Mayor Mike Bloomberg was in a festive mood Monday as he blew the circus whistle and tried on ringmaster Kevin Vernardos’ hat while welcoming Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to town. Later that day, the mayor removed two of his appointees to the Panel for Educational Policy in order to win approval of his plan to tie promotion of third grade students closer to their reading and math test scores. The plan was criticized by many parents and education analysts, but Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said it would ensure that children are not passed from grade to grade without learning.
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