MPS names 3 finalists for superintendent

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Board of School Directors announced Friday the names of three finalists it is considered to be Milwaukee Public Schools' (MPS) next superintendent.

After developing an ideal candidate profile that include a preference for an outside perspective, the board settled on three external candidates:

-Dr. Brenda Cassellius, CEO of environmental advocacy group, Fresh Energy, and previously superintendent of Boston Public Schools and Minnesota's commissioner of education

-Dr. Joshua Starr, managing partner at The Center for Model Schools and former superintendent of Montgomery County, Maryland Schools

-Dr. Andrae Townsel, superintendent of Calvert County, Maryland Schools

The candidates are vying for a role that opened last June when former MPS Superintendent Keith Posley resigned amid a financial scandal the district is still crawling out of.

The new superintendent will also be tasked with reversing a trend of plummeting reading scores. New 2024 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that among 27 participating large urban districts, only Detroit had a worse 4th grade reading score than Milwaukee.