Ex-BPS chief hired at Minn. clean energy nonprofit
Nearly a year after her departure, former Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Cassellius has landed a new role back in her home state — leading a Minnesota-based clean energy advocacy organization.
Cassellius, who led BPS from 2019-2022, was named Thursday as the new executive director of Fresh Energy, a nonprofit that creates policy aimed at developing a clean energy economy. “I am so excited to join an amazing team of smart, passionate and equity minded professionals,” Cassellius said in a tweet on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Cassellius had also been named as a finalist for a superintendent job in Memphis, but withdrew her name because the process was delayed, the Chalkbeat Tennessee reported.
Cassellius arrived in Boston in 2019 after a career mostly spent in Minnesota, which included serving as its commissioner of education for a decade. Last February, she announced that she was stepping down from her role as Boston superintendent after holding the role for three years. Upon her departure, Cassellius was paid more than $300,000 in severance.
“Brenda has an unmitigated passion for public education and young people,” Janiece Watts, director of culture and partnerships at Fresh Energy, said in a statement.
During her time in Boston, Cassellius helped raise graduation standards to align with state university admission requirements and overhauled exam school admission criteria so a more diverse group of students is accepted.
She also encountered several challenges during her tenure that included leading the district through learning disruptions caused by the pandemic, and a state audit of BPS in 2020 that resulted in more state oversight. Additionally, Cassellius faced a vote of no confidence by the teachers union and criticism from many parents over delays in reopening classrooms, as well as chronic school bus delays. She was appointed under former mayor Martin J. Walsh and left office seven months into the then-new Mayor Michelle Wu administration.