Sep 18, 2023

Critical Race Theory >>>>> Second in a Multi-Article Series

Critique of Critical Race Theory

 

>>>>>       as Presented in Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory:  An Introduction   (New York:  New York University Press, 2023 [Fourth Edition])

  

In current discussions pertinent to Critical Race Theory (CRT), neither putative opponents nor avowed supporters provide a very clear definition of the term or the school of thought associated with the appellation: 

Those who rail against CRT give appearance of hostility to any mention of race as a factor of United States history, claiming that to do so makes people feel uncomfortable and divides ethnic groups against each other;  people of this bent seek to remove from school curriculum those matters of United States history that cast negative comment on the nation’s past, and they endeavor to remove books that examine historical racial injustice or focus on BIPOC groups who threaten white dominance.

Proponents, as well as journalists seeking objectivity, tend toward a definition holding that CRT scholars and advocates maintain that racism is deeply embedded in the institutions of the United States and, since racism is often hiding below the surface of recognition or discovery, must be highlighted for consideration in the national discourse.

In my view, CRT opponents typically have little understanding of the term and very rarely have read works by leading CRT scholars and advocates such as the seminal thinkers Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, and Richard Delgado;  succeeding CRT proponents Kimberly Crenshaw, Angela Harris, Cheryl Harris, Charles Lawrence, Mari Matsuda, Gary Peller, and Patricia Williams;  those whose advocacy brought diverse ethnic focus, such as Paul Butler, Devin Carbado, Lani Guinier, and Angela Onwuachi-Willig, writing from African American perspective;  Laura Gomez, Ian Haney Gomez, Kevin Johnson, Gerald Gomez, Margaret Montoya, Juan Perea, Francisco Valdez, writing from a Latine perspective;  Robert Williams, most notable among those writing from a Native American perspective;  and white authors Nancy Levit, Tom Ross, Jean Stefancic, and Stephanie Wildman.

Those in the public sphere who advocate for or seek more accurately to convey the essence of CRT scholarship and advocacy give only a limited idea of what CRT entails when they convey that CRT focuses on racism as deeply embedded in United States institutions and society.

The Delgado-Stefancic overview explains CRT maintain that “critical race theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars engaged in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.” 

According to Delgado and Stefancic, the CRT movement “considers many of the same issues that conventional Civil Rights and Ethnic Studies courses take up but places them in a broader perspective that includes economics, history, setting, group interest, self-interest, emotions, and the unconscious.  Unlike traditional civil rights discourse, which stresses incrementalism and step-by-step progress, critical race theory examines the very foundation of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law.”

Delgado and Stefancic distinguish among CRT intellectuals who are realists versus those who are idealists:

Realists follow a line of thinking inspired by Karl Marx’s emphasis on the economic and material foundations (substructure) of society that determine thoughts, arts, and culture;  idealists by comparison, emphasize the power of thoughts, arts, and culture to impel change.  For the realists, such ideational matters are merely the superstructure of society that may seem to cause change that is actually determined by the substructure.

Realists focus on labor supply, international relations, elite interests, unions, immigration quotas, the prison industrial complex, conditions of pandemic, and job loss;  idealists focus on such matters as racist speech, media stereotypes, diversity seminars, healing circles, diversity or lack thereof at the Academy Awards, and diverse representation in corporations and other institutions.

Below I take the Delgado-Stefancic overview very seriously as to the definition and concerns of CRT, while giving my own view, based on the Delgado-Stefancic account, of the key concerns and goals of CRT scholars and advocates.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


Of all of the original CRT thinkers of the 1970s, Derrick Bell was most important, discussing what he perceived to be the failure of desegregation and thus the limited effectiveness of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in the context of what he called. “Interest Convergence.”  Bell holds that what many perceive to be good-hearted social progress is in fact only a social shift that occurs when those in the white establishment decide that a certain policy is in their own best interest.  In the case of the decision in Brown v. Board, the Court was responding to a cognitive shift in which brutalizing African Americans became embarrassing, given decolonization and the competition of societies and ideologies in the Cold War.

I am a behaviorist who maintains that free will is an illusion and that all behavior is determined by the positive reinforcement, punishment, and negative reinforcement (the removal of aversive circumstances) that a person has received and is receiving in the course of a lifetime. 

