The finalists, from Seattle and New York City, both have extensive credentials as reformers in tough urban school districts
Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf, seen in this March 1 file photo, met with the Newark Public Education Task Force earlier this week, in which they discussed two candidates for Newark school district superintendent. NEWARK — The state has narrowed its search for Newark’s next superintendent to two candidates, both with extensive credentials as reformers in tough urban school districts.
Former Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson and a New York City schools superintendent, Cami Anderson, are the two finalists, according to five sources involved in the search who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
The individuals and their status as finalists were also mentioned in an audio recording, reviewed by The Star-Ledger, of a meeting earlier this week between acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf and the Newark Public Education Task Force — the group set up to screen the finalists.
Anderson, who was a paid consultant in Mayor Cory Booker’s first mayoral campaign, is currently a senior superintendent for alternative high schools and programs in New York City. Before going to New York she headed several non-profit educational foundations including New Leaders for New Schools, a national firm that recruits principals, and Teach For America, a national program that recruits teachers to work in urban school systems. She declined to comment today.
Cami Anderson (left) and Maria Goodloe-Johnson are the two candidates being considered for Newark schools superintendent.Joel Klein, former chancellor of the New York City Schools, said Anderson is an ideal candidate for Newark, calling her leadership exemplary.
"I put her in charge of District 79 in New York, which is in many ways the most challenging district," Klein said today. "By everybody’s measure she did a phenomenal job — she transformed the district ... she’s creative and she’s so dogged and determined about even the most difficult kids."
Goodloe-Johnson was fired from Seattle following a $1.8 million scandal involving a district business development program, according to a report in the The Seattle Post Intelligencer. She declined to comment, but her interview was captured on tape.
"The board terminated my contract without cause," she told the group, immediately bringing up the finance issue "They decided, I think, based on a lot of things — I think politics, reform, union pushback."
Prior to Seattle, Goodloe-Johnson was superintendent of the Charleston County school district in South Carolina. She has worked as a special education teacher, and a principal in a career that spans 30 years in public education, her resume stated.
Like Cerf, Goodloe-Johnson is a graduate of the Broad Foundation’s superintendent’s academy.
Thomas Payzant, a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education lauded Goodloe-Johnson’s experience and accomplishments.
"Dr. Goodloe-Johnson is one of the best urban superintendents in America," he said in a recommendation letter obtained by The Star-Ledger. "Any district that is looking for a leader who will make the tough decisions necessary to lead and succeed for children will be fortunate to have her as superintendent."
Cerf refused to confirm or deny the names of the finalists today but said, "I’m confident that this process will yield a superb superintendent for the children of Newark and the broader community."
In the taped meeting with Cerf, members of the group expressed frustration with that process, echoing criticisms from the city at large.
"The community thinks that this has been a big roller-coaster ride and it has," said Rory Verrett a consultant at Spencer Stuart, an international firm that helped conduct the search. "Other school systems would have had a lot less community engagement."
On the tape, Verrett said the search had started months ago with hundreds of potential applicants and was eventually cut down to just over a dozen. The task force was presented with four finalists and Anderson and Goodloe-Johnson were identified as the main contenders. Some said the decision should have been made months ago.
"The process was botched as a result of a litany of interviews that qualified candidates had to go through," said one city education leader. "This really should have been an executive decision."
Cerf blamed some of the delay on politics.
"We put this thing off until after the school board elections because there were political forces in the city saying don’t make this a campaign issue," he said. "I’m embarrassed at myself for yielding to that."
He said two other potential finalists had been lost in the process, including Jean Claude Brizard, who was recently tapped to run the Chicago schools and another, "who just gave up."
Cerf stressed that the final decision will be made by him and Gov. Chris Christie.
Assemblyman Alberto Coutinho said on the tape he was disappointed in the lack of choice among finalists adding that "rising star" candidates were likely discouraged by "the circus between the governor and the mayor taking all the oxygen out of the room."
Others on the task force warned that the two finalists would cause a backlash in Newark. Cerf suggested that was inevitable.
"I do not believe that anything we do is going to create a peaceful environment," he said. "That’s just not the nature of the beast."
By Jessica Calefati and David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger