Emanuel Picks CPS CEO

citizen |

by Thelma Sardin

On Monday morning, Mayor Elect Rahm Emanuel announced his new Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Leadership Team. Emanuels pick for CPS Chief Executive Officer is Jean-Claude Brizard, who served as superintendent of Rochester City School District in Rochester, NY. Brizard, who is Haitian-American, has 21 years of experience as an educator. According to a released statement, under Brizards leadership, the district's graduation rate increased and student scores in English Language Arts and Math improved.

Other leadership team picks include Dr. Noemi Donoso for Chief Education Officer and Tim Cawley for Chief Operating Officer. New Chicago Board of Education members include Dr. Mahalia Hines who is mother of rapper Common. Hines served 17 years as a CPS principal. Chicago Urban League president and CEO Andrea Zopp has been tapped to be a board member as well.

According to reports, Emanuel is also closer to picking a police superintendent. At press time, WBBM reported that Gil Kerlikowske, director White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and Newark, N.J., police Director Garry McCarthy are on Emanuels list. Emanuel's Chicago Police Department picks reportedly include Chief ofPatrol Gene Williams, Detective Division Deputy Chief AlWysinger and Assistant Deputy Supt.Debra Kirby.The Citizen called Emanuels transition team for more information about the search for a police superintendent but a response was not given by deadline.

As of Tuesday morning, Emanuel announced former Cook County Board Commissioner, Forrest Claypool as the new Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) president. Last November, Claypool unsuccessfully ran for Cook County Assessor against Joseph Berrios as an Independent.

Members of Chicagos political and educational communities have responded to Emanuels decision.

The Citizen contacted Timothy Knowles, director of the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago for comment on Brizards appointment. A response was not given by Citizen deadline however Knowles did offer his opinion in a released statement.

"Mayor-elect Emanuel has selected a remarkably talented team.We look forward to working closely with Jean-Claude Brizard and his new administration as they work to address the pressing challenges facing the Chicago Public Schools."

Seventeenth Ward Alderman Latasha Thomas also said she looked forward to working with the new CPS team in a released statement.

"I welcome a fresh start for CPS. I've said that we have to view achieving an improved educational system as the result of open, honest discussions and unbiased assessments of the systems in place; of taking more creative approaches to tackling the issues facing CPS, Thomas said.

Brizards appointment is not good news to everyone.

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) sees Brizards appointment as business as usual in Chicago. In February 2011, according to a Chicago Tribune poll, 77 percent of Chicagoans said they wanted an elected school board but that didnt happen again, said Liz Brown, CTU spokeswoman.

Referring to when Mayor Daley gained control of the Chicago Public Schools from the Illinois General Assembly in 1995, Brown added that for the past 16 years business interests have overruled educational best practices in Chicago.

Brown believes societal factors must first be addressed to ensure a successful educational future for Chicagos students. Once we really address the obstacles our students face, poverty of jobs [and] ill resources schools, we will never achieve education equity in Chicago.

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