Santoro: So is this a wait and see thing now? Minnesota education commissioner, Brenda Cassellius, and former Anchorage, Alaska superintendent, Ed Graff, are the two finalists for Minneapolis's school superintendent position, according a May 13 press release. Woolhouse: Well, it actually made me think she already has someone in mind. A mother who did not want to give her name to WBZ-TV said she was glad to see Cassellius leaving. When Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius resigns at the end of the school year, she'll take with her hundreds of thousands of dollars from a separation agreement. Brenda Cassellius Salary Details Revealed Brenda Cassellius' compensation is very high as she earns $311,000 every year. She has one of the highest-stakes jobs in Boston, and the second-hardest job in the city after mayor, one source told me. / CBS Boston. In a letter to "the BPS community" this morning, Mayor Wu said she, School Committee Chairwoman Jeri Robinson and Cassellius decided it was time for Cassellius to move on. It began when the new superintendent came to town. Brenda Cassellius Selected As Next Boston Schools Superintendent May 2, 2019 BOSTON ( WBZ NewsRadio) After a year-long search, Boston Public Schools has a new leader. As the students offered suggestionsfree menstrual products, cleaner bathrooms, improved ventilationCassellius had her executives take notes. This is not a new problem in Boston, having a superintendent leave. What was frustrating, one former official says, was that they were often mutually contradictory. They were also disruptive. She was named superintendent in May 2019 by then-Mayor Marty Walsh. parents, and others. Reading Sage MCAS Practice Test. The staffers, all veterans of public school administration in Boston and beyond, listened closely. She even briefly served as a classroom teacher in January when roughly 1,200 teachers and staff members called out sick during the omicron surge. Cambridge's public school superintendent left last summer, and Boston is now in a similar position. Parents have seen at least a decade of turmoil, as you said, with a revolving door of superintendents and interim superintendents. In one light, Cassellius looks like the ideal person for that mission. In October, school committee members voted to suspend for one year the use of an admissions test for Bostons three elite schools Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy and the John D. OBryant School of Mathematics and Science. Whats more, in a district with chronically declining enrollment, it wasnt even clear to them that there would be enough students to populate all of Casselliuss new programs. Whats more, there was no train running along the parks length. For people with disabilities needing assistance with the Public Files, contact Glenn Heath at 617-300-3268. She succeeded Tommy Chang who resigned after three years. Once, in August 2019, Cassellius returned to the Bolling Building in tears from a visit to the McKinley South End Academy, which was housed in a decrepit building. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The tour earned her a lot of goodwill. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will step down from her position as the district's chief executive in June a decision that Mayor Michelle Wu described on Monday as. On July 22, less than a week after the principals letter was made public, Cassellius appeared, via Zoom, before the school committee to present a draft of BPSs reopening plan. This year, in addition to giving thanks to God and [], Joe Nathan / When [Casselliuss predecessor] Laura Perille was in front of an audience of children, she seemed stiff, the official says. The discovery of a gun at a South Boston school on Friday along with the vicious attack on a principal a few months ago showed the school system has a long way to go at protecting kids and teachers from violence. "We have come to this decision after careful deliberation, with mutual respect for all involved and an acknowledgment that there is much work still to be done this school year and beyond," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu wrote in a letter to the school community. And now I know its for getting us through this pandemic. Her confidence, and her self-belief, paid off. 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The historic building and the congregation within it both seek to reckon with a truer version of their history. This didnt come entirely as a surprise. Will they be encouraged and challenged? I think Wu understands that the next super needs the trust of students, their parents and Boston teachers to really hit the ground running. Cassellius has faced criticism for allowing her administrator's license to lapse. Further, just before applying for the superintendent role in Boston, she had been turned down for the same job in Minneapolis. And that's really taken up all the air in the room, so to speak. Support GBH. ", 'Heartbroken' by the tragedy of war, a Ukrainian opera singer performs in Belmont, Healey's proposed budget a boon to education and the environment, Senate confirms first Hispanic judge to Massachusetts federal court, The woman who introduced MLK Jr. and Coretta Scott lies in an unmarked grave in Boston, The civil rights memorials that expose America's ugly history and warn of repeating the past. Together, we can create a more connected and informed world. Aware of the long history of distrust between BPS families and the district itself, Cassellius made a listening tour her first order of business. They began considering an intervention. She was just four months into her job as superintendent and had a bold idea she wanted to share. When the new system was approved, many city leaders and school advocates hailed it as an outstanding vote that helps to address longstanding equity issues within the district. Because of her background, she says, she has a lot in common with many BPS students. Half African-American and half