An Account of the Week in Which the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education Concluded a Terribly Botched Search for Long-Term Superintendent

The week that began on 27 November 2023 and ended on 1 December 2023 was a momentous phase in the K-12 Revolution. 

Sonia Stewart (currently Deputy Superintendent, Hamilton County Schools [Chattanooga TN]) and Lisa Sayles-Adams (currently Superintendent of Eastern Carver County Schools [Chaska MN area]) were the two candidates recommended by the 17-person Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Superintendent Search Task Force.  The creation of a Task Force was a mistake, as were all aspects of this failed spectacle that were associated with a conventional search. 

My recommendation, for emphasis making reference to A.J Crabill’s advice for the Board to utilize a search firm only for logistics and candidate vetting, was to abjure conventional processes, understand Rochelle Cox’s unique talent, save time, get on with the mission, and hire her soon after she received the appointment as interim superintendent.

I maintained that position in the aftermath of Cox’s contract extension on 7 March 2023 and endeavored to advocate that the Board, observing brilliant presentation after brilliant presentation of unprecedented academic initiatives, to appoint Rochelle to the long-term position before the timetable was set, but to no avail.

The invitations to apply went out on 5 September 2023;  the application window closed on 5 November.  Twenty-five (25) people applied and BWP Associates (the search firm unfortunately hired by the MPS Board of Education) recommended five (5) to the Task Force for interviews;  the Task Force recommended Stewart and Sayles-Adams to the Board as a whole.

As should have been predicted, the Task Force phase was critical and corrupt. 

Any objective assessment would have at the very least recommended Rochelle Cox among the two or three referred to the Board as a whole. 

But clearly there were connivers on the Task Force who did not want Cox’s name put forward, knowing that she would have a very good chance of getting the vote:  My assessment was that she had the votes of Ira Jourdain, Kim Ellison, Joyner Emerick, and Abdul Abdi---  so that only one more vote for Cox would be needed before a potential cavalcade of votes might result in a clear majority.

After the corrupt decision by the Task Force, I recommended to Board members that they reclaim control of the process and at the very least include Cox’s name for consideration.  The vote took place on Friday, 1 December;  no such reclamation occurred, even by those who were the most in favor of Rochelle Cox’s academic initiatives and in favor of her gaining selection as long-term superintendent.

The 1 December vote went 8-1, a rather confusing development since Adriana Cerrillo had advocated energetically for Sonia Stewart during the discussion phase;  only Ira Jourdain, though, cast his vote for Stewart.

Only a dozen or so people were in the audience---  very unusual, since such gatherings are often teeming with all manner of folks and their particularistic interests.  One could have proverbially heard the proverbial pin drop throughout the meeting, including when the decision was made and officially announced---  even more unusual.  The strong suggestion is that this Board move is unpopular and Sayles-Adams will begin with little enthusiastic backing from staff or community.

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Apparently, the discussion and debate within the MPS Superintendent Search Task Force turned very boisterous and acrimonious, with just a few members dominating the debate.  MPS Board of Education Director and Clerk Lori Norvell, as chair of the Task Force, eventually called in staff from BWP associates, the search firm who identified five candidates from 25 applicants for recommendation to the Task Force, to mediate the discussion.

I do not at this point have a firm conclusion as to how only two candidates were recommended by the Task Force to the entire MPS Board of Education with the exclusion of Rochelle Cox’s name, but according to reports the majority of participants either supported her as the number one candidate or wanted her name recommended to the entire Board;  supporters included the principal, the teacher not officially representing the MFT---  but maybe even the official MFT representative and probably the Education Support Professional (ESP [teacher’s aide), with whom Cox has developed an excellent relationship), at least three of the five community members, and the three students (including the two MPS Board of Education Student Representatives). 

There is, then, a high probability that two or three voluble members prevailed in limiting the options to two candidates, not reporting Cox’s name out to the entire Board. 

This and other assessments, including the exact stances of the Board members both within the Task Force and on the Board as a whole, will be among my continuing investigations as I prepare the second edition of Understanding the Minneapolis Public Schools:  Current Condition, Future Prospect for circulation and formal publication.

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Abhorrently, the neither the Task Force nor the MPS Board of Education as a whole consulted senior staff and cabinet members in making their calamitous decision.  Many staff members were in tears as the decision of 1 December was made.  

But these same highly talented staff members joined Rochelle in conducting a tour d’ force Committee of the Whole on Tuesday evening (5 December), providing evidence of success thus far with the key academic initiatives and giving all manner of information as to MPS finances, school climate, progress in hiring and retaining BIPOC teachers, and improvement in getting students who have lagged in attendance or dropped out entirely back on track

The staff members felt a surge of elation in the aftermath of the meeting, inasmuch as this demonstration of programmatic success and progress was the perfect answer to the Board’s having bungled the search so badly and so coarsely.   

In view of current circumstances, my own stance toward and relationships with Board members has shifted:

I will continue to advocate for sustaining the initiatives of Rochelle and staff, even as I keep Board members and Lisa Sayles-Adams on notice that my 55,000 blog viewers per month will be observing and responding to how Rochelle and staff are treated.