One of the most tragi-comic spectacles at
the Minneapolis Public Schools, in accord with the tattered bandaid approach to
the manifold flaws in the system, is the existence of the associate
superintendent position, for the purpose of mentoring principals. Principals are as poorly prepared in departments,
schools, and colleges of education as are teachers and other
administrators; but associate
superintendents have endured the same
level of training from those campus embarrassments with ridiculous generosity
dubbed education “professors,” and thus are in no better position to mentor
principals than principals are capable of mentoring teachers or performing any
function pertinent to the delivery of a knowledge-intensive education.
There were back in 2014, when I began my
investigation into the inner workings of the Minneapolis Public Schools, eight
associate superintendents, all knocking down well over $100,000 per annum. Blessedly, we now have only four such
positions, but these yield $148,500 per occupant, which is to say a total of $594,000
for central office burdens whose qualifications are academically slim in the
extreme. The same phenomenon that we
witness throughout the system, whereby not a single person making academic
decisions for the district, is a scholar, pertains to the associate superintendents:
Examine the academic preparation below,
noticing that all advanced degrees are in education rather than a key academic discipline
at the core of the curriculum. Know also
that none of these associate superintendents were particularly effective building
principals, and that Shawn Harris-Berry was a wrenching failure as principal of
North High School.
Peruse the following academic credentials,
once again knowing that you should not be fooled into thinking that a doctorate
in education is any credential of substance;
rather, acquisition of an Ed. D. is merely undertaken to abet a climb in
the education bureaucracy.
Embarrassing Credentials of Associate
Superintendents at the Minneapolis Public Schools
Shawn Harris-Berry (Associate Superintendent)
Degrees Earned
Field in Which
Institution at Which
Degree Was Earned
Degree Was Earned
Bachelors Degree
(1985) Business
Education
University of Wisconsin---
Eau
Claire
Masters (1995)
Secondary School
University of St. Thomas
Administration
Doctorate Degree
(2005) Educational
Leadership St. Mary’s
University
Other Credentials
Teaching License – Business
Education (7-12) expires 6/30/2020
Administrative License –
District Superintendent expires 6/30/2020
Administrative License – K-12
Principal expires 6/30/2020
Administrative License –
Secondary School Principal expires 6/30/2020
LaShawn Ray (Associate Superintendent)
Degrees Earned
Field in Which
Institution at Which
Degree Was Earned Degree Was Earned
Bachelors Degree
(1994) Social
Sciences University
of Wisconsin – River Falls
Master’s Degree (year
2006)
Education St.
Cloud State University
Superintendent’s (2018) Minnesota
State Mankato
Other Credentials
Teaching License – EBD (K-12)
expires 6/30/2023
Administrative License – K-12
Principal expires 6/30/2023
Superintendent –
6/30/2023
Carla Steinbach-Huther (Associate Superintendent)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
Education Specialist Degree University of St. Thomas
M.A., Curriculum and Instruction University of St. Thomas
B.A. or B.S., Sociology University
of Wisconsin-Lacrosse
Licensures:
Social Studies
District Superintendent
Secondary 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
Brian Zambreno (Associate Superintendent)
Degrees Earned Institution
at Which Degree Was Earned
Doctorate (PhD),
Education St. Mary’s University of Minnesota
Education Specialist
Degree University of St. Thomas
M.A., Education Hamline University
B.A. or B.S., Liberal
Arts University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Licensures:
District
Superintendent
K-12 Principal
English as Second Language
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