The observation that Derrick Bell makes, therefore, concerning the actual reasons for the shift on the “separate but equal” notion and on civil rights is a given.  People are always acting on the basis of circumstances that will result in the most rewarding outcomes for themselves;  these, in individual circumstances, will or will not include internalized altruistic concerns learned over time, but they will always include an emphasis on conditions most rewarding for the individual person, that person’s group, and any group (including the large group known as nation) whose concerns are consonant with the individual’s own well-being.

Whatever moral considerations are expressed, whatever ethical concerns may be honestly present, the foundational reason for any given decision is determined by what an individual or a group perceives to be most positively reinforcing;  and while reinforcement may include feelings of enhanced moral conscience, material reinforcement is fundamental.

Therefore, Derrick Bell is correct as to his concept of interest-convergence, but the idea that decisions are made on the basis of a convergence of interests, and that progressive achievements are actually made on practical necessity of the moment rather than for altruistic motivations, to a behaviorist are specific examples of the general reality of operant conditioning.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


Most consistent with the assertion that CRT focuses on racism deeply embedded in the institutions of the United States are the efforts on the part of attorneys and legal scholars to address the deficiencies of legal precedents when dealing with courtroom cases that are not best argued in terms of those precedents.  

In examining the legal foundations of the United States, constructed (as in much of Western society) on the foundations of William Blackstone’s Comments on the Laws of England, CRT thinkers argue that conventional legal reasoning fails, but must be made, to incorporate new ideas pertinent to  intersectionality, hegemony, hate speech, language rights, Black-white binary, and jury nullification (when judges determine that considerations exist beyond conventional legal precedent) into legal theory that guides approaches to legal cases in behalf of clients. 

Critical Race Theorists are suspicious of algorithms that when utilized to access legal precedent fail to include these latter critical contemporary issues;  they have had notable success in entering certain approaches into precedent law, such as the “hostile environment” argument for the prevention of workplace harassment based on gender, ethnicity, or national origin.  They have also had considerable success in advancing legal storytelling and narrative analysis, whereby conventional processes of making the cases for the prosecution and for the defense, proceeding then to cross-examination, are supplemented by narratives given by witnesses that convey their own life experiences.  And CRT legal strategists have had success in advancing jury nullification by increasing the sensitivity of  judges to intersectionality or the  particular injustices experienced by BIPOC communities, so that we have accumulating cases in which presiding judges override jury verdicts in the interest of greater multicultural fairness.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


These contributions by attorneys and legal scholars constitute the greatest contribution of the CRT movement in addressing a specifically institutional defect.

Otherwise, CRT serves as an aegis, in my view, for confronting the fact of persistent racism in United States society, not all that hidden or recondite, and not as clearly institutional in nature as that found in legal precedents that determine court cases.   

Rather, Derrick Bell, echoing a Black nationalist line of reasoning traceable to the ideas of Marchus Garvy, the Black Panthers, the Black Power Movement, and even to some of the tenets associated with Booker T. Washington, promoted Black culturalism and self-help.  Lani Guinier advanced the cause of electoral reform.  Cbarles Lawrence, Mari Matsuda, Richard Delgado took on the issue of hate speech.  Devon and Mitu Gulati became key opponents of workplace discrimination.  And Kimberly Crenshaw focused on the problems engendered by intersectional discrimination.

These matters of CRT focus are pertinent to discrimination within institutions such as factories, corporations, elections, and schools;  but these matters are not truly indicative of institutional defects, as in the case of institutional flaws in precedent law, as they are indications of ongoing racism in United States society that appear, as in society at-large, in national institutions.

Institutional racism should be distinguished from racism persisting within institutions. 

In my view, there is, then, a distinction between deeply embedded institutional racism for which the proper focus would be the United States Constitution, the political system, or capitalist society---  all of which can in fact be amended for the amelioration (and ideally, over the long-term, the elimination) of racist results---  and have been so amended to diminish racist practices.  The formidable task now is to eliminate racist practices entirely as we work to establish a more pluralistic, multiculturally just society.

