Snippet from Chapter One (Superintendent and Chief Officers) from My New Book, >Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools: Current Condition, Future Prospect<

 A Note to My Readers:

 

Many of my articles as you scroll down these pages in the coming days and weeks will provide you with snippets from my new book, Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools:  Current Condition, Future Prospect. 

 

I intend to complete the finishing touches for this book by 15 February and soon thereafter to make the work available to the general public via commercial publication.  This is one of two books that I will be offering in the coming months.  I also have completed eleven of fourteen chapters of a book entitled, Fundamentals of an Excellent Liberal Arts Education, which contains a one-volume complete education in the most important topics pertinent to economics, political science, psychology, world religions, world history, American history, African American history, literature, English usage, fine arts, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.

 

My purpose in writing these two books is grounded in my work with my students in the New Salem Educational Initiative:

 

Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools:  Current Condition, Future Prospect contains the objective information and analysis that will reveal the stark shortcomings of the Minneapolis Public Schools, and a philosophical presentation asserting how MPS should be overhauled to be a model of the locally centralized school district. 

 

Fundamentals of an Excellent Liberal Arts Education provides the curriculum that should guide the Minneapolis Public Schools in providing an excellent education to students who have been waiting a very long time.

 

 

In this article I provide an advanced draft of Chapter One (Leadership) from Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools:  Current Condition, Future Prospect.

Chapter One

Superintendent and Chief Officers

The top leadership of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) consists of the superintendent and the chief officers of the school district.  Superintendent Ed Graff, who began his tenure on 1 July 2016, moved within the first six months to add two chief officer titles, to change the title of one person who had been serving as “Chief of Schools” to “Chief of Academics, Leadership, and Learning,” and to relegate one person who had been serving as “Chief Academic Officer” to a lower rung in the bureaucracy, thereafter bearing the title, “Deputy Chief Academic Officer.

 

As of this writing, the current top leadership of the Minneapolis Public Schools is given on the MPS website under “Leadership,” with job descriptions as follows:

 

 

Superintendent  ---  Ed Graff

The superintendent of schools is responsible for leading all functions and processes for the school district. The superintendent is charged with working with all internal and external stakeholders to implement and execute core strategies that produce results across the school district. The superintendent sets the academic priorities of the school district and serves as the primary decision-maker and spokesperson for Minneapolis Public Schools.

 

 

Chief of Academics, Leadership, and Learning  ---  Michael Thomas

The chief of academics, leadership and learning manages operational connections to support associate superintendents, principals and teaching staff in accelerating student achievement and overall school improvement that is aligned to the core values and academic goals of Acceleration 2020.

 

 

Chief Operations Officer  ---  Vacant

The chief operations officer executes the operational priorities of the school district. The chief oversees key operational functions of the school district including instructional technology, facilities and operations.

 

 

Chief Financial Officer  ---  Ibrahima Diop

The chief financial officer leads the division of Finance, which is responsible for the overall fiscal management of the district. The chief provides leadership, direction and guidance in financial strategies and priorities. The Finance division umbrella includes Accounts Payable, Budget, Payroll, Purchasing, and Student Accounting Departments. Some of the responsibilities covered in these departments are monies for student-generated revenue, legislative allocations, budget accountability, annual budget tie-out process, fiscal auditing as well as grants management.

 

 

Chief Information Officer  ---  Fadi Fadhil

The chief information officer is responsible for the Information Technology strategy, computer systems, infrastructure, operations and deploying solutions that align with the district goals and objectives. Areas of focus include innovative use of technology to enhance, accelerate and transform student learning and academic achievement.

 

 

Chief of Staff - Suzanne Kelly

The chief of staff advises and supports the superintendent on day-to-day matters and creates a culture of high expectations that result in accelerated student achievement and improved school performance. The chief serves as a liaison between the superintendent and elected officials, stakeholders and MPS families.

 

 

Information made available to me by sources within the district conveys that Eric Moore’s position as Director of Research, Evaluation, Assessment, and Accountability has been elevated to that of a “Chief,” presumably with that title appearing at the head of the same department, as follows:

 

 

Chief of Research, Evaluation, Assessment, and Accountability -----   Eric Moore

 

 

Until recently the position of “Chief of Operations” had been vacant for many months, but my observation from attendance at a Saturday, 7 January, retreat for MPS top administration and new members of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education is that the Chief of Operations position has now been filled. 

 

Also, former MPS Director of Communications Gail Plewacki applied for but was not hired for the newly elevated position of “Chief of Communications.”  The new Chief of Communications was also at the retreat.

 

Officials at MPS have been slow to update the Leadership website to reflect these latter changes.  I know the names of the new hires but will wait to give an update with these until they appear on the website.  For now, I will list these pending position hires and changes as follows  

Chief of Operations -----   New Hire, Name Pending Posting on MPS Leadership Website

Chief of Communications -----   New Hire, Name Pending Posting on the MPS Leadership Website

 

 

Superintendent Ed Graff’s motivation in making a number of changes at the “Chief” level is presumably to create a coterie of leaders who will report directly to him, conveying to him the very most important information pertinent to academics, teachers, classroom activities, finances, technology, operations, communications, and research (and, with regard to the latter, the related matters of evaluation, assessment, and accountability)---   while assigning great responsibility for outcomes to those bearing the title of “Chief.”