(St. Louis Public Radio) – Dr. Tiffany Anderson, whose leadership in the Jennings school district since 2012 resulted in its earning full accreditation, will become the new superintendent of schools in Topeka, Kan., starting July 1.
The head of the school board in Topeka, Patrick Woods, made the announcement late Friday. Anderson had been one of two finalists for the job.
“We had a number of very qualified candidates to review and meet with,” Woods said in a statement, “but in the end Dr. Anderson had the experience we need at Topeka Public Schools. Her time successfully leading districts with diverse populations and improving test scores in her district is something that resonated with our board.”
The Topeka school board chose Anderson Thursday night after a lengthy meeting but held up announcing their choice until negotiations for a contract were completed.
In an interview, Anderson said she is often contacted by recruiters but usually declines to entertain offers to move. But between the fact that Topeka is near where her family lives in Kansas and the fact that schools there are similar to what she has dealt with in Jennings, she said she felt it was a good match.
“This is a district that has tremendous potential and shows lots of opportunities that are waiting to be explored,” she said. “A lot of the challenges are like those that were in Jennings.”
Topeka has 14,000 students, nearly five times the enrollment of Jennings, and about 70 percent of its students come from low-income families, compared with 100 percent in Jennings. But Anderson has earned national recognition for her performance and her insistence that children in poverty have the same potential to learn as anyone else.
“I knew that Jennings could be transformed,” she said, “and I know that Topeka can achieve at much higher levels than where they are now. It’s really a pretty amazing district with a lot of resources that are waiting to be further explored and developed, where the kids can really succeed at higher levels.”
Coming to a city that has a central role in the history of school desegregation also means a lot, she said, as she becomes the first African-American female superintendent in Topeka.
Anderson noted that to get to her new job, she will pass the University of Kansas, where her son is a student. She said her family will be glad she doesn’t have to spend so much time on the road anymore.
“My family is pleased that I will have an opportunity to have breakfast and dinnner with them more frequently than I’ve had,” she said. “They’ve given a tremendous investment to St. Louis as well in supporting me in four years of spending more time with my school family here in Jennings than I have with them, quite frankly. I feel so fortunate to have a family that has done that, and now it’s time to spend tim with a community where I live. I live in Kansas.”
Published with permission from St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/jennings-superintendent-hired-top-job-topeka-kan-schools