The key dilemmas that we face in contemporary United States society are not primarily those of faulty institutions but rather practices that promote racism in the functioning of those institutions.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


As is the case with most authors of works based explicitly or implicitly on CRT thought, Delgado and Stefancic misplace their focus as to the way in which our system of preK-12 education discriminates against BIPOC communities;  the authors maintain that discriminatory funding and racist notions embedded in standardized tests are at fault. 

In fact, funding for many economically challenged and urban school districts is equitable by comparison to higher income or suburban districts, if not as generous as public education professionals would like.  And even in those cases where inequitable funding exists, funding is not the key problem.

The key problem is also not standardized tests, which in fact measure mathematical and reading ability with a high degree of objectivity.

The actual vexations of preK-12 public education in fact are knowledge-deficient, skill-deplete  curriculum that hurts young people stuck in generational poverty at the urban core the most.

The overhaul of public education would entail revamped curriculum for the impartation of highly sequenced knowledge and skill sets throughout the preK-12 years, and teacher training redesigned so as to produce teachers of broad and deep knowledge with the pedagogical ability to impart that knowledge to young people of all demographic descriptors.

Now that, the institutional overhaul of preK-12 education, would be an effort as critical as has been the energy invested in revising the way in which court cases are argued and decided.

The overhaul of preK-12 public education would genuinely address a case of deeply embedded institutional racism.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

The next challenge, then, for CRT theorists and anyone who truly cares about promoting the development of a more pluralistic, just society, is the overhaul of the institution of preK-12 education.


Sep 15, 2023

Critical Race Theory >>>>> First in a Multi-Article Series

In my pursuit of a greater understanding of Critical Race Theory (CRT), I have recently read many books that focus explicitly on CRT or explore historical and contemporary circumstances with approaches clearly derived from CRT scholarly analysis. 

Below I present the key ideas on one of these important volumes, by CRT scholars Richard Delagado and Jean Stefancic, who with exceptional clarity explain the major personages and ideas from the Critical Race Theory movement.


Overview of Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory:  An Introduction   (New York:  New York University Press, 2023 [Fourth Edition])

 

Definition and Key Concepts of Critical Race Theory 

The critical race theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars engaged in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.  The movement considers many of the same issues that conventional Civil Rights and Ethnic Studies courses take up but places them in a broader perspective that includes economics, history, setting, group interest, self-interest, emotions, and the unconscious.  Unlike traditional civil rights discourse, which stresses incrementalism and step-by-step progress, critical race theory examines the very foundation of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law.

Leading seminal CRT theorists, whose work dates to the 1970s, are Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, and Richard Delgado.

The approach has resonance and takes many approaches to scholarship form Critical Legal Studies and  Radical Feminism.  European intellectuals who have been influential in the development of CRT include Antonio Gramsci, Michael Foucalt, and Jacques Derrida.

Of all of the original CRT thinkers of the 1970s, Derrick Bell was most important, discussing what he perceived to be the failure of desegregation and thus the limited effectiveness of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in the context of what he called. “Interest Convergence.”  Bell holds that what many perceive to be good-hearted social progress is in fact only a social shift that occurs when those in the white establishment decide that a certain policy is in their own best interest.  In the case of the decision in Brown v. Board, the Court was responding to a cognitive shift in which brutalizing African Americans became embarrassing, given decolonization and the competition of societies and ideologies in the Cold War.

Following close upon the work of Bell, Freeman, and Delgado, came those by Kimberly Crenshaw, Angela Harris, Cheryl Harris, Charles Lawrence, Mari Matsuda, Gary Peller, and Patricia Williams.

Many of these intellectuals came together for a conference in summer 1989 in Madison WI.

Soon, other African American CRT thinkers, such as Paul Butler, Devin Carbado, Lani Guinier, Angela Onwuachi-Willig were publishing works.  And a CRT literature developed also from a Latine perspective conveyed by Laura Gomez, Ian Haney Gomez, Kevin Johnson, Gerald Gomez, Margaret Montoya, Juan Perea, Francisco Valdez;  an American Indian perspective, most notably by Robert Williams;  with contributions also by white authors Nancy Levit, Tom Ross, Jean Stefancic, and Stephanie Wildman.

