So what went wrong? See all the student videos on the Dual High School/College Credit page. Her leadership skills are very lacking, a former Minnesota Department of Education official who worked with Cassellius told me. She has overseen defections and ousters among her senior executives, a revolt from school principals, and public excoriation from influential nonprofits and activists. Briner stood close to her and said, Lets breathe in. Somebody who's passionate about helping inner city kids," said Yonathan Fassil, whose child goes to Boston Latin School. Campbell Brown (journalist) Alma Dale Campbell Brown (born June 14, 1968) is the head of global news partnerships at Facebook and a former American television news reporter and anchorwoman. Concerned parents want to know how dangerous it is inside the walls of Boston schools. He had a flawed first search for a superintendent. The new schools, she said, would be built alongor on top of, it wasnt exactly clearthe Emerald Necklace, the winding park running through central Boston. So I would say, keep an eye on Rachel Skerritt. Brenda Cassellius will resign at the end of the school year, roughly three years after she was hired away from Minnesota. She has one of the highest-stakes jobs in Boston, and the second-hardest job in the city after mayor, one source told me. When the new system was approved, many city leaders and school advocates hailed it as an outstanding vote that helps to address longstanding equity issues within the district. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu unveiled Cassellius's impending departure in February, calling it a "mutual decision" by the mayor, superintendent and Boston School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson. Let's focus on Marty Walsh, and the instability in the Boston Public Schools is clearly Marty Walsh's fault. Because of her background, she says, she has a lot in common with many BPS students. The discovery of a gun at a South Boston school on Friday along with the vicious attack on a principal a few months ago showed the school system has a long way to go at protecting kids and teachers from violence. Its a gray and frigid morning in Dorchester when Brenda Cassellius bounds toward me on the front lawn of Joseph Lee K8 School. And Ms. Cassellius has proven to be not a good administrator. Once we got settled in a classroom at the school, Cassellius told me about her life. You can do this. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments ? Parents Evaluation. Together, we've laid a stronger foundation upon which BPS can continue to build. It was like out of a movie, the official says, like she was propping up the queen who you know is not up to the task., Briner said she did not recall this specific episode but that the comments sounded like something she would say to any colleague going through a difficult moment., In an interview in a BPS classroom, Cassellius dismissed her critics as disgruntled employees. She paralyzes the organization through her incoherence, another former official says. She had been sitting in her car for the past 45 minutes, she explains, on a conference call with other big-city superintendents brainstorming ways to reopen schools in the middle of a pandemic. Brenda Cassellius Selected As Next Boston Schools Superintendent May 2, 2019 BOSTON ( WBZ NewsRadio) After a year-long search, Boston Public Schools has a new leader. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will resign at the end of the school year, bringing to an end a three-year tenure marked by COVID-19 upheaval and leaving Boston's new mayor with major decisions on the education and policing fronts. Brenda's parents have always been supportive of her professional endeavors. With the backing of the teachers union, community activists, and Mayor Walsh, she won the job in May 2019, with a 52 vote from the school committee. The Boston School Committee announced last week that Dr. Brenda Cassellius will serve as Boston's next superintendent. Speaking to a room full of staffers and principals, she explained her vision for the next generation of Bostons high schools. Minnesota education commissioner, Brenda Cassellius, and former Anchorage, Alaska superintendent, Ed Graff, are the two finalists for Minneapolis's school superintendent position, according a May 13 press release. By winter of the 20192020 school year, concern over Casselliuss leadership had extended beyond the central office and reached BPSs principalssome of the districts most important employees. All of this landed in her lap precisely when the district was trying to figure out how to reopen schools in the fall. Oh, I want to come in on Thursday. She seems simultaneously energized and at ease at the school. Working with educators, parents, business people, students, policy-makers and other concerned people throughout the United States. September 8, 2018 Will new reporting & school support systems help students? Her colleagues found her leadership erratic in other ways as well. In theory, this was a fine idea. In mid-summer, City Hall and school committee officials called several current and former BPS staffers. That is exactly how Briner sees it after working alongside Cassellius in Boston. "We have come to this decision after careful deliberation, with mutual respect for all involved and an acknowledgment that there is much work still to be done this school year and beyond," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu wrote in a letter to the school community. "My hands - and my heart - will be fully committed to BPS until it is time to pass the baton. The people I spoke to who had no inside knowledge. That's not out-front administration. She started in the position in July 2019. She sees something and she does it. Casselliuss decisiveness and big ideas, however, sometimes ruffled the feathers of more traditional colleagues, Johnson says. Anything you think we should spend money on, you guys? she asked. She has taken charge of a flailing school district and recognized the need for bold and uncomfortable changes. She succeeded Tommy Chang who resigned after three years. Her husband Jason is a stay-at-home dad. But even if the consequences of the pandemic are not Casselliuss responsibility, the recovery from it will be. It worked. But if I were a betting man, I might put some money on Rachel Skerritt. Throughout her tenure as superintendent, Cassellius has seemed happiestand told her colleagues shes happiestwhen she is in schools and with children. The Supreme Court is hearing the Harvard admissions discrimination case, which could effectively end affirmative action. In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area. "She