Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Superintendents from the 1980s include Richard Green, Robert Herrera, Peter Hutchinson (officially, his organization [Public Strategies Group] constituted a collective superintendent), David Jenkins, Carol Johnson, Thandiwe Peebles, Bill Green, Bernadeia Johnson, and Ed Graff. They have all been failures; in particular, none of these superintendents articulated a viable plan for providing necessary skill acquisition for students facing grave economic and associated challenges; but further, none of these superintendents succeeded in providing knowledge-intensive, skill-replete curriculum for MPS students as a whole.
Teachers and administrators in the public schools of
the Twin Cities area (and throughout the United States) have very limited
training in key academic subject areas.
Elementary teachers tend to have no academic subject area degree at all, receiving all degrees from education programs.
Middle and high school teachers tend to have an undergraduate degree in a key subject area, but most receive all graduate degrees in education programs.
Superintendents whose teaching certifications were for elementary education tend to have followed the same pattern as elementary school teachers, plus licensures and degrees in educational administration.
Superintendents whose teaching certifications were
for secondary education tend to have followed the same pattern as middle and
high school teachers, plus licensures and degrees in educational
administration.
Consider the very limited formal training in key subject areas for these superintendents in the Twin Cities area >>>>>
Ed Graff (Superintendent,
Minneapolis Public Schools, 2016-2017 through 2021-2022)
M. A., Education Administration
University of Southern
Mississippi
(online
degree)
B. A., Elementary
Education University
of Alaska, Anchorage
Joe Gothard (Superintendent, St. Paul Public
Schools)
Doctor of Education, Edgewood
College, Educational Leadership
Master of Education, Edgewood
College, Educational Administration
Bachelor of Arts, Edgewood
College, Biology Education
Cory McIntyre (Superintendent,
Osseo Public Schools)
(Superintendent designate, Anoka-Hennepin
Public Schools,
beginning academic
year 2023-2024)
Principal Certification
(University of Minnesota/Twin Cities, January 2013)
Superintendent Certification
(University of Minnesota/Twin Cities, July 2010)
Program Administrator/Director of Special Education
Certification
(University of Washington/Tacoma, 2003)
Program Administrator/Director of Special Education
Certification
(University of Washington/Tacoma, June 2003)
M.S.. Education/Specialist Certification in School
Psychology
(University of Wisconsin/LaCrosse, August 1996/May 1997)
B.S., Psychology and Biology
(Minnesota State University/Mankato, June 1995)
Kim Hiel (Superintendent,
Fridley Public Schools)
(Superintendent designate, Osseo
Public Schools, beginning academic year 2023-2024)
Educational Administrative Leadership (Doctorate)
(St. Cloud State University)
Educational Administrative Principal License (Educational
Specialist)
(University of St. Thomas
Educational Leadership (Masters of Education)
(Hamline University)
Elementary Education (Bachelor of Science)
(University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
Kelly McGuire (Interim
Superintendent, Anoka-Hennepin Public Schools)
Ed. D., Educational
Administration
(University of St. Thomas)
Education Specialist
(University of St. Thomas)
M. Ed., Organizational
Leadership and Administration
(University of St. Thomas)
B. A., Education
(College of St. Benedict)
David Law (Superintendent,
Anoka-Hennepin Public Schools through 2022;
Superintendent,
Minnetonka Public Schools, beginning academic year 2022-2023)
J.D. (Juris Doctorate)
(William Mitchell College of
Law)
Superintendent License
(University of Minnesota/Twin
Cities)
B.A. Mathematics and Education
(Hamline University)
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Academic training in key subject areas for all of the superintendents given above, with the exception of David Law, is very slim. All of their graduate training is in academically insubstantial programs in departments, schools, or colleges of education.
As to the contents of such programs, consider that from which the ineffective former (1 July 2016 through 30 June 2022) Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools Ed Graff received his Masters of Educational Administration and Supervision Degree >>>>>
<<<<<
Overview
The Master of Education
in Educational Administration and Supervision prepares graduates
for P-12 school leadership. The program is a fully online cohort model, with
new cohorts beginning each fall semester. Each cohort can accommodate
only a limited number of students; therefore, prospective students are
encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Students enrolled in this program will be required to complete an
administrative internship over three semesters, beginning in the second
semester of the program. As part of the internship experience, students will be
required to identify a primary and a secondary mentor (Principal or Assistant
Principal) who will agree to supervise the student during the internship and
evaluate the student’s performance at its conclusion.