 

Hallmark Critical Race Theory Themes

Hallmark CRT themes include most saliently interest convergence and material determinism;  revisionist history;  critique of liberalism;  and structural determinism.

In considering interest convergence and material determinism, one must distinguish among CRT intellectuals who are realists versus those who are idealists.  Realists follow a line of thinking inspired by Karl Marx’s emphasis on the economic and material foundations (substructure) of society that determine thoughts, arts, and culture.  Idealists, by comparison, emphasize the power of thoughts, arts, and culture to impel change.  For the realists, such ideational matters are merely the superstructure of society that may seem to cause change that is actually determined by the substructure.

Interest convergence and material determinism induce revisionist history, in which the patterns of history are analyzed on the basis of the shifts in the substructure---  the institutions established upon the foundation of economic and material conditions of society---  when the white establishment determines that interests will be forwarded by social change.  And in examining the nature of the shift, realists examine labor supply, international relations, elite interests, unions, immigration quotas, the prison industrial complex, conditions of pandemic, and job loss;  whereas idealists focus on such matters as racist speech, media stereotypes, diversity seminars, healing circles, diversity or lack thereof at the Academy Awards, and diverse representation in corporations and other institutions.

The seminal Critical Race Theorists were of the determinist, realist, materialist bent, skeptical of the goal of colorblindness, which they maintain is an impossible and even undesirable goal, and a concept that often excuses people who are not explicitly racist but are guilty of racially harmful behavior.

In examining the legal foundations of the United States, constructed (as in much of Western society) on the foundations of William Blackstone’s Comments on the Laws of England, CRT thinkers argue that conventional legal reasoning fails, but must be made, to incorporate new ideas pertinent to  intersectionality, hegemony, hate speech, language rights, Black-white binary, and jury nullification (when judges determine that considerations exist beyond conventional legal precedent) into legal theory that guides approaches to legal cases in behalf of clients.  Critical Race Theorists are suspicious of algorithms that when utilized to access legal precedent fail to include these latter critical contemporary issues.

Race Theorists have come to face their own dilemma when the concerns of their clients may not follow their own interests in winning a landmark case in which new legal concepts are integrated into precedent law.   A client may be willing to settle for better pay that had been denied, for example, over winning a case that will enter into precedent a line of reasoning that will make such denial or pay universally illegal.  


Legal Storytelling and Narrative Analysis

Other major phenomena in the CRT movement are Legal Storytelling and Narrative Analysis, whereby conventional processes of making the cases for the prosecution and for the defense, proceeding then to cross-examination, are supplemented by narratives given by witnesses that convey their own life experiences for better understanding of harm that has been caused that may be difficult to grasp merely by relying on conventional testimony.  Storytelling and narrative can help to resolve cross-cultural misunderstanding that philosopher Jean Francois calls the “differend,” when a person being judged does not subscribe to the precepts on which her or his behavior is being evaluated.


Debates within the Community of Critical Race Theory Scholars 

Important discussions within the CRT community of thinkers include those focused on intersectionality, essentialism versus antiessentionalism, nationalism versus assimilation, and racial identity. 

CRT thinkers debate the degree to which the intersection of race, gender, and class may mean that in a given circumstance, for example, a person in a unique situation of discrimination and ill-treatment differs from that of women in general or of African Americans in general but are unique to being a specifically African American woman.  Intersectionality is closely related to the matter of racial identity, in which one is of mixed ethnic or national heritage and must consider the degree to which loyalty may be given to one ethnic identity or the other, or whether the response for a particular person may be to forge a unique identity not entirely resonant with either ethnic heritage.

Essentialism is search for the proper unit of social change, involving identification of groups that may have many different issues on which they agree and on which their interests converge but may also have very different concerns.  Essentialists emphasize the need to identify essential interests similar enough to proceed together to make change.  Antiessentialists emphasize the particular needs of smaller social units agitating for change.

They also debate the validity of assimilation into mainstream society, which may involve accepting or rejecting conventions of dress, speech patterns, and cultural references in the context of employment and social environments dominated by white powerholders.

 

Considerations of Powerholding and the Pursuit of Multicultural Truth

Critical Race Theorists also consider the categories of Black-white binary;  critical white studies;  Latine and Asian critical thought, critical race feminism, and LGBTQ theory. 

