After delaying its initial deadline of July 1 to name a new superintendent to replace interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox, the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board of Education is working to focus on what qualifications to look for in a candidate for the position.
MPS Board Chair Sharon El-Amin said the search was delayed to allow new board members, who began in January, to have a voice in defining the search. El-Amin says the extended search will allow the board to be aligned on what qualities to look for in a candidate.
Another major reason for the delay was so the board could gather more community input. According to Director El-Amin, the board did not have enough engagement with students, staff and parents to be comfortable proceeding with candidates for the position.
“We have heard from the community very loud and clear that they want this to be a very transparent process. That they want to be included in the process and that they want to see their voice being heard in the decision that is made when we hire the superintendent,” El-Amin said.
MPS hired EPU Consultants LLC, a firm based in Plymouth, to do community listening sessions with school district stakeholders. Over the past several months, the firm conducted an online survey that got 2,823 respondents and hosted eight listening sessions where MPS students, staff, parents and community were able to voice their opinions on the superintendent search and the general direction of the school district.
According to the online survey, the top qualities the community said they wanted in a superintendent candidate was that they be student-centered and have good relationships with students. Among survey respondents, 83 percent said the best strategy to advance academic success was “ensuring all community schools provide access to STEM, music, art, language—and for high school, ethnic studies and college-credit courses.”
A total of 63.2 percent of respondents also said MPS should “ensure all curriculum and instructional practices are anti-racist and sustain the cultures, languages and experiences of our students.” Other recommendations included focusing on hiring diverse teachers and staff, as well as reducing barriers for diverse staff to becoming teachers, at 58.6 percent and 54.1 percent respectively.
El-Amin said one of her priorities for the district was to confront systemic racism. “If it’s the systemic racism that we have seen show up for decades, then my question will be that now is the time for us to be able to define what we expect and be able to show that we as a board have outlined those priorities, and that we as a board have expectations and goals for the families that we serve,” El-Amin said at a board meeting called to focus in on the district’s priorities.
El-Amin says Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox has said she will renew her contract if needed and the board requests it. However, not all of the board members are willing to rehire Interim Superintendent Cox.
“I can’t just agree to extend the contract without seeing progress, without seeing what was done for the past few months, the time she was here,” said newly elected District 3 Board Director Fathia Feerayarre. “If we give another year to the current [interim] superintendent, we’re probably missing a lot of great leaders, a lot of great people who can come to our district and make a difference.
“I’m not gonna take that,” Feerayarre said. “I can’t do that because I want to see change now.”
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