For the past 12 years, the Bloomberg administration has singled out charter schools for special treatment, a strategy that embittered many ordinary New York City public school parents and children. Here are four steps charter schools should take now to end that divisive relationship.

As Mayor Bloomberg leaves office, it's become apparent that the city has consistently had more money available than the Mayor has maintained. Rather than be fair to city employees, the Bloomberg administration has repeatedly chosen to spend public resources on tax breaks for developers or for consultant contracts on failed or overpriced projects.

Ask what makes a great teacher, and you will get a long list of “must-haves”: intelligence, dedication, knowledge of the subject matter, a keen sense of humor. But anyone who has spent any time in the classroom knows that those ingredients mean very little without the essential spark — a desire to make a difference in children’s lives.

The recent dramatic drop in student scores after the state introduced new tests based on the rigorous Common Core learning standards is a clear demonstration that — after a decade of Mayor Bloomberg's obsession with data, test prep and proclamations of his strategy’s success — our school system needs a new direction.

Mayor Bloomberg claims that times are so tough, there isn’t enough money in the city budget to give city workers, including teachers, the retroactive pay raise they are owed. The truth is that — thanks in part to a strong local economy — the city has generated huge budget surpluses every year.