Thus, they explore the way in which the Black-white binary ignores the specific histories and issues pertinent to and of great concern to those not on the binary.  They examine white society with the same critical analysis that other ethnic groups have examined, focusing on white privilege that not only gives the numerically greater group priority of place but also makes difficult an understanding on the part of whites the social slights and bias that those in the numerically dominant group do not have to endure.

Such considerations lead some CRT thinkers to focus on the way in which the Black-white binary stokes ethnic divisions, as those not on the binary nevertheless shuffle to get located on the binary, often as close to the putative white ideal as possible.

 

Critiques and Response to Criticism

Critical Race Theory has induced multiple attacks and  critiques, which have in turn engendered responses from CRT proponents.

Randall Kennedy in the 1980s asserted that the marketplace, including that for ideas, is open to all, and that CRT advocates would gain more notice in the world of intellectuals when their scholarship has been judged worthy.  Darrell Farbert and Suzanne Sherry cited Jewish and Asian success as demonstrative of the potential for educational advancement for all individuals and groups that truly seek to advance.

Of those farther to the right and writing at a later date (the year 2000), Christopher Rugo (then an obscure personality on Fox News, also associated in time with Discovery Institute in Seattle WA [for disseminating ideas pertinent to Creationism and Intelligent Design]), issued a scathing attack on Critical Race Theory, flooding the ether of popular conservative advocacy with a view of CRT as inimical to the well-being of mainstream society.  Donald Trump saw Rugo’s Fox Television show and discerned an opportunity for polemical gain;  he issued an executive order limiting the teaching of  certain topics opposed by supporters, presaging the attacks on multicultural curriculum and library books that we witness in the year 2023.

Meanwhile, CRT intellectuals continued to develop additional CRT lines of reasoning and concern:

Derrick Bell, echoing a Black nationalist line of reasoning traceable to the ideas of Marchus Garvy, the Black Panthers, the Black Power Movement, and even to some of the tenets associated with Booker T. Washington, promoted Black culturalism and self-help.  Lani Guinier advanced the cause of electoral reform.  Charles Lawrence, Mari Matsuda, Richard Delgado took on the issue of hate speech.  Devon Carbado and Mitu Gulati became key opponents of workplace discrimination.  And Kimberly Crenshaw focused on the problems engendered by intersectional discrimination.

Many of those CRT advocates of the original materialist, determinist, realist mode thought that some CRT writers focused too much on the realm of the superstructure, on identity issues such as social construction of race, multiracial identity, and “passing,” urging a shift back to more foundational matters pertinent to the economy and institutional structures.

 

Critical Race Theory Today

Today CRT is much in the national spotlight, taking hits from right-wing ideologues who range themselves against bilingualism, affirmative action, police reform, immigration, Critical Race Studies, hate-speech legislation, welfare, and legal measures for increasing BIPOC representation.  From the right but also in centrist mainstream society there appears to be a slide into racial indifference, in which those who are weary of races issues recoil against the persistence of those who insist that race still matters very much and must be considered if we are ever to the achieve of multiracial equity;  or, voiced and demonstrated by a very vocal contingent who influence is greater than their numbers   convey hostility to specific measures meant to ensure the advancement of those comprising BIPOC groups.

But again such attacks must compete with relentless CRT advocates ever watchful of whites seeking to protect their advantages and CRT activists who focus on housing and neighborhood segregation;  what they assert are discriminatory standardized tests;  the location of industrial polluting sites; and the persistence of generational African American poverty.

CRT intellectuals also give us reams of data and fact-based analysis, such as the circumstance of African American men who murder whites being ten times more likely to be convicted than whites who murder African Americans;  and, so well-known as to have entered mainstream consciousness, that young African American men are more likely to be in prison than in college.  They examine, too, greater social harm stemming from White collar versus street crime;  and the issues of racial profiling, local ordinances that prohibit people of specific groups hanging out or for wearing certain types of clothing deemed to be associated with gangs and other groups perceived to be threatening.