white, some of her formative experiences included being the target of hatred from adults. Unfortunately, Superintendent Cassellius did not meet it. While the nation tunes in tonight to hear the She started in the position in July 2019. The Emerald Necklacea narrow, marshy landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmstedcould not possibly be the site of a half-dozen or more high schools. In a statement, Cassellius said, "Working alongside so many people - parents, educators, community and faith leaders, and philanthropic partners - all dedicated to helping our children achieve their dreams has given new meaning to my vision of all hands on deck. Kadzis: Well, first of all, I didn't sound very sympathetic the first time. She is too focused on big-picture plans, Bazile says, and she does not have the leadership tools to put in place policies that are going to make those plans actually occur in reality. It creates a level of desperation, Bazile adds, because we cant lose this generation., On the afternoon of November 13, I joined a Zoom call with Cassellius, her chief financial officer, her chief operations officer, and some of her favorite people in the district: her cabinet of student advisers. And we want to see all the dirty details including money figures of the separation agreement Cassellius now must sign. Denne knap viser den valgte sgetype. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Brenda Cassellius has spent three decades as an educator - most recently as the superintendent of Boston Public Schools, and before that, as Minnesota's Commissioner of Education. For that kind of money, Boston parents and voters deserve a full accounting of what led to the mutual decision for Cassellius to depart. Hi, Rose, she said brightly. When you are disrupting the status quo with an anti-racist lens, as an African-American woman, you have to think about the motives of why people might be criticizing the ideas and the disruption that Im making so that underserved children can be served better and to create opportunity and access. It was so fun to see Tou again in new employee orientation She came under fire from some parents and teachers for her efforts to reopen the schools for in-person last fall. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) This letter is intended to provide information about AYP, Minnesota's waiver request and what an AYP designation may mean for the school their son or daughter attends. We have $36 million outside of the normal cost.. During the second half of 2019, she visited every school in the district and met privately with parents, religious leaders, activist groups, and politicians. For some reason, I just felt like I was supposed to be here in Boston, she told me. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will resign at the end of the school year in June, closing out a turbulent three-year tenure overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic, in. Brenda Cassellius, who has been in charge since June 2019, says she will finish out the rest of the year but will resign in June. Previous superintendents had done deep dives into the details of how the district ran. A group of Boston parents has filed a lawsuit against the school committee and Superintendent Brenda Cassellius for what they call a "wholly-irrational" exam school admissions process, which. How much influence and interference did they really have on her and how the schools are run? Until then, my sleeves are rolled up because we still have work to do," Cassellius wrote in her letter. Prior to the release of AYP data, Commissioner Cassellius provided an optional letter to parents that school districts could choose to send with their mandated AYP letters. Rachel Pearson is a parent advocate and trainer at the PACER Center, a nonprofit that champions youth with disabilities and their families. Together, we've laid a stronger foundation upon which BPS can continue to build. OK, you didn't have all your credentials right in the first place!". Lets go to TechBoston, she suggested. So she's been tested by fire. "Under the circumstances, she's done a great job. Was it the pandemic, which stalled Casselliuss agenda and turned her job into mission impossible? As this story went to print, Cassellius was preparing for a virtual retreat with the school committee. But that's my best guess. Do the windows open at the central office? I asked. Instead, invitations will now be issued by weighing student performance, zip code and GPA or MCAS results, a change that was considered a historic win for underserved communities when it was approved. Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments ? Outgoing Boston Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius came in under the cover of darkness and is leaving the same way with a potentially huge severance agreement the city is sitting on. We took a look at her responses in multiple interviews with Boston education leaders, her extensive background in education leadership, and her plans for Boston Public Schools, to uncover how she will shape the next generation of Boston's young scholars. Brenda CasselliusCommissionerMinnesota Department of Education1500 Highway 36 WestRoseville, Minnesota . Back in Minneapolis, she served as an associate superintendent from 2007 to 2010, overseeing high school principals. Joe Nathan / 2018 Columns / Blue Ribbon Schools, Brenda Cassellius, Minnesota Department of Education, Minnesota . In Minnesota, he explained, he and Cassellius shared a frustration that an entrenched bureaucracy stood in the way of bold change. "I will be working in close partnership with the School Committee to move forward the search process for a permanent Superintendent. Strike a blow for transparency for once. Stream GBH's Award-Winning Content For Parents And Children. If we heard this plan two or three months ago, we may have said, Lets all work toward this, said Shah Family Foundation executive director Ross Wilson, whose organization works