Sergio Paez is the Prospective New Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools

On Monday evening, 7 December 2015, members of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education voted in a 6-3 decision to make Sergio Paez the prospective new Superintendent of MPS, pending contract negotiations.


As a schedule for those negotiations is being established, two or three members of the school board will be traveling to Holyoke, Massachusetts, to conduct a site visit, with the implied intent of ensuring that there is no compelling information in terms of professional conduct that would argue against the board’s decision in Paez’s favor. This sort of site visit in the aftermath of hiring decisions is less common now as a follow-up procedure by school boards than was the case two decades or so ago, but such visits are still made at the discretion of school board members. Members of the MPS Board of Education decided to make such a visit at the urging of board member Carla Bates.


As detailed in recent articles on this blog, board members made their decision on the prospective new Superintendent from a list of finalists that included current Interim Superintendent Michael Goar, Houston Independent School District Assistant Superintendent for School Support Charles Foust, and Paez.  In the 6-3 outcome of the vote taken Monday evening, board members Rebecca Gagnon, Kim Ellison, Jenny Arneson, Nelson Inz, Tracine Asbury, and Don Samuels voted for Paez. Members Siad Ali, Carla Bates, and Josh Reimnitz voted for Goar.


The most persistent comments in Goar’s favor were made by Bates and Ali:


For Bates, Goar’s role in helping to forge Strategic Plan: Acceleration 2020 was decisive. In her view, the notion of schools as the unit of change lies at the core of that plan, with the board’s approval of four Community Partnership Schools, acting much like charter schools in receiving a high degree of autonomy in exchange for accountability, providing follow-up commitment to the site-based model. Bates argued forcefully that Goar is fully behind the site-based model and the concept of Community Partnership Schools. Knowing that Tracine Asbury and other board members perceived that too little progress had been made in implementing the strategic plan, Bates cited successes in graduation rates at Harrison School and academic progress at Heritage Academy of Science and Technology as evidence of progress to date--- and she expressed confidence that Goar would form a supportive cabinet in a tenure as permanent Superintendent that would bring further success.


Siad Ali cited Goar’s commitment to English Language Learner (ELL) students and to the notion of student-based allocation of funds among his reasons for admiring Goar as a leader. Ali appreciates Goar’s emphasis on giving students the opportunity to speak a world language other than their native language, and he admires Goar’s courage as a leader, demonstrated in his cutting of 120 staff positions at the central office building, thereby reducing central office staff from 651 to 531.


Many board members praised the energy, charisma, and inspirational qualities that Charles Foust would bring to the position of Superintendent. Don Samuels offered the most frequent praise of this sort, saying that he had become a real fan of Foust and found him mesmerizing. Rebecca Gagnon extolled Foust’s emphasis on forging close relationships with students and families. She and Josh Reimnitz also stressed Foust’s ability to bring teams of stakeholders together and to move human beings forward in a common endeavor, for which Foust gave several examples during interviews.


But, while board members seemed to agree that Foust had a star quality that would bring him future success as a school district administrator and probable superintendent in some setting, the overall view of Foust was that he is not yet experienced enough to take on the challenges at the level of superintendent of a major urban school district. There was also concern that Foust had moved quickly from position to position, and that his commitment to Minneapolis might not be as enduring as would be the case for Goar and as could prove the case for Paez.


Decisively, Gagnon, Ellison, Arneson, Inz, Asbury, and Samuels found much to recommend the candidacy of Paez. Gagnon found his experience with budgets and knowledge of school finance compelling. Samuels mentioned Paez’s astute political sensibility, saying that he “walks easily in the political waters, with a statesmanlike quality.” Paez also received high marks for his commitment to equity, his sensitivity to the needs of ELL students, and his grasp of pedagogy, the latter far exceeding the other candidates in the evaluation of Nelson Inz and other supporters of Paez.


Paez is currently a consultant with the City of Holyoke on matters pertinent to the city school system, a position that he has held for two years. Prior to serving as consultant, Paez served as Superintendent of Schools for the City of Holyoke. His tenure as Superintendent for Holyoke came during a troubled time, during which the city’s schools were under the threat of being taken over by the State of Massachusetts. Paez could not prevent Holyoke schools from such a fate: They did eventually go into receivership. Paez, however, inaugurated policies that brought favorable responses from decision-makers at the state level; he continues to help the district implement those policies in his current role as consultant. In addition to his experience in Holyoke, Paez spent seven years in Worcester, Massachusetts, first as ELL Director (2007-2011) and then as Assistant Superintendent (2011-2013). Prior to service in Worcester, Paez served in Leominster, Massachusetts as Language Acquisition Director (2000-2007); and in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, first as an Elementary Teacher (1995-1999), then for one year as Assistant Principal (1999-2000).


Sergio Paez holds a Superintendent Professional License in the State of Massachusetts that will expedite his licensure in Minnesota. He holds a BA in Sociology from Fitchburg State College, an MA in School Administration from Harvard University, and an EdD from Boston College.


There was a substantial contingent in the audience on Monday evening that held signs expressing the view that none of the candidates was qualified and that the search process should be restarted. Al Flowers, a frequent attendee of school board meetings, was demonstrably upset by the decision and held a sign at meeting’s end expressing his displeasure.


My own view is that the members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education did an exceptionally careful job in seeking candidates through HYA Executive Search (represented by Ted Blaesing at meetings for selecting semifinalists and finalists); were extraordinarily fair and professional in conducting interviews of the candidates; and came to a well-reasoned decision in opting for Paez.


For my own support of the candidacy of Charles Foust, whose compelling qualities dissuaded me from an original propensity to back Goar, please scroll on down to articles giving my own reasoning. And please stay alert to the many articles to come on this blog giving my own vision for the Minneapolis Public Schools and my efforts to induce the new superintendent and the MPS Board of Education to consider the importance of defining an excellent education, identifying knowledge and skill sets for grade-by-grade acquisition, and training teachers of genuine excellence.


For now, let us praise Chairperson Jenny Arneson and her Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education colleagues for a conscientious job well done in the process that led to the selection of Sergio Paez as new Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools.