New Chicago school chief leaves behind divisions in old district
From The Chicago Tribune: When Rochester (N.Y.)City Schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard departs to take charge of Chicago's public school system, he'll leave behind a largely broken school district with dismal test scores, shaky finances and a fractured relationship with teachers. Though Brizard touts improvements in graduation rates and test scores among his accomplishments in his 3 1/2 years, opinion is sharply divided on whether he has made a significant difference in the performance of the district's largely low-income black and Latino students.
ALSO...from The Chicago Tribune: Jean-Claude Brizard is defending his record in the Rochester (N.Y.)school district, calling himself a “reformer” whose three years heading the Rochester system saw important accomplishments.
From The Chicago Sun-Times: Charter schools. Turnaround schools. And knowing where the money is. Those are common themes that run through the resumes many of the 16 people tapped by Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel to lead the nation’s third-largest school system. Buckle your seat belts. Dramatic changes are expected as the Emanuel education team takes the helm in the weeks to come. Emanuel will be sworn in as mayor on May 16.
From The Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel has named Rochester (N.Y.) schools Supt. Jean-Claude Brizard as the new schools chief in Chicago. Brizard has headed the 32,000-student Rochester City School District since 2008. He signed a three-year contract there in February paying $235,000 a year, but has clashed with the teachers union there.
ALSO...from The Chicago Tribune: Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel also has selected administrators to help lead Chicago Public Schools under new CEO Jean-Claude Brizard. The chief education officer will be Noemi Donoso. She has been director of the Denver Public Schools' Office of School Reform and Innovation, which oversees charter schools and innovative programs. For chief operating officer, a position that oversees district facilities, food services and technology, Emanuel tapped Tim Cawley, who is the managing director of finance and administration at the Academy for Urban School Leadership. The group is a network of turnaround schools that has emerged under Mayor Richard Daley as one way to reform failing schools.
PROFILE: Jean-Claude Brizard, a 6-foot-5 educator known to pals as "J.C.," is a man supporters describe as a charismatic charmer with a winning smile. Born in Haiti and raised in poverty in a New York housing project by his immigrant parents, he had to fight his way to the top.