closely with BPS, on a podcast the next day. But with Brenda, one former official says, word came down that if your presentation was more than a few slides, you would lose her.. With the backing of the teachers union, community activists, and Mayor Walsh, she won the job in May 2019, with a 52 vote from the school committee. As Minnesota students return to school, for most families, the key questions involve their own youngsters. A lot of the most energetic discussion have been around the admissions policies of the city's top three exam schools. Cassellius will step down at the end of the school year, bringing to an end a three-year tenure marked by COVID-19 upheaval and leaving Boston's new mayor with major decisions on the education and policing fronts. Charlene has a way of coaching Brenda, says the former Minnesota Department of Education official. Once we got settled in a classroom at the school, Cassellius told me about her life. Can Wu deliver? But we can assume it will be at least 18 months and possibly two years left on her contract, which could give her a payout of up to $600.000. It was a flight of fancy, one former principal says. Peter Kadzis, GBH senior politics editor, and Meg Woolhouse, GBH education reporter, joined host Henry Santoro on Morning Edition to discuss. Brenda Cassellius has been criticized for her job thus far as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, though her supporters say she deserves time and a chance to implement her vision. And Ms. Cassellius has proven to be not a good administrator. Boston schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will step down at the end of the school year, following a turbulent tenure marked by major disruptions in learning caused by the pandemic as well. I was called everything from the N-word to mulatto, she says. As a parent, I want to request that my child receive a fair and equitable opportunity to apply for these three exam schools, said Bentao Cui, president of Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence, a new organization pushing for a merit-based entrance to Bostons exam schools. Its been, what? And thats a good thingright? Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius will leave her post at the end of the school year. The district is primarily Black and Latino, and parents have been promised much over the years and bore the brunt of the pandemic illnesses and job losses. Its that she was falling apart., In October 2019, Cassellius reached for a lifeline, hiring Charlene Briner as her new chief of staff. After two-and-a-half turbulent years as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, Brenda Cassellius will resign in June, city officials announced Monday. I'm a little sympathetic the second time. College campuses increasingly offer time off for mental health, but some are skeptical. Was it the superintendent herself, who, her critics argue, is too focused on visionary (and starry-eyed) future transformations to tend to the urgent problems of the present? But that's not to understate there's a considerable amount of frustration out there. Before working with . Just to cite one example, she's run through four chiefs of staff in two years. If she appeared harried outside, coming off her meetings and calls, she is now something much closer to jubilant. Boston parent group suing school committee for, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Boston parent group suing school committee for new exam school admissions process, Boston looks to continue remote testimony for public meetings, Special Olympics grant brings the magic of inclusive sports to BPS schools, 98.5 employees had their sensitivity training after Tony Massarotti suspension, Mike Felger rants about people getting fired over a bad comment, Heres what Maura Healeys $55.5 billion budget buys, Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence. The promotions left colleagues, and sometimes the promoted employees themselves, baffled. This button displays the currently selected search type. Near the end of our final interview, during which I detailed her critics charges, Cassellius cut me off. Cassellius has barely stopped moving since. The Boston Public School Committee is expected to sign a separation agreement Wednesday to give Cassellius at least $311,000, the Boston Herald reported. A superintendents contract can be broken with four months notice and the school committee extended Casseliuss contract last year, according to the Herald. In our conversations, Cassellius seemed to ask for two things: time and skepticism of her critics. Their children are Christian Michel, Charles Justice, and Ani Grace. That left Brenda Cassellius as the default candidate and the darling of the teachers union. Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said she supported the change because it is easy to understand, maintains academic rigor, and increases the opportunity for disadvantaged students. It seemed, to some principals, like she was trying to fix the high schools with a magic wand. Last but not the Este botn muestra el tipo de bsqueda seleccionado. Current and former BPS officials came to believe that the root causes of Casselliuss scattershot ideas were her lack of attention to detail and short attention span. Battenfeld: Boston parents and kids deserve a, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Battenfeld: Boston parents and kids deserve a truthful accounting from Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Editorial: Focus should be on saving Social Security, Lucas: Heres hoping for a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024, Howie Carr: The kinked grocery cart under Bidens America, Woodward: Blame organized crime for shelves under lockdown. Off for mental health, but some are skeptical and had a bold idea she wanted share. Turmoil, as you said, with a revolving door of superintendents and interim superintendents and Boston is now much. 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