American Notes NEW YORK CITY

After he was appointed the first black superintendent of schools in Minneapolis in 1980, Richard Green earned a national reputation as a stern and innovative educator. He thus had high hopes of muscling New York City's chaotic school system into order when he became its first black chancellor 14 months ago. But the transition from guiding 40,000 Minneapolis students to dealing with 940,000 in New York was a rude jolt.

Green was dismayed by the prevalence of drugs, weapons and racial tensions in the New York schools. He suspended two community school boards tainted by corruption. He was disillusioned when only 6% of voters cast ballots for board members. Last week a school administrator and a teacher were arrested for selling cocaine, and the trial of a principal accused of buying crack ended in a hung jury.

Two days later, Green died at 52 after an attack of chronic asthma. "What surprised me most," he had confided to TIME in a discussion about his work in New York, "is how little people really care about children."