This program of study meets Mississippi’s state standards for advanced licensure. Students who intend to seek licensure in another state should verify that this program of study meets the desired state’s licensure requirements. For assistance with out-of-state licensure questions, please complete the Professional Licensure Form.
Admission Requirements
In addition to the requirements
detailed in Admission Requirements and Procedures,
applicants must meet the following requirements and submit the following
documents:
- Official GRE scores or other
acceptable standardized graduate-level exam scores
- Statement of Purpose - In a
letter or essay format, describe your professional experiences and goals
and how obtaining this degree will help you to realize those goals.
- CV/Résumé
- Copy of current educator license
(with at least three years of teaching experience)
- Three Letters of Recommendation
This program admits new students each fall term. Members of
underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
Program Requirements and Academic
Policies
See General Degree Requirements and General Academic Information.
Course Requirements (34 hours)
·
EDA 602 - Foundations of School Leadership 3
hrs.
·
EDA 603 - Leading Diverse School Populations 3
hrs.
·
EDA 604 - Intro to Leadership for Organizational Effectiveness 3
hrs.
·
EDA 605 - Intro to Instructional Leadership 3
hrs.
·
EDA 606 - Advanced Leadership for Organizational Effectiveness 3
hrs.
·
EDA 607 - Advanced Instructional Leadership 3
hrs.
·
EDA 608 - Socio-Political Issues and Educational Leadership 3
hrs.
·
EDA 609 - Transformational Leadership 3
hrs.
·
EDA 636 - Administrative Internship 1-12
hrs. (7 hrs. required)
·
EDA 661 - Practitioner as P-12 Researcher 3
hrs.
<<<<<
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Recently there has been a
notable shuffling of superintendents from one school district to the other
within the Metropolitan Area of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Corey McIntyre will move from the Osseo Pubic
Schools to the Anoka-Hennepin Public Schools for the 2023-2024 academic year,
replacing David Law, who is now the Minnetonka Public Schools
superintendent; Kim Hiel will move from
the Fridley Public Schools to the Osseo Public Schools for the 2023-2024
academic year. But inspection of the
records left behind by these recent superintendent designates is uniformly
abominable, not much better than the record that was established by Ed Graff
during his tenure as superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools from the
2016-2017 academic year through 2021-2022, or by Joe Gothard, superintendent of
the St. Paul Public Schools.
Perpend >>>>>
Anoka-Hennepin Public Schools
(David Law, Superintendent
[through June 2022)
2018 2019
2020 2021 2022
(N/A)
Reading 65.4% 65.1%
------- 55.5% 54.9%
Mathematics 64.6%
63.5% ------- 48.8%
52.4%
Science 61.4% 60.0%
------- 47.1% 43.2%
Osseo Public Schools
(Corey McIntyre, Superintendent)
2018 2019
2020 2021 2022
(N/A)
Reading 56.2% 55.0%
------- 50.7% 49.5%
Mathematics 52.6%
49.3% ------- 41.9%
41.7%
Science 43.4% 40.9%
------- 38.8% 34.5%
Fridley Public Schools
(Kim Hiel, Superintendent)
2018 2019
2020 2021 2022
(N/A)
Reading 44.8% 44.3%
------- 34.6% 32.5%
Mathematics 41.8%
37.8% ------- 27.3%
21.5%
Science 30.4% 24.0%
------- 19.4% 17.1%
Minneapolis Public Schools
(Ed Graff, Superintendent [July
2016-June 2022])
2018 2019
2020 2021 2022
(N/A)
Reading 45.1% 46.9%
------- 45.9% 34.8%
Mathematics 42.3%
32.0% ------- 35.5%
33.1%
Science 34.3% 36.6%
------- 36.5% 33.4%
St. Paul Public Schools
(Joe Gothard, Superintendent)
2018 2019
2020 2021 2022
(N/A)
Reading 38.4%
39.5% ------- 33.3%
34.8%
Mathematics 32.8%
32.0% ------- 21.4%
25.2%
Science 29.8% 29.1%
------- 23.7% 25.1%
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The history of failure of locally centralized school districts inMinnesota makes the ascendance of Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox to the leadership position at the Minneapolis Public Schools a development of supreme importance.
