She has a deep gift for connecting with children, says a current BPS official who is critical of her leadership. And I started to do things where it wasnt just my idea, but everybodys idea.. When Cassellius arrived in Boston to vie for the BPS top job, she pitched herself as a deft political operator laser-focused on equity. I think Wu understands that the next super needs the trust of students, their parents and Boston teachers to really hit the ground running. Cassellius took the top job in Boston eight months before the pandemic prompted a shift to remote learning that has since transmuted into staffing shortages, mask mandates and other complicated issues. Even with her facemask on, her expression made clear that the episode had been painful. Cassellius insists she will still be that leader, as long as the city will let her. Oh, I want to come in on Thursday. She seems simultaneously energized and at ease at the school. The problem, Casselliuss critics alleged, was that it arrived too late and too light on details. But why stop there? Perhaps that is why she seemed so buoyant when I visited Lee K8 with her and why she meets regularly with her student cabinet, and with BPSs student advisory council. 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. And in that time, building improvements and academic improvements have been promised, but not met. People felt heard. The windows open there. Before her aide could object, she was off. Anything you think we should spend money on, you guys? she asked. However, on Tuesday Dr. Cassellius sent her letter of resignation to Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson. Then, throughout the day, the students would shuttle between buildings on a train. Unveiled in early 2020, it laid out an audacious vision for the future, proposing that seven large high schools across the city simultaneously expand Advanced Placement and pre-AP courses, create technical and vocational education tracks, offer dual enrollment with local colleges, implement International Baccalaureate programs, and expand to include the seventh and eighth grades. She is too focused on big-picture plans, Bazile says, and she does not have the leadership tools to put in place policies that are going to make those plans actually occur in reality. It creates a level of desperation, Bazile adds, because we cant lose this generation., On the afternoon of November 13, I joined a Zoom call with Cassellius, her chief financial officer, her chief operations officer, and some of her favorite people in the district: her cabinet of student advisers. what does seats not included mean on hopperthe hardy family acrobats 26th February 2023 / in was forest whitaker in batteries not included / by / in was forest whitaker in batteries not included / by That was a marked departure for her and showed a little independence. Half African-American and half white, some of her formative experiences included being the target of hatred from adults. This transcript has been edited for clarity and length. She has said to me that she hires people based on familiarity and trust, says Edith Bazile, a former president of the Black Educators Alliance of Massachusetts who has worked closely with Cassellius on a volunteer basis. Series III Reading. In addition to his editing duties, Senior Editor Peter Kadzis contributes political analysis and is part of the trio that produces the Scrum Podcast. One day in 2004, Johnson walked into Casselliuss office to offer her the biggest promotion of her life. First published on February 7, 2022 / 4:00 PM. Rachel Pearson is a parent advocate and trainer at the PACER Center, a nonprofit that champions youth with disabilities and their families. What are their intentions and motives? How much influence and interference did they really have on her and how the schools are run? Let's focus on Marty Walsh, and the instability in the Boston Public Schools is clearly Marty Walsh's fault. Nr den er udvidet, indeholder den en liste over sgemuligheder, der vil ndre sgeinputs, s de matcher det nuvrende valg. She quickly won jobs as a teacher, assistant principal, and then principal of a middle school, after Carol Johnson (who would later serve as BPS superintendent) hired Cassellius to work in the Memphis school district where she was superintendent. 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. This button displays the currently selected search type. Building consensus, he notes, is a long, agonizing process. Subordinates would scramble to respond to her proposals, pulling staff away from the business of running the school district. Three months into her first term, Wu will now search for a permanent leader to take over atop the city's public schools at the same time that she is engaged in the process of appointing the Boston Police Department's next commissioner. According to four current and former BPS officials, she has offered multiple BPS employees significant promotions seemingly on a whim, with little knowledge of their track records. But for Cassellius, it signaled that she was losing one of her first and most powerful allies. 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. Kadzis: Henry, let me make an educated guess, and this is based on calling around yesterday and talking to people. Henry Santoro: Meg, let's start with you. There was also backlash from the citywide school nurses union. Can Wu deliver? 