Recommendations of Three Candidates as Finalists for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools

On Monday, 16 November 2015, and Tuesday, 17 November 2015 of this week members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education conducted interviews with six candidates at this advanced stage in their process for selection of the new Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS).


The six candidates interviewed were Michael Goar, who has served as Interim Superintendent since taking over for Bernadeia Johnson last January 2015; Jinger Gustafson (Associate Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota), Charles Foust, (Assistant Superintendent, Houston [Texas] School District), Sergio Paez (a former superintendent in Holyoke, Massachusetts), Kenneth Spells (superintendent in Alton, Illinois), and Jesse Rodriguez (Regional Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools).


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In order, the first three candidates interviewed on Monday (16 November) were Rodriguez, Foust, and Spells. Rodriguez emphasized his experience as regional superintendent in the Southwest region of Milwaukee, where schools face challenges in serving many students on free and reduced priced lunch and others who have underperformed academically. He cited successes in improving the educational performances of these students. Among Rodriguez’s most astute comments, conveying an on-the-ground sense of problems and viable solutions were those pertinent to addressing segregation by providing high-quality education at every school, making such institutions imparters of an academic program attractive to people of all demographic descriptors; and this emphasis on focusing on a few key initiatives in striving for major change.


Foust stressed his work with some of the most academically challenged schools in Houston, by far the largest (7th in the nation) of any of those served by the candidates. Foust stressed common sense solutions to problems with logical application of data, mentioning especially aggressive tutoring in math for all students with this deficits in this vital skill, building in extra hours and ten extra days for the accomplishment of the goal; assessing test results indicating level of progress; and then making any adjustments necessary for the individual student in continuing work toward the goal of mathematics mastery. Foust’s most astute comments centered on his willingness to listen and to maintain circumspection when those professionals with responsibility for achieving positive results fall short--- but ultimately insisting that people do what they have said that they can do; and on his question to the board: “How do you know that the 2020 Strategic Plan is going to work?” School board member Tracine Asberry smiled broadly, because this is the kind of question that she is always posing. Only school board member Don Samuels made any attempt to answer the question, citing his role on the Policy Committee, which has a timetable for reaching certain benchmarks in route to achieving the goals of the 2020 Plan.


Spells emphasized his experience as Superintendent of Schools in Alton, Illinois, where he has overseen significant improvements in the graduation rate (now 86% for all students, 83% for African Americans), attendance (now 93%), African American participation in honors classes (from 7% to 24% during his tenure), and post-graduation college attendance (now 80%)--- in a school district with 66% of students on free and reduced price lunch, very similar to the corresponding percentage at the Minneapolis Public Schools.


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In order, the other three candidates, interviewed on Tuesday (16 November),were Goar, Paez, and Gustafson.


Goar cited his success in reducing the central building bureaucracy of MPS (very soon after assuming the position of Interim Superintendent , he cut central office staff from 651 to 531, a reduction of 120 positions [18%]); and in moving the process forward for improvements of academic results at sites (High Priority Schools) where students struggle with familial poverty and below-grade-level educational performance. Goar also stressed his experience in positions with the public school systems of Boston and Memphis. And he stressed innovative approaches in opening up the educational experiences of students beyond classroom walls, creating personal pathways to graduation, achieving cultural and linguistic competency, and ensuring vital career and technical programs.


Paez emphasized his success in turning around the schools of Holyoke, Massachusetts, by taking a careful look at the data, aligning remedial action to specific student need, and using available resources to address the most vexing needs of the students themselves. Paez stressed the need aggressively to address the language-deprivation of English Language Learners, as he has done in a district with a heavily Puerto Rican contingent of students. With reference to the words of Marin Luther King, Paez asserted that getting K-12 public education right is a matter of reparations in a nation in which the check offered for cashing by African Americans (and by extension, other ill-served populations) has been returned marked, “insufficient funds.” Given a chance to ask a question, Paez asked board members if they considered the superintendent position to be vital to advancement of the goals of the Minneapolis Public Schools, to which school board member Rebecca Gagnon answered, “Yes,” and others nodded. It was a good and pointed question, implying Paez’s readiness to assume the superintendent’s role, ideally under conditions in which the school board understands the importance of the position.