Cox possesses the typical official certifications necessary for a superintendent, but she has genuine academic interests and vision for excellence.
Cox has created a substantially
new cabinet that includes an entirely new contingent of associate
superintendents who have been given a directive carefully to monitor academic
programming and results at the specific schools for which each is
responsible. There is a new math curriculum (Bridges/Number Corner) that
for the first time in recent memory will be implemented across all grade levels
at all schools. And for reading/language arts, a similar uniformity of
implementation has been guided by the primary curriculum (Benchmark Advance),
with students facing particular struggles at schools that have confronted such
challenges for years receiving highly intentional skill development on the
basis of programs known as Groves, PRESS (“Pathways to Reading Excellence”),
and LETRS (“Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling”). High dosage tutoring has been provided by the
firms of Carnegie and Axiom, with latter also providing explicit ACT training.
At the behest of Cox, Senior
Academic Officer Aimee Fearing, Deputy Senior Academic Officer Maria Rollinger,
and Director of Strategic Initiatives Sarah Hunter are leading an effort to
bring subject area substance to grades pre-K through 5, so that student verbal
skills will be developed, as they should be, in the context of logically
sequenced readings in history, government, geography, multi-cultural
literature, and the fine arts; accordingly, students will develop
vocabulary across a multiplicity of subjects that lie at the core of advanced
reading development.
Online high-dosage tutoring and ACT
training have been constituted powerful initiatives during this (2022-2023)
academic year; during acaedemic year
2023-2024, in-person highly intentional tutoring in will feature three-person
professional teams (one licensed teacher, two trained Education Support
Professionals [ESPs]), each team responsible for addressing the academic needs
of students lagging below grade level and having not experienced growth in
reading or mathematics skills for two successive quarters.
This is an interim
superintendent and staff with a chance to provide an unprecedentedly high
quality of education for students at a locally centralized school district,
particularly those facing challenges born of a brutal history that has created
and maintained conditions of cyclical familial poverty for many decades at the
urban core.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
With the recent extension of
Rochelle Cox’s contract through 30 June 2024, Cox is now positioned to move
forward with her highly promising initiatives to bring knowledge-intensive,
skill-replete curriculum and enhanced teacher quality to the Minneapolis Public
Schools, potentially projecting MPS as a model for other locally centralized
school districts throughout the nation, with implications for public education
internationally.
Cox is a unique force among
public school superintendents, realizing as she does the importance of
academically substantive curriculum across the liberal, technological, and
vocational arts and now implementing a program that promises to send forth
knowledgeable and skilled graduates capable of living as culturally enriched,
civically prepared, professionally satisfied citizens ready on this one earthly
sojourn.
Rochelle Cox has recently signaled
that she intends to apply for the long-term positions of superintendent.
Strictly from a logical and ethical
point of view, the Directors of the MPS Board of Education should forego the typical
superintendent selection process and vote to offer Cox the three-year contract
typical for superintendents.
If for reasons of public
posture, the Directors decide to rely on BWP Associates, the firm selected a
few months back to conduct a formal search, to move forward with an official
search no earlier than September 2023, then as soon as possible the Board
should identify three finalists, with Cox among them. An objective review of Cox’s distinguished 25
years of service to the Minneapolis Public Schools, her stellar performance as
interim superintendent, and the prospects for improving academic programming that
has begun under her tenure should impel the Directors of the MPS Board of
Education to select her as the next long-term superintendent of the Minneapolis
Public Schools.
Rochelle Cox has focused
relentlessly on improving academic programming, especially addressing the needs
of those students languishing below grade level in reading and mathematics, but
also envisioning curriculum designed for greater rigor and coherence across all
grade levels, preK through 12. Given the
promise of her twelve months as interim superintendent, this remarkable public
education administrator has prospects for transforming the Minneapolis Public
Schools into a locally centralized school district that via the provision of knowledge-intensive,
skill-replete curriculum would be a model for public school districts
throughout the United States.
And given the ineffectiveness of education policy and institutions at the federal and state levels, so that real change must come at the level of the locally centralized school district, the phenomenon of transformation at the local level would become a major historic event, with implications for students throughout the nation and for the creation of a citizenry capable of addressing the momentous challenges of the 21st century and beyond.
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