City Schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard met with the press last week and gave an update on his plans to reduce central office staff by 100 full-time employees over the course of 12 to 24 months. A reduction of 32 jobs held by central office employees has already saved the district $2.7 million, he said.

And he will launch his "Dream Schools" in the fall, a program that will support six low-performing schools by concentrating "experience and resources," he said, where they are needed most.

The Dream Schools program is modeled after two similar programs, Brizard said, that have been extremely successful in the San Francisco and Miami school districts. Beyond moving more experienced teachers into more troubled schools, the program also uses a network of "coaches" starting at the principal level and working down to the classroom-level.

Coaches, who are from outside the district, will provide one-on-one support to those teachers who need help raising test scores.

Listening to Brizard, it sounds more of a business approach to education than we're used to hearing.

The change in leadership and management style over the last year, starting with interim Superintendent Bill Cala, and more recently with Brizard, is making a lot of teachers and principals anxious.

Being a principal in the city school district has always been a challenging job, but as one principal who asked not to be named said, "It's become a real pressure cooker. Everybody is watching their back."

The district's leadership has changed, but the challenge has remained relatively constant: how to teach in schools where concentrated poverty is the bedrock, and poor students make up 60 to 70 percent of the population.

Brizard isn't backing down. He's not easing the tension, he's acknowledging it.

Even as reporters questioned him about concerns that teachers have raised about safety, he said, "Some teachers are concerned, but not all of them."

And when he was asked about whether the unions were cooperating with him, especially when it came to moving senior teachers to more troubled schools, he said, "The unions are watching us, and it's no secret, we are not going to agree on everything."

Brizard is pushing for change. It's too early to tell how successful he will be, but the commitments he made when he accepted the job are going to require it.