MPS superintendent finalists make pitch in open forum
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The three finalists in Milwaukee Public Schools' (MPS) search for a new superintendent shared their visions for the district in a pair of public forums Thursday.
The candidates, Dr. Brenda Cassellius, Dr. Joshua Starr and Dr. Andrae Townsel, each visited three different MPS schools -- one high-performing, one low-performing and a specialty school -- before heading to the district's central office for the public presentations.
Each finalist had 45 minutes at the podium. They opened with introductory remarks, then they took questions submitted by the audience.
Starr, currently an education consultant, was previously the superintendent in Montgomery County, Maryland. That district's 150,000 students more than doubles MPS' enrollment. A UW-Madison grad who began his teaching career in Brooklyn, Starr offered a blunt assessment of the district after meeting MPS' regional superintendents and learning they each oversee more than 25 principals.
"I'll be really honest with you. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I will," Starr told the auditorium. "I have looked at the [district's organizational] charts. I have looked at the budget. I've looked at everything. I don't understand who's responsible for what. I'm just gonna be clear."
Townsel, a Detroit native who now serves as the superintendent in Calvert County, Maryland, held up a printed-out literacy blueprint he said he created for MPS. The district's 4th grade reading scores were at the bottom of the list among 27 large urban districts participating in National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) testing. Only Detroit had a worse score in the category.
"Going to every school and not only promoting literacy but looking at the teaching practices," Townsel said of his literacy approach during a press conference prior to the forum. "We're very specific on the Science of Reading. That's what we do in Maryland."
Wisconsin has enacted a law, Act 20, that mandates districts use a reading curriculum tied to the phonics-based Science of Reading. Under the law, teachers must begin training on an approved curriculum by July 1.
Cassellius, who grew up in public housing before eventually serving as Minnesota's commissioner of education and superintendent of Boston Public Schools, touted past examples where she worked with policymakers to score wins for her schools.
"You need to build relationships and move things," she said. "And so, I was able to move a "read well by third grade policy" where the [Minnesota] Republicans had a very different viewpoint than I did."
Each of the candidates emphasized a plan to devote additional resources to schools with poor academic results and a high concentration of poverty.
"If you give everyone the same across the board, then how can some address a chronic absenteeism issue if they don't have the resources for that?" Townsel said. "So, it's looking at the needs of the school."
Cassellius said she took note of how often students complained about the meals they received during her school visits.
"Talking to kids today, they said the food's gotta be better," she said. "These are simple, Maslow Hierarchy things, any of you who's studied psychology."
Starr said he developed a passion for getting proper resources to the neediest kids while teaching in Brooklyn. He noticed he'd been placed with students who needed additional support despite his inexperience.
"I was not an expert teacher, and the system had allowed for the least experienced teacher to be with the most vulnerable kids," he said. "And when I realized that, I was like, 'Ah.'"
Starr said his approach would involve empowering principals and teachers to set their own successful culture within schools, one focused on innovation. He closed his remarks by calling on the public to take greater ownership of their schools, as well.
"The results don't lie, so what will we allow going forward?" he said. "I know where I stand on that, but you also have to ask questions of yourselves, too -- 'What will I allow and permit?' -- so we can make sure when every child walks across that [high school graduation] stage, they are ready to thrive in an increasingly complex world."
Townsel said one of the most important tasks facing the next superintendent is fostering a greater sense of unity among the district's many actors. He maintained it was something he'd done in Calvert County.
"It's not the county government. It's not the board of education. It's not the union," he said. "It's Calvert County Public Schools."
On school choice and SROs
On some of the hot-button issues the audience asked about, the candidates said they did not oppose the idea of choice charter schools, some of which MPS authorizes.
"I've never been against public charter schools or public school choice," Cassellius said. "I see my role, if I were to be so lucky to get this position in Milwaukee, as serving the children in Milwaukee, not just the children in Milwaukee Public Schools."
"I am not opposed to choice. This is America, people like to have choices around things," Starr said. "I am opposed to anything that hurts kids. I am opposed to anything that is trying to undermine public education."
"First and foremost, the goal is to make Milwaukee Public Schools the best school system possible," Townsel said. "And second, knowing we also have charters we authorize, making those the best schools possible."
The issue of school resource officers (SROs) also looms large over the district. A recent court ruling has ordered the district to implement SROs in accordance with state law, but district and city leaders are still at odds over who should pay for the cops placed at schools.
Townsel said he would want to explore a district-specific police unit, similar to what he experienced in Detroit. Cassellius was not asked about the topic during her afternoon forum. Starr said he typically supported SRO programs throughout his career, but he added it must be done right, with a police chief incentivizing officers who participate and receive proper training that makes clear they answer to school administrators.
Up next
The three finalists will meet with elected officials Friday morning, including Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley.
Friday evening, they'll each meet with the district's board of school directors. Board Clerk Tina Owen Moore said the board will then convene on Tuesday to deliberate over which candidate they will select to the lead the district. She said it's possible the board will agree on a new superintendent then.
The public can share its opinions on each of the finalists online: