Of the four finalists the St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education is interviewing for superintendent, all are African-American, two are women and three would be coming from an East Coast school district.
Johnny Little, SLPS spokesman, also told the American that Pamela Randall Hughes, SLPS interim superintendent, did not apply for the job of superintendent and was not a candidate.
The finalists will be introduced to the public at Carr Lane VPA, 1004 N. Jefferson Ave., with opening remarks by school board member Ron Jackson, chair of the search committee, at 5:15 p.m. today (Feb. 24.)
The finalists are Paula M. Dawning, Benton Harbor (Mich.) superintendent; John W. Thompson, former Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent; Deborah Jewell-Sherman, Richmond (Va.) Public Schools superintendent; and Creg E. Williams, School District of Philadelphia deputy chief academic officer.
Paula M. Dawning has been superintendent of Benton Harbor Area Schools since 2002. An urban school district, it serves 5,300 students with 96 percent of those being minorities. The district has 800 employees and an annual budget of $50 million. She says the key attribute she brings to a school district is her “ability to help heal and collaborate.” She calls herself “an effective listener with the ability to bring the community together to prepare students effectively for the future.”
She says she provided the leadership to successfully pass the first tax levy for maintenance improvements in her district in 17 years and “provided the academics to register significant gains” during her tenure, including a 100 percent improvement over two years in 4th grade reading scores.
John W. Thompson served as Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent from 2000 to 2005. His contract was not renewed when it expired on July 1, 2004. An interim superintendent took over on Feb. 1. The district has 35,000 students, 5,000 employees and a $480-million operating budget.
Thompson says he developed the district’s agenda and action plan strategies to facilitate improved student performance and a reduction in achievement gaps. He says he provided an increase in the number of early childhood programs, the development of character in students and worked to ensure every student had a career plan upon leaving the school system.
Through “working closely with the district,” Thompson says he created key parent communicators, parent advisory committees and developed five parent educational resource centers.
Deborah Jewell-Sherman has been Richmond Public Schools superintendent since 2002. The district serves 25,000 students and 4,000 staff members with a budget of $260 million. She was hired on a 5-3 vote in 2002 by the Board of Education, and her contract had a provision that the number of accredited schools in the district had to double by the end of her first year. She met that goal.
She said her strengths are the ability to espouse a vision that others gravitate toward and being analytical, knowledgeable about curriculum, tough but nurturing, and an agent for change. She has never faced a budget deficit or sudden shortfall of finances.
Creg E. Williams has served as School District of Philadelphia deputy chief academic officer since 2002. The district serves more than 215,000 students and 11,000 teachers and has a budget of more than $1.6 billion. He says he developed a five-year strategic plan for high schools that “resulted in marked increase (seven to 16) in the number of high schools reaching Adequate Yearly Progress according to federal No Child Left Behind standards from 2002-03 to 2003-04.”
He calls himself “a high-energy individual who is involved in various community activities, particularly youth organizations.”
Williams also served as lead educator on the management’s negotiation team during last year’s contract talks and “played a key role in listening to teachers’ concerns and in helping the union adopt positions different from their original position.”
At the event today at Carr Lane, each candidate will give a 15-minute speech. After each presentation, the candidate will field questions from the audience. Each presentation is scheduled to last an hour.
Embattled district officials managed to stir controversy before the event by scheduling it on the same date as a meeting of the Parent Assembly of the St. Louis Public Schools.
“The month of February has 28 days, and for more than two months the date February 24 has been scheduled as the meeting date of the district Parent Assembly,” Dorris J. Walker-McGahee, president of the assembly, wrote in a letter to the media.
“It now appears that the school board does not want the parent assembly members and officers to meet the candidates.”
The Parent Assembly and The Community will host their own School Board Candidates Public Forum on Wednesday, March 2, from 6:30-8:00 p.m., at St. Paul Church, 1260 Hamilton. It will be broadcast live in Clear Channel with Deneen Busby.