Your editor stands by his earlier comments. The first question for the industry is whether this means the end of Edison in Philadelphia.  The budget is a mess and - other things being equal - outsiders are the first to go. And Edison's academic results were simply not sufficient to make taking the firm off the chopping block an obvious choice..... More

PASTOREK NAMES PAUL VALLAS SUPERINTENDENT OF RSD

(May 4) BATON ROUGE, La. – State Superintendent of Education Paul G. Pastorek announced that Paul Vallas will become the new superintendent of the Recovery School District. Vallas was introduced by Pastorek during a press conference this morning at the renovated Martin Luther King Charter School that will be open to students this fall.

Vallas, the current CEO of the School District of Philadelphia, has been working in the RSD as a consultant for several weeks. He agreed to accept the top leadership position in the district after Dr. Robin Jarvis announced she will leave the RSD at the end of May. Vallas is expected to begin his tenure as Superintendent officially on, or after, July 1; however, he has also committed to the City of Philadelphia to complete an orderly transition. In his capacity as a consultant, he will continue to work on RSD issues between now and then.

“The RSD must succeed in its mission to create a school system we can be proud of, and ultimately, to return these schools to local control,” said Superintendent Pastorek. “Equally important, however, is the need to attract a team of outstanding people to support and enhance the talent that already exists at the RSD. We not only need a dynamic leader, but also greater capacity. We also need individuals who know this community, who have been living and working in this community and know education intimately. All of their efforts are going to be crucially important,” Pastorek emphasized.

“I am proud to be able to work with this community to tackle the challenges that face the Recovery School District,” said Vallas. “I understand the importance of engaging this community early and often. Like Superintendent Pastorek, I will be meeting with our staff and our parents. I will be meeting with elected officials, meeting with community groups, seeking input from a wide range of people and quickly setting priorities and moving forward. I will be doing a lot of listening in the coming days so that I can act on what I hear and help to create a school system that accomplishes what we all want.”


“It is imperative that the RSD is led by a person who has the proven ability to build leadership and capacity,” said Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Linda Johnson. “I told Superintendent Pastorek to find us the best leader in the country for New Orleans, and I am confident that Mr. Vallas will be able to take this district to the next level by successfully opening more schools, recruiting teachers and staff, and most importantly, ensuring our children improve academically in real and measured ways.”

“Rebuilding the educational system in New Orleans is vital to the city and the state’s recovery from the hurricanes,” said Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. “Our schools can and will attract people back to the city, but they must be better than they were before the storms. I continue to pledge my support to the Recovery School District, and I am confident Mr. Vallas’ wisdom and experience will help to improve the educational environment for all students in the city.”

“We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us to stand up for our school system following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which devastated our communities in 2005,” Sen. Landrieu said. “Paul Vallas has the vision and leadership skills to ensure every child in New Orleans has access to an excellent education. We need his expertise, which he accrued from turning around school districts in other parts of the country, to usher our young people to becoming the leaders of tomorrow.”

“Revitalizing our public education system is a key element in the recovery of New Orleans,” said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. “I welcome Mr. Vallas and his team to our community to lead this critical effort in our city. I am familiar with Mr. Vallas’ years of experience in Chicago and most recently in Philadelphia where I visited a state-of-the-art technology driven high school in an urban community. I am looking forward to Mr. Vallas bringing that kind of innovation in education here to New Orleans,” Nagin said.

Since 2002, Vallas has worked as CEO for the public schools in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania school district includes 179,000 students and 268 schools, compared to the RSD’s 39 schools and 17,600 students. Vallas also served as CEO for the Chicago Public School System from 1995-2001 after being hand-picked by Mayor Richard J. Daly to run the city-controlled public schools. Pastorek outlined Vallas’ numerous accomplishments in Philadelphia and Chicago as the reason he was chosen to become the RSD’s Chief Executive Officer. Those achievements include:

• Increasing reading and math test scores by more than 20% between 2002 and 2006
• Expanding early childhood education programs by 40%
• Establishing an ambitious teacher recruitment and retention program resulting in fewer than a dozen teacher vacancies in  2005-06
• Creating unprecedented school choice for parents through the creation of 27 small public high schools and 60 charter schools.
• Managing a $2.2 billion budget
• Standardizing the curriculum and instruction models and distributing new textbooks in all core subjects to all students

 “When I look at Mr. Vallas’ career, I see a man who has a proven track record of success. He knows the job that lies ahead in the RSD and has the experience and expertise to lead this mission,” Pastorek noted. “Together with a team that includes significant numbers of local staff with insight into the unique nature of New Orleans schools, I know he will be able to get this job done and do it well.”

“No school district in the country has been able to accomplish what the RSD did last year in opening schools,” noted Vallas. “Clearly, many challenges are still ahead including the need for additional facilities, recruitment, finances and most importantly, building a strong internal team. Superintendent Pastorek has done an outstanding job in starting this process, and it’s one that I will continue vigorously,” Vallas said.

Originally from Chicago, Vallas received a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and History in 1976 and a Masters in Political Science in 1980 from Western Illinois University. Vallas will employ a Chief Academic Officer to meet BESE’s policy requirements for school district leaders without a background in education.

Pastorek and Vallas are still negotiating the terms of Vallas’ contract.