NEWS BRIEF

Fernandez: Schools Must Adjust

Schools must adjust to our changing society in order to be effective, said outgoing New York City Schools Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez yesterday at the Graduate School of Education.

Fernandez told an audience of about 175 that many city schools have large numbers of students on public assistance, latch key kids and immigrants who speak a variety of languages and have different educational backgrounds and needs.

"Our schools today should be totally different than they were 20 or 25 years ago," Fernandez said. "We have to realize that the demographics have changed dramatically and we have to change the institutions to fit the kids."

The New York City Board of Education rejected renewal of Fernandez's contract in February, in part because of his controversial sex-education initiatives, which taught tolerance of alternative families and made condoms available in public high schools.