School Committee endorses super search team
The School Committee has announced their recommendations for the 10-person Superintendent Search Committee, which will be responsible for choosing the finalists to take over the school district’s top spot.
“The search committee is made up of some engaged folks in our community,” said School Committee chairman Michael Loconto. “A number of those people have long resumes of public service and are wellknown and well-respected in our community.”
The search committee will be co-chaired by School Committee member Alexandra Oliver-Davila and University of Massachusetts Boston professor Keith Motley.
The proposed search committee members are Samuel Acevedo, executive director of the Boston Higher Education Resource Center; Wilmington Public Schools ESL teacher Carlos Brown; John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science headmaster Tanya Freeman-Wisdom; Curley K-8 School principal Katherine Grassa; special needs family attorney Carolyn J. Kain; Michael J. Perkins Elementary School principal Craig Martin; School Committee member Michael D. O’Neill; and Boston Teachers Union president Jessica Tang.
The membership of the search committee will be voted on by the School Committee on Oct. 10.
“The role of Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools is one of the most important in our city, and I am pleased that the School Committee is moving forward in forming a search committee to begin the process of identifying candidates to serve in this vital role,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement.
“We wanted to strive to have that balance and representation of our city and make sure we have representation from the communities of color and genders that match our district,” Loconto said.
He said the committee also plans to engage students and the Latino community with public information sessions in both Spanish and English.
It could be several months before superintendent finalists are chosen. The committee’s target is choosing a new superindent within the first few months of 2019 to ensure someone is in place before the beginning of the next school year.
Loconto said the pool of available big city superintendents typically develops in early winter, so they expect to take advantage of that starting in December.
“I feel like this is a balanced group capable of finding what Boston needs and hit the ground running to find the best candidate possible,” Loconto said.