for them to graduate. The school has added instructional time including Saturday classes, assigned each student a mentor, enrolled students in Advanced Placement classes at a neighboring school and brought in a community-based partner organization.

Wiltshire said that attendance is improving and that 80 seniors are on track to graduate, up from 40 at the start of the year. “I must also tell you that I am extremely proud and indeed excited to see many of our seniors receiving their college acceptance letters,” he said.

City officials said that student attendance at Richmond Hill HS has also improved and more students are on track to graduate, while the number of suspensions has decreased. The school’s hallway was lined with a color-coded progress chart for each student, using individual codes to preserve privacy, which show whether they are on track to graduate.

More than 600 teachers in Renewal Schools across the city have received more professional development in mathematics, literacy and other subjects, according to the DOE.

As part of the full-court press to fend off the governor’s proposal, the UFT also sent eight teachers from Renewal Schools to Albany on March 19 to talk to legislators about the help their schools have received and to argue in favor of de Blasio’s approach.