Feb 19, 2018

Inadequate Academic Credentials of Decision-Makers at the Davis Center (Central Offices of the Minneapolis Public Schools, 1250 West Broadway)


Central office decision-makers in the typical locally centralized school district are not academicians or scholars. 

Central office administrators are abominably trained by education professors and imbibe the same impoverished philosophy of education as do teachers and building principals.  This gives rise to the “interlocking directorate” to which Arthur Bestor refers, citing the entire education establishment that inflicts such a terrible, knowledge-deplete K-12 experience on our young people.  The directorate of reference is comprised of education professors, central office administrators, elementary and secondary principals, and teachers.

 

In the same way that K-5 teachers have almost no subject area training and teachers at grades 6-12 now seek master’s degrees in education, rather than in the fields that they teach, both central office administrators and building principals obtain any credentials beyond the bachelor’s degree in education rather than field-specific academic subject areas.  Furthermore, even the undergraduate credentials of administrators at both the central office and site level tend to be in departments, colleges, and schools of education rather than in academic fields such as mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, history, government, economics, literature, or the fine arts. 

 

As you peruse the listings given below, be aware that only a couple of credentials rendered as degrees in political science and sociology at the undergraduate level have any academic credibility.  Understand that certifications have nothing to do with academic credibility and can be obtained via education department courses rather than academic departments of colleges and universities. 

 

Note, then, that Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Superintendent Ed Graff;  Chief of Academics, Leadership, and Learning Michael Thomas;  and Deputy Chief of Academics, Leadership, and Learning Cecilia Saddler are trained entirely in education departments or in social work;  the latter is an admirable calling but is a vocational rather than academic field.  Then note that Associate Superintendents Ron Wagner, Lucilla Davila, and Laura Cavender have training only in education programs;  they have no rigorous academic training.  This is true, too, of Director of Secondary Education Naomi Taylor.  Associate Superintendent Carla Steinbach-Huther has an undergraduate degree in sociology, but all of her credentials beyond the bachelor’s degree are in education programs.  Similarly, Director of Elementary Education Carey Seely has bachelor’s degrees in political science and sociology but beyond the undergraduate level has received credentials only via education courses. 

 

With her training in political science only Seely, among all key MPS academic program decision-makers, has training of relevance to teaching a required course:  civics or government.  This makes the sum total of academic training for those who establish and implement the academic program of the Minneapolis Public Schools slim in the extreme.

 

Now consider this presentation of credentials for academic decision-makers at the Minneapolis Public Schools:

 

Ed Graff               (Superintendent)

 

Degrees Earned                                       Institution at Which Degree Was Earned

 

M. A., Education Administration              University of Southern Mississippi

                                        

B. A., Elementary Education                      University of Alaska, Anchorage

 

 

Michael Thomas              (Chief of Academics, Leadership, and Learning

 

Degrees Earned                                    Institution at Which Degree Was Earned

 

Ed. D., Educational Leadership                       University of St. Thomas

                (anticipated)

 

MSW, Social Work                                              University of Minnesota

                                        

B.A., Social Work                                                 University of St. Thomas

 

Licensures: 

 

Superintendent and                                            University of St. Thomas

Administrative Licenses

 

 

Cecilia Saddler  (Deputy Chief of Academics, Leadership, and Learning)

 

Degrees Earned                               Institution at Which Degree Was Earned

 

M. A., Teaching                                              University of Iowa

                                        

B.A. or B.S., Communications                     University of Iowa

 

Licensures:        

 

English Language/ Arts

District Superintendent

K-12 Principal

 

 

Ron Wagner       (Associate Superintendent)

 

Degrees Earned                               Institution at Which Degree Was Earned

 

Education Specialist Degree                    University of St. Thomas

 

M.A., Education                                          Ball State University

 

B.A. or B.S., Education                               Ball State University

 

Licensures:        

 

Elementary Education

English/ Language Arts

Mathematics

District Superintendent

K-12 Principal

 



Lucilla Davila     (Associate Superintendent)

 

Degrees Earned                    Institution at Which Degree Was Earned

 

M. A., Education                               University of Minnesota

 

B.A. or B.S., Education                    University of Minnesota,

                                                                    Interamericana University (Puerto Rico)

Licensures:        

 

Elementary Education

District Superintendent

K-12 Principal

 

 

Laura Cavender     (Associate Superintendent)

 

Degrees Earned                      Institution at Which Degree Was Earned



M. A.,                                              University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Curriculum & Instruction

B.A. or B.S., Education                 University of Nebraska-Lincoln

 

Licensures:        

 

Pre-Kindergarten

District Superintendent

K-12 Principal

 

 

Carla Steinbach-Huther        (Associate Superintendent)

 

Degrees Earned                              Institution at Which Degree Was Earned

 

Education Specialist Degree                   University of St. Thomas

 

M.A., Curriculum & Instruction             University of St. Thomas

 

B.A. or B.S., Sociology                              University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse

                                               

Licensures:        

 

Social Studies

District Superintendent

Secondary Principal

 

Naomi Taylor     (Director, Secondary Education)

 

Degrees Earned                        Institution at Which Degree Was Earned

 

Educational Doctorate,                          Hamline University

Educational Leadership               

 

M.A., Education                                       University of Minnesota

 

B.A. or B.S., Education                            University of Minnesota

 

Licensures:        

 

Elementary Education

K-12 Principal

 

Carey Seeley     (Director, Elementary Education)

 

Degrees Earned:                                  Institution at Which Degree Was Earned



M.A., Education                                               University of St. Thomas

 

B.A. or B.S.,                                                       Pepperdine University

Political Science & sociology

Licensures:        

 

Elementary Education

Reading

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