Article #3 >>>>> >Journal of the K-12 Revolution: Essays and Research from Minneapolis, Minnesota<, Volume XI, Number One, July 2024

Insubstantial Credentials and Failed Performance of Shawn Harris-Berry, Likely Key Aide to Sub-Mediocre New Superintendent Lisa Sayles Adams

 

With the ouster of Rochelle Cox and Aimee Fearing, the quality of advisers that will remain on staff at the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) under sub-mediocre new superintendent Lisa Sayles-Adams will be greatly diminished. 

 

Three cabinet members who are likely to remain as advisers to Sayles-Adams are Shawn-Harris-Berry, Yusuf Abdullah, and Laura Cavender.

 

Harris-Berry will move from her position as Senior Officer of Schools to an associate superintendent position;  Sayles-Adams is jettisoning the Senior Office of Schools position, which, ironically as pertains to Harris-Berry, had supervisory responsibility over the associate superintendents, a role that Harris Berry held under former superintendent Ed Graff and to which she now returns.

 

Harris-Berry moved into the Davis Center (MPS central offices, 1250 West Broadway) during the Graff administration (2016-2022) from a position as building principal of North High School.  Harris-Berry has very humble academic credentials, as do almost all of those having responsibility for academics at the district:  teachers, principals, Davis Center academic division staff, associate superintendents, and superintendent.  And Harris was a failure as principal at North High School, as the academic proficiency rates of students indicate.

 

Peruse, then, Harris-Berry’s insubstantial academic credentials (which feature no graduate degree in a key subject area field [i.e., mathematics, physics, history, government, economics, English literature) and review the abysmal academic proficiency rates at North High School, including those recorded during the years of Harris-Berry’s tenure as principal.

 

 

Shawn Harris-Berry (Associate Superintendent)

 

Academic Degree/Credential

 

Bachelor’s Degree, Business Education                    

(University of Wisconsin/Eau Claire WI, 1985)

 

M. Ed., Secondary School Administration                        

(University of St. Thomas, 1995)

           

Ed.D., Educational Leadership              

St. Mary’s University, 2005)                    

 

Other Credentials

 

Teaching License

Administrative License – District Superintendent

Administrative License – K-12 Principal

Administrative License – Secondary School Principal

 

 

North High School

 

 

School Data by Comparison to Districtwide Data

 

             School  District

Native American                2%        5%

African American             84%      35%

Asian American                  2%        5%

Hispanic American            5%      65%

White American                 7%      19%

Receive ELL Services         6%      17%

Free/Reduced Lunch      68%       48%

Special Education           21%      15%       

 

 

North Community High School

Reading

 

2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2021  2022  2023

 

  23%   9%      3%    11%    2%     11%    16%  14%   12%

 

 (66)  (57)    (36)    (66)    (55)   (85)    (25)   (29)    (66)

 

Math

 

2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2021  2022  2023

 

 ----       16%      2%     0%    2%      2%     6%   0%      4%

 

 (-----)  (61)    (45)    (36)   (41)    (41)   (17)  (24)   (27)

 

Science

 

2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2021  2022  2023