By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
September 7, 2011

Many changes have occurred, but with your support and encouragement, this district has worked hard to keep things where they belong and the focus where they belong – on the students and our mission to make them college ready and workforce ready, said Derek Richey, acting board president with the Kansas City Missouri School District Board of Education.

With that, Richey introduced the new interim superintendent, Dr. Stephen Green, during an Aug. 31 board of education meeting.

Dr. Green has many of the talents we are looking for and the experience the board considered when seeking its next leader, he said.

Green isn’t new to the education field. He served as superintendent of the Community School District No. 28 and as a local instructional superintendent in Region 3 for the New York City Board of Education. As local instructional superintendent, he provided instructional leadership and support to 34 schools in the district and helped ensure instructional improvement among 142 schools in the region.

Green’s other roles have included national executive director of the CollegeEd Program for the College Board, assistant superintendent, assistant principal and teaching high school and college level English for 13 years.

Currently, Green is serving as the president and chief executive officer of Kauffman Scholars, Inc., a college access and graduation program geared toward increasing the number of college graduates from Kansas City’s urban schools.

I come ready, willing and able to serve and lead with the Kansas City, Missouri School District to its next echelon of excellence, Green said during the board of education meeting. I am an instructional leader and very much focused on working with the staff and working with the board to make sure that our students, our scholars, receive the excellence they are entitled to and deserve.

Together, he and the district will face challenges head on, but also celebrate the successes, he said.

KCMSD asks for delay in accreditation evaluation

Missouri Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro watched as KCMSD introduced its new interim superintendent and listened to board members Airick West and Arthur Benson speak about the district’s challenges and Transformation Plan.

Benson called former Superintendent Dr. John Covington the district’s engineer and listed 20 of Covington’s significant accomplishments for KCMSD.

With all of this underway, our engineer left, Benson said. But our train is still moving, thanks to the capable work of the staff…

Now, KCMSD has found a new, capable engineer, he said, and the district will continue to implement its Transformation Plan.

West listed a number of positives in the district, including the newly launched Parent University, a revitalization in the school advisory councils, widespread community engagement, among other positives.

However, with all the positives, both West and Benson requested Nicastro to consider delaying the district’s accreditation evaluation by 30 days.

Nicastro said she would consider the request, but couldn’t guarantee the extension.

During her visit to Kansas City, Nicastro met with the BOE, administration, Kansas City Mayor Sly James and other elected officials, and said with nearly every group she noted a strong commitment to the school district.

She commended the district for implementing initiatives to improve academic performance and acting quickly to find an interim superintendent.

I think that too speaks for the commitment of this board in the last few days to take this situation in hand and to act decisively and affirmatively to make the transition possible, Nicastro said.

While she couldn’t guarantee an extension for accreditation review, Nicastro said the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is not interested in undermining the district’s local leadership. DESE will work with the State Board of Education and is committed to making decisions based solely on what is best for the children of the district, she said.

The accreditation process will be open and transparent and DESE will continue to have a public dialogue with the community, she said.

Again, I applaud your efforts in the last day or two, Nicastro said. I think it does speak well for your ability to come together. I would encourage you to continue along that path.