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The meeting was also attended by city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, the Reverend Al Sharpton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the latter being a potential challenger to Obama in 2012.

The group discussed race and class gaps in public education and ways to close them. They also marked the 55th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision to desegregate schools.

When it comes to increasing student performance, the mayor touted the latest round of standardized tests, saying the rest of the country can use New York City as a blueprint for success.

Bloomberg also pointed to the benefits of performance pay.

"There are no secrets here. It costs money and it takes hard work and you have to hold people accountable," said the mayor. "And those that perform should be the ones that teach our kids and those that don't, unfortunately, our children are just too important. We have to run our schools for the kids and not for the people that work there."

The mayor also attributed the city's success to holding students accountable for their work by ending social promotion.

Bloomberg also reaffirmed his commitment to aid Obama.

"The country elected this president because they wanted a change on that," said the mayor. "He's been in office only 100-plus days, but he's certainly taken on all of the tough issues. And he'll have his reverses and he'll have his successes, but he's doing everything this country could ask of him. I'll certainly be there to help him if I possibly can, because we need a successful president."

The recent flyover of the Air Force One fleet by the Statue of Liberty was not discussed, and the mayor instead seemed to focus on his affinities with the president.

"This president wants to make a difference and so do I," said Bloomberg. "We have a lot in common, we got to know each other during the campaign, and that's continuing."

Bloomberg and Obama met in Washington, D.C. previously in March to discuss the nation's infrastructure.

The mayor was in Atlanta on Wednesday, where he toured the Centers for Disease Control facilities and met with agency officials about the recent H1N1 flu outbreak.