'Substantial snowfall' likely for parts of Massachusetts, as meteorologists track wintry mix, Howie Carr: The kinked grocery cart under Biden's America, Hire at Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office loses job after old racist, sexist tweets emerge, Patriots slammed in NFLPA survey about team facilities, player working conditions, Boston Police seize 37 dirt bikes and mopeds, recover fentanyl and guns, and arrest 4 after 'illegal drag racing' investigation, Student loan debt cancellation could be on thin ice as Supreme Court takes up case, Massachusetts lawmakers push for relief, Milton asks governor to stop demolition of broken MBTA station staircase, Black WWII vets denied G.I. BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius is resigning at the end of the school year. Lets go to TechBoston, she suggested. The swiftness of criticism, she told me, and the willingness to condemn, its something uniquely Boston. It wasnt long before the principals made their dismay painfully public. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. She did not say why she is leaving. On Twitter, Brenda has 9,689 followers on her @bcassellius account. Woolhouse: Well, it actually made me think she already has someone in mind. Listen Live: Classic and Contemporary Celtic, Listen Live: Cape, Coast and Islands NPR Station, Meg Woolhouse and Peter Kadzis on Morning Edition | Feb. 11, 2022, Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images, "Wu understands that the next super needs the trust of students, their parents and Boston teachers to really hit the ground running. But they found her methods strange. The warnings that a recession may occur continues but fears that it will happen in 2023 are fading. Last but not the BOSTON The Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, Dr. Brenda Cassellius, has announced plans to resign after three years as leader of the state's largest school system and will address the decision in front of reporters at a news conference scheduled for 10:15 Tuesday morning. ", '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. Brenda Cassellius. Seven, or eight, or nine superintendents in a relatively short period of time? "She didn't make a difference, period," the mother said. Stream GBH's Award-Winning Content For Parents And Children. The column gave a good glimpse of some of the real problems facing school systems like Boston. As she traveled the city on her listening tour, Cassellius issued a flurry of staffing directives that often went unannounced and unexplained. 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. Nor could the surrounding city blocks, which encompassed some of Bostons most expensive and densely populated neighborhoods. Once we got settled in a classroom at the school, Cassellius told me about her life. Este botn muestra el tipo de bsqueda seleccionado. Meg Woolhouse is GBH News' K-12 education reporter. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Back in the cafeteria, before we leave, she nods with approval as an administrator explains the schools grocery-distribution system. 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. Brenda married her partner in life Jason Cassellius, they lived together and had three children, Christian Michel, Ani Grace and Charles Justice. Brenda Cassellius has been criticized for her job thus far as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, though her supporters say she deserves time and a chance to implement her vision. Let me cite an example: the surprise closing of the Curley school. When BPS faced a lack of staff, Brenda took a substitute teacher position at Nathan Hale Elementary School, Roxbury. February 7, 2022 / 4:00 PM 2016 columns / Outgoing Boston Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius came in under the cover of darkness and is leaving the same way with a potentially huge severance agreement the city is sitting on. "It does make for a difficult start to the day," she said. There was a moment when I thought, Maybe shes this madcap genius, the former official says. Cassellius and his partner Jason, as well as her three children, live quietly together. All of this landed in her lap precisely when the district was trying to figure out how to reopen schools in the fall. [], Joe Nathan / I was such a go-getter, she told me, and confident and, you know, dig in. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) To say that Casselliuss daily life in Boston has not been smooth is something of an understatement. In 2021, school districts will face the daunting task of repairing the damage sustained during the pandemicparticularly for low-income children of color who have borne the brunt of the school shutdowns. Through the early summer, officials had grown concerned that Cassellius and her new leadership team might not be up to the task of managing the pandemic response. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius taught a fourth grade class Wednesday as school districts across Massachusetts struggle to reopen due to COVID-19 staff shortages. Her husband Jason is a stay-at-home dad. Then there was a second better search and there was a superb candidate, Marie Izquierdo, from Miami. The trouble, according to interviews with 14 current and former BPS officials who have worked directly with Cassellius, and who spoke anonymously for fear of professional consequences, didnt start with the pandemic. 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. But the lawsuit says the zip code quota system is wholly-irrational and states that it serves to disfavor Asian and White students by decreasing their numbers at the Boston Exam Schools while favoring Latino and African-American students by increasing their numbers., A Brighton parent and member of BPCAE said, My kids have to submit GPAs and with so many kids in this zip location I just feel that my kids, their chance will be limited to get into exam schools., The lawsuit states, The Students are being required to apply through a race-based process. School nurses union glimpse of some of her formative experiences included being the target of hatred from.! Resigning at the PACER Center, a nonprofit that champions youth with and... 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