CRT advocates have had notable success in entering certain approaches into precedent law, such as the “hostile environment” argument for the prevention of workplace harassment based on gender, ethnicity, or national origin.  They have monitored social media for hate speech and used that same media for counterattacks.  They have advanced arguments that have prevailed, notably amidst battles specifically in Arizona as to use of native language by non-English speakers in public institutions. 

CRT proponents, have effectively raised questions and advanced policies with regard to immigration, and they have examined who has benefited from private industry’s role in prison construction.  And they have trained a keen lens on the issue of felon disenfranchisement, countered with ideas for ensuring voting fairness.

 

Critical Race Theory and the Future of the United States

In looking to the future, CRT intellectuals ponder whether a power shift toward BIPOC communities will be peaceful, whether such a shift will create heightened tension, or whether there may be enough interest-convergence to create at an acceptable level of rancor a society in which multicultural sharing decision-making prevails. 

CRT analysts also ponder whether a shift toward a more inclusive, polyglot America will in time provoke cataclysmic disruptions;  whether they will engender adaptations of neocolonialist tactics and strategies on the part of white society;  whether a multicultural social shift will entail assimilation into heretofore white-dominated attitudes and institutions, or whether the result will be more pluralistic.  And the ever-present CRT hope is that structural change will eventually be made on the basis of broad public consensus.

CRT intellectuals conceive of four main possibilities as to the fate of Critical Race Theory: 

!)   CRT might become the new Civil Rights orthodoxy; 

2)  CRT might become marginalized and Ignored;

3)  CRT might gain analytical attention but ultimately be rejected;

4)  CRT might gain partial incorporation into the ideological and institutional constructs of society in the United States.

For authors Richard Delgado, Jean Stefancic, and others in the CRT community of scholars and activists, the goal is to replace the conventional Civil Rights approach with Critical Race Theory, embedded deeply in United States society, with widespread understanding how race-conscious institutions and ideas will or will not create a society of broadly shared, culturally pluralistic, judicial fairness.

Sep 8, 2023

Invitation to Apply for the Position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools--- With Explanation as to Why Rochelle Cox, Should She Decide to Apply, Would Clearly Be the Best Candidate

Invitation to Apply for the Position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools---   With Explanation as to Why Rochelle Cox, Should She Decide to Apply, Would Clearly Be the Best Candidate

 

Below I provide the invitation to apply for the position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools.

 

First read the following accounts giving the low academic qualifications and dismal records of those who have served in most cases as superintendents or as high-level administrators in school districts or for the Minnesota Department of Education. 

 

Then read my account of the superior performance of Rochelle Cox, who has for over thirteen months now served as Interim Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools.

 

Then please find the invitation to apply for the position of Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools at the end of this article.

 

As you read this article, understand that there are typically no good candidates for superintendent. 

 

The following superintendents that have served from the 1980s forward have all been failures  >>>>>

 

>>>>> 

 

1980-2022

 

Richard R. Green (June 24, 1980-Feb. 26, 1988) (Acting, for 1st week) 

William C. Phillips (Interim) (March 1-July 31, 1988)

Robert Ferrera (Aug. 1, 1988-Feb. 2, 1993)

Mitchell Trockman (Interim) (Feb. 2-March 8, 1993)

John B. Davis (Interim) (March 8-Aug. 1993)

Mitchell Trockman (Acting) (Aug.-Dec. 1993)

Peter Hutchinson (Dec. 14, 1993-May 27, 1997)

Katrina Reed (Acting) (May 29-Sept. 2, 1997 Ã±

Carol R. Johnson Aug. 30, 1997-Sept. 30, 2003)

David M. Jennings (Oct. 1, 2003-June 30, 2004)

Mitchell Trockman (Interim) (July 1-19, 2004)

Thandiwe Peebles (July 20, 2004-Jan. 26, 2006)

William Davis "Bill" Green (Interim Jan. 26, 2006-Feb. 13, 2007) (Feb. 13, 2007-June 30, 2010)

Bernadeia Johnson (July 1, 2010-December2015)

Michael Goar (Interim, January 2015-May 2016)

Michael Thomas (Acting, June 2016)

Ed Graff (July 1, 2016-June 30, 2022)