Gustafson cited her status as a first-generation college student and military veteran for giving her a sense of understanding and empathy for people facing difficult situations. She mentioned her supervisory responsibilities overseeing Q-Comp and secondary curriculum as among the district-wide duties of her role in the Anoka-Hennepin school district. Gustafson referred many times to her role in addressing the lawsuit filed against that district related to bullying allegations--- and the pain that the status involved, even as students and parents remained supportive of the academic program. And she conveyed her personal qualities of consistency, calmness, and ability to listen while maintaining high academic expectations as strengths that she would bring to the role of superintendent.


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I spoke with each of the candidates and in the case of those three candidates interviewed on Tuesday evening had the chance to sit down for substantial conversations. Based on the interviews and my conversations with the candidates,


I recommend that Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez be given the opportunity for consideration as finalists in the search for Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools:


In my conversation with Michael Goar in the aftermath of his interview, he addressed my concerns regarding current implementation of Focused Instruction, which offers the opportunity to define a strong knowledge-intensive curriculum in grade by grade sequence throughout the K-12 years. I was skeptical in broaching this matter with Goar but found his answers to convey a commitment to Focused Instruction, including fulfillment of the program at Community Partnership Schools given considerable autonomy in exchange for achieving results. Goar’s experience as Interim Superintendent and his achievements in the areas of the High Priority Schools and reduction of central staff (consistent with the Shift program of getting resources closest to the students themselves) continue to make him a compelling candidate.


Charles Foust conveys a tremendous sense of energy and on-the-ground sense of addressing the needs of historically underserved students. His statement regarding demanding his insistence on people doing what they were hired to do--- and said that they could do--- rang very true. His question to the board regarding the degree of certainty that the 2020 Strategic Plan would work conveyed a strong drive to match declared goals with a viable route to success. Foust spoke authoritatively and without notes to the board and compellingly reemphasized his major themes in my conversation with him.


Sergio Paez can cite an outstanding record in rescuing the Andover (Massachusetts) school district from takeover by the state, and his grasp of the obligation to redress the injustice of history via the design of high-performing systems of K-12 education is very impressive. Paez demonstrates a respect for the level of funding necessary to achieve results, but he also stresses always directing available funds toward the best possible achievement for students--- demonstrating understanding that prevailing challenges are not always a matter of money; and a thorough grasp of the financial aspects of running a central public school district. I was disappointed in the directness with which Paez answered my questions in the aftermath of his interview regarding Focused Instruction and the need for a knowledge-intensive curriculum throughout the K-12 years--- but he does have a strong sense of how to go about addressing student needs in mathematics and reading throughout those years and during life experiences prior to kindergarten; and I am confident that he would be amenable to productive discussion on matters pertinent to knowledge-intensive curriculum.


Of the other candidates, what Gustafson lacked in personal dynamism she countered with a sense of calm, confident leadership. She was the only candidate to mention Focused Instruction or, in my conversation with her, to demonstrate some knowledge of the Core Knowledge approach of E. D. Hirsch. She also posed the best question of all of the three (Foust and Paez were the others, as noted above) who posed such questions, asking, “What keeps you up at night?” School board member Siad Ali cited students whose needs were not being met, Rebecca Gagnon mentioned decisions that were made for political reasons and in consideration of adult rather than student concerns, and student representative Noah Branch mentioned those students who needed personal attention as human beings rather than exclusive focus on academics.


Despite demonstrating considerable strengths as a candidate, though, Ginger Gustafson ultimately ranks behind Michael Goar, Charles Foust, and Sergio Paez in my recommendations for the selection of finalists for the position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools.