By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
August 26, 2011

Two days after resigning from the Kansas City, Missouri School District, Dr. John Covington now has a new job.

The former KCMSD superintendent interviewed for the new position today in Michigan and accepted the role of chancellor of the Education Achievement Authority (EAS).

Covington will oversee Michigan’s new system to assume control of the state’s lowest performing schools in the bottom five percent.

According to the Detroit Public Schools website, the system will be implemented in the underperforming schools in the 2012-2013 school year and will eventually span the entire state.

KCMSD staff watched Covington’s interview with the Education Achievement Authority Executive Committee live online today, KCMSD Senior Media Relations Specialist Andre Riley said.

Asked if the district knew beforehand that Covington was considering another job, Riley said, “No.”

“The work goes on,” Riley said when asked for his reaction to the news. “Kids will show up on Monday and we’ll educate them.”

Board of education members met earlier today in an emergency executive session to discuss plans for replacing Covington.

Board of Education President Airick West told Northeast News that no decisions were made and that the board will continue to meet next week to select an interim superintendent.

“We discussed our next steps, but we are taking our time and being deliberate,” West said. “The senior leadership team has not submitted any resignations. We have the people we need to keep this moving forward unimpeded and uninterrupted.”

Earlier this year with Covington’s input, the district launched a detailed Transformation Plan to improve the district’s academic performance. Asked if that plan will continue, West said yes.

“We created that; we designed that,” he said. “We intend to implement it. We have a strategy for transforming education in this community and we intend to see that strategy through.”