And there are no superintendents near the Minneapolis Public Schools whom we would want to serve our students.  Note the slim accomplishments of the following superintendents that have recently shuffled positions in the northern Twin Cities suburbs, along with the low academic proficiency rates of students in the pertinent school districts

 >>>>>


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)

 

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%

  

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)

 

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%

 

Nor would we want the following people associated in the past or at present with the Minnesota Department of Education   >>>>> 


Brenda Cassellius

(former Minnesota State Commissioner of Education)

 

The University of Memphis

 

Doctor of Education – EdD

Organizational Leadership

2004- 2007

 

University of St. Thomas

 

Specialist

Educational Leadership and Administration, General

1993 – 1995

 

University of St. Thomas

 

Master's degree

Secondary Education and Teaching

1990- 1991

 

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Bachelor's degree

Psychology

1985 - 1989

 

Stephanie Burrage

(former Minnesota Deputy Commissioner of Education;  currently educational equity officer for the Minnesota Department of Education)

 

Ed.D. (Educational Policy and Administration)

University of Minnesota/Twin Cities

 

M.Ed. (Elementary Education)

University of Wisconsin/Madison

 

M.Ed.

St. Mary’s University

 

B.A. (Secondary Education)

Western Michigan University

 

Nor would we want any of the following superintendents that search firm BWP Associates has touted as resulting from their successful recruiting efforts.  Note the dismal academic performances of the districts in which these superintendents previously served as administrators   >>>>>


Crystal Hill

(Superintendent, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools)

 

Ed. D., Gardner-Webb University

 

Educational Leadership

 

M. Ed., North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

 

Instructional Technology

 

Educational Leadership

 

B. A., North Carolina A&T State University

 

Elementary Education 

 

Superintendent Crystal Hill previous served in this low-performing school district  >>>>>


Cabarrus County Schools

 

42 Schools         

 

32,810 Students

 

50% BIPOC  (Black/American Indian/People of Color)

 

  8.7%  English Language Learner

 

24.4%  Free/Reduced Price Lunch

 

Female  49%

Male      51%

 

College-Ready

 

 28.2%

 

Graduation Rate

 

91.2%

 

White

 

46.6%

 

African American

 

22.2%

 

Asian Pacific Islander

  

  7.7%

 

Hispanic/Latine

 

  8.3%

 

American Indian

 

  0.3%

 

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

 

  0.1%

 

Two-Plus Ethnicities

 

  4.8%

 

 

Grade Level Academic Proficiency

 

Elementary School Students

 

Reading              46%

 

Mathematics     45%

 

 

Middle School Students

 

Reading              49%

 

Mathematics     41%

 

 

High School Students

 

Reading              60%

 

Mathematics     46%

  

Eric N. Gallien

(Superintendent, Charleston County School District)

 

Ed. D.,   University of Wisconsin, Madison

 

Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

 

M. A., Alverno College

 

Curriculum Development

 

M. A., Alverno College

 

Educational Leadership

 

B. A., University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

 

History Education

 

 

Superintendent Eric Gallien previously served as superintendent this low-performing school district  >>>>>

 

 

Racine Unified School District

 

29 Schools         

 

19    Preschools

21    Elementary Schools

  8    Middle Schools

  6    High Schools

 

16,254 Students

 

70% BIPOC  (Black/American Indian/People of Color)

 

14.3%  English Language Learner

 

48.6%  Free/Reduced Price Lunch

 

Female  48%

Male      52%

 

College-Ready

 

 16.9%

 

Graduation Rate

 

79.7%

 

White

 

37.5%

 

African American

 

25.2%

 

Asian.Pacific Islander

  

  1.0%

 

Hispanic/Latine

 

 29.3%

 

American Indian

 

  0.3%

 

 

Two-Plus Ethnicities

 

  6.7%

 

 

Grade Level Academic Proficiency

 

Elementary School Students

 

Reading              18%

 

Mathematics     20%

 

 

Middle School Students

 

Reading              20%

 

Mathematics     20%

 

 

High School Students

 

Reading              33%

 

Mathematics     17%

 

 

 

Denise Watts

   

(Superintendent, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System)

 

Ed. D., Wingate University (North Carolina)

M. Ed.

Bachelor of Arts

  

Superintendent Denise Wats previously served as Chief of Schools in this low-performing school district  >>>>>