didn't make a difference, period," the mother said. But plans and strategies have to be tethered to reality, says one former BPS official, and that just doesnt include an imaginary train taking kids around a city to schools that dont exist.. She even briefly served as a classroom teacher in January when roughly 1,200 teachers and staff members called out sick during the omicron surge. A group of Boston parents has filed a lawsuit against the school committee and Superintendent Brenda Cassellius for what they call a wholly-irrational exam school admissions process, which had recently undergone changes due to the pandemic. She has previously served as an assistant superintendent at North St. Paul, Maplewood, Oakdale School District and Saint Paul Public Schools. A group of Boston parents has filed a lawsuit against the school committee and Superintendent Brenda Cassellius for what they call a "wholly-irrational" exam school admissions process, which. A mother who did not want to give her name to WBZ-TV said she was glad to see Cassellius leaving. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 14 BPCAE families in U.S. District Court in Boston on Friday. The daughter of a young single mother who later became a young single mother herself, Cassellius grew up on food stamps in the projects of Minneapolis and participated in a Head Start program.. 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Boston parent group suing school committee for, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Boston parent group suing school committee for new exam school admissions process, Boston looks to continue remote testimony for public meetings, Special Olympics grant brings the magic of inclusive sports to BPS schools, 98.5 employees had their sensitivity training after Tony Massarotti suspension, Mike Felger rants about people getting fired over a bad comment, Heres what Maura Healeys $55.5 billion budget buys, Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence. As the students offered suggestionsfree menstrual products, cleaner bathrooms, improved ventilationCassellius had her executives take notes. Este botn muestra el tipo de bsqueda seleccionado. Share Your Memories and Sympathies and Join the Bereaved! She even briefly served as a classroom teacher . AN EDUCATION CAREER Cassellius spent her early career as a single mom. The plan was opposed by some parent groups that wanted 20 percent of the spots at the schools set aside for the best applicants regardless of socioeconomic status. They were tracking COVID, and it was the parents that forced the closure of the school. Charlene has a way of coaching Brenda, says the former Minnesota Department of Education official. BOSTON Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius on Tuesday addressed her planned resignation at the end of the academic year but did not give a reason for her departure.. When BPS faced a lack of staff, Brenda took a substitute teacher position at Nathan Hale Elementary School, Roxbury. But hearing it 49 days before the school year starts doesnt give you much hope., The teachers union also criticized the plan, calling it totally out of touch with reality. In the midst of the pandemic, a teachers union taking a shot at a superintendent should be as shocking as an April snowstorm in Boston. Aware of the long history of distrust between BPS families and the district itself, Cassellius made a listening tour her first order of business. (Later, in December, the teachers union would pass a vote of no confidence in the superintendent.). She did not say why she is leaving. She was also a finalist for a state superintendent job in Michigan. When Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius resigns at the end of the school year, she'll take with her hundreds of thousands of dollars from a separation agreement. The windows open there. Before her aide could object, she was off. Cassellius had the political acumen necessary to be successful in Boston and also understood the critical role of educational equity and the needs of Black and brown students, as well as low-income students and English-language learners.. When [Casselliuss predecessor] Laura Perille was in front of an audience of children, she seemed stiff, the official says. From the start, Walshs administration had hoped that Cassellius would restore stability to Bostons struggling school system. Bill would see benefits restored by Seth Moulton bill, 98.5 employees had their sensitivity training after Tony Massarotti suspension, Mike Felger rants about people getting fired over a 'bad comment', Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment. Battenfeld: Boston parents and kids deserve a truthful accounting from Superintendent Brenda Cassellius Start the conversation BOSTON MA. The community was behind us, the mayors speech was inspiring, we had secured this new investment, and then, boom, here comes the plague.. With help from the Minnesota Department of Education and Target, we have completed new videos that are in 7 languages: Hmong, Somali, Arabic, Karen, Dakota, English and Spanish. Brenda runs down the aisle giving high-fives and the kids eat it up. As CFO Nate Kuder completed a preview of the public budget presentation he would give in February, Cassellius proposed an idea. Woolhouse: The pandemic, I think it's been a very rough ride for her. She was named superintendent in May 2019 by then-Mayor Marty Walsh. The problem, Casselliuss critics alleged, was that it arrived too late and too light on details. After completing the proposal, she walked into the mayors office with her pitch: Add an additional $100 million to BPSs budget. Publicly, at least, Cassellius still had the backing of the two allies she needed most: the school committee and City Hall. "I don't have any further thoughts on that at this time," she said. ", 'Heartbroken' by the tragedy of war, a Ukrainian opera singer performs in Belmont, Healey's proposed budget a boon to education and the environment, Senate confirms first Hispanic judge to Massachusetts federal court, The woman who introduced MLK Jr. and Coretta Scott lies in an unmarked grave in Boston, The civil rights memorials that expose America's ugly history and warn of repeating the past. Lets go to TechBoston, she suggested. Once, in August 2019, Cassellius returned to the Bolling Building in tears from a visit to the McKinley South End Academy, which was housed in a decrepit building. parents, and others. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will resign at the end of the school year, bringing to an end a three-year tenure marked by COVID-19 upheaval and leaving Boston's new.