Houston Independent School District


276 Schools      

 

196,943 Students

 

90% BIPOC  (Black/American Indian/People of Color)

 

36.6%  English Language Learner

 

59.4%  Free/Reduced Price Lunch

 

Female  50%

Male      50%

 

College-Ready

 

 39.1%

 

Graduation Rate

 

83.2%

 

White

 

  9.9%

 

African American

 

22.4%

 

Asian.Pacific Islander

  

  4.4%

 

Hispanic/Latine

 

 61.7%

 

American Indian

 

  0.2%

 

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

 

  0.1%

 

Two-Plus Ethnicities

 

  1.4%

 

 

Grade Level Academic Proficiency

 

Elementary School Students

 

Reading              40%

 

Mathematics     45%

 

 

Middle School Students

 

Reading              39%

 

Mathematics     43%

 

 

High School Students

 

Reading              52%

 

Mathematics     25%

   

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

The Superior Performance of Rochelle Cox


The history of failure of locally centralized school districts in Minnesota 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.  The math curriculum (Bridges/Number Corner) for the first time in recent memory was implemented across all grade levels at all schools.  And for reading/language arts, a similar uniformity of implementation was during the 2022-2023 academic year guided by the primary curriculum (Benchmark Advance), due for replacement after pilot testing by and even more phonics-focused, knowledge-intense, well-sequenced curriculum. 

 

Cox has overseen faithful implementation of curricula designed for struggling readers, including the Groves curriculum, 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 academic year 2023-2024, in-person highly intentional tutoring in will feature 133 three-person professional teams (one licensed teacher, two trained Education Support Professionals [ESPs]), each team responsible for addressing the academic needs of 75 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.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

Rochelle Cox gained Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education appointment as interim superintendent in June 2022;  in the course of academic year 2023, the Board extended Cox’s contract through 30 June 2024.  With her decisive initiatives, Cox has positioned MPS to move forward 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.

 

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Invitation to Apply for Superintendent of Schools

The Minneapolis Board of Directors seeks a dynamic and inspirational leader who embraces the mission, vision, and values of the Minneapolis Public Schools. MPS is committed to providing all students, regardless of their background, zip code and personal needs with a high quality, anti-racist, culturally responsive education. The ideal candidate will be a visionary instructional leader, effective communicator, and collaborative manager, with a strong record of accomplishments as a school district leader. In addition, the next MPS superintendent must be able to:

  • Foster unity with the community and serve as a healing presence;
  • Maintain a visible and active presence in the community, engaging with stakeholders and seeking their input;
  • Value the community’s role in decision-making and respects their perspectives, always remembering that the MPS are the community’s schools;
  • Remain connected and engaged with staff to understand the administrative and teaching challenges affecting student learning;
  • Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, addressing inequities and racism in policies, programs, services, facilities, and curriculum; and
  • Build strong teams, act with integrity, and relentlessly advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the MPS organization.

Minneapolis Public Schools, located in Minnesota’s largest city, is an urban school district with schools in or near every Minneapolis neighborhood. MPS embraces diversity in its students, staff and programs, working hard to accelerate learning in everything it does. From early childhood education to early college credits and career preparation, MPS promises a safe, welcoming environment in which learners can grow to become confident global citizens. Learn more at mpls.k12.mn.us.

 

To apply, please complete an online application and submit a resume, letter of interest, three up-to-date letters of reference, proof of appropriate licensure, and complete copies of transcripts at www.bwpassociates.com. All applications and inquires will be treated with the utmost confidentiality allowable under Minnesota law. 

A regionally competitive compensation package will be offered to the successful candidate. 

Each candidate will be informed of the Board’s selection and appointment of the new Superintendent. The final appointment is the sole responsibility of the School Board.

Applications are due to BWP & Associates by November 5, 2023

BWP & Associates, Ltd.

827 N. Milwaukee Ave, #221

Libertyville, IL 60048

 

For additional information, contact BWP search consultants:

Kevin Castner 434.531.8171

Steve Griesbach 708.822.8706

Jane Berenz 952.270.1728

Johnnie Thomas 773.469.4249

 

Applicants are requested not to contact the MPS Board of Directors.