CUSD names new superintendent

“He’s somebody who definitely believes he can do positive things here,” Watkins said. “In addition to going through several rounds of interviews, he was able to present his ideas to the community. They really liked what he had to say.”

Chester welcomes a new school superintendent who has 26 years experience in the Philadelphia school district and is labeled as a turnaround specialist. 

The community (usually about 20 people) like what he had to say so he’s signed up for 5 years. Should we expect to remain a school district for at least that long?

GREG SHANNON, A TURN-AROUND SPECIALIST, NAMED 

SUPERINTENDENT OF CHESTER UPLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT

(CHESTER, PA) – Receiver Joe Watkins today announced the appointment of Gregory G. Shannon, a senior leader in the Philadelphia School District who is certified and trained as a “turn around superintendent,” as Chester Upland School District’s new superintendent. His start date is July 15.

Shannon has committed to serving a minimum of five years in what Watkins describes as the single most important appointment for the district, which was placed in receivership last fall. Receiver Watkins is charged with overseeing the implementation of an aggressive recovery plan to improve academic performance and shore up district finances. 

“The recovery plan we developed last fall identified the selection of a new superintendent as perhaps the single most important step in creating a school district where students will receive an excellent education in a safe, nurturing, academically oriented environment,” said Watkins. 

“While developing the recovery plan for this district, we said we needed a permanent superintendent who is a visionary, with a proven track record of success to lead the way to student performance and better and safer schools that are financially viable. Greg Shannon is that leader. With his depth of experience in education and a special focus on helping low performing schools improve, we’re on our way,” Watkins said.

Watkins noted that many community leaders who met Shannon during the selection process give him very high marks. During the search conducted by Chester County Intermediate Unit Executive Director Joseph J. O’Brien, Shannon spoke with members of the Community Partnership Team and the Chester Champions. 

“I am more than excited to learn of our receiver’s choice of Gregory Shannon for our new Superintendent,” said Jean Arnold, chairperson, Chester NAACP Education Committee and member of both the Community Partnership Team and Chester Champions.  “Of the five top candidates presented to the community, he was very impressive.  He went beyond the extra mile to indicate his interest and skill set for working with Receiver Joe Watkins in taking our school district to a level we have never seen.  He also seems to have the ability to connect with all of us in the district – something we sorely need. I offer my heartfelt thanks to Joe Watkins for his choice.”

Castell Abner, Guide Right program director, Chester Alumni chapter, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., said, "To lead the students and community of the Chester Upland School District to educational excellence, we need a general who will direct the district's efforts and be visible in the classrooms, PTO and Town Hall meetings. He will need to rally all of the troops - including students, parents, faculty, the administrators, ministers and community stakeholders, like Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. I believe Greg Shannon is up to the task and look forward to working with him to turn this district into one of excellence." 

“A warranted yet innovative change is forthcoming as Dr. Gregory Shannon is named as our new Chester Upland School District’s superintendent,” said Bettie McClairen, CUSD School Board member. “It is an enormous task! Dr. Shannon is more than qualified for this new endeavor. His previous accomplishments have prepared him for such a time and position as this. “

“With our new superintendent in place, I look forward to our making significant progress in meeting the goals identified in the plan created last fall when I was the district’s Chief Recovery Officer,” said Watkins. 

Among Shannon’s positions with the School District of Philadelphia, where he has worked for the last 26 years, are principal of Hamilton Disston Elementary School, assistant superintendent of the Transition and Alternative Education Division and deputy chief of the Office of Student Discipline, Hearings and Expulsions at the School District of Philadelphia. He instituted a variety of programs and initiatives to meet the needs of the children in the Philadelphia district.  

“I define my leadership style as one of an action oriented, dynamic leader who is approachable, customer centered and driven as well as one who possesses unwavering ethics and integrity,” said Shannon, who has a Master’s Degree in Education. “I see myself as a teacher first and also as a role model.” 

While at the School District of Philadelphia, Shannon improved eight of the 12 lowest performing schools into Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) within two years. As superintendent for the East Region of the district, he was responsible for monitoring and improving key performance indicators for its 26 schools, resulting in 23 of the schools meeting AYP standards within two years. 

Shannon said he also focused on developing leaders among staff and improving professional growth and development. “I have worked to develop strong frontline staff and principals and to offer intensive staff development focused on improving instruction and operational leadership,” he said.

“We conducted a national search that resulted in 39 candidates from throughout the region, tri-state area, and the country," said O'Brien.  "We were very pleased with both the quantity and quality of the candidates for the search.  It really is a credit to the district and speaks to its incredible potential that so many high-quality educators sought to be its next superintendent.

"The candidates underwent an intensive screening process.  The 39 applications were paper screened by a team of administrators, and 16 candidates were brought in for first round interviews, of those 16 candidates, nine were called back for second round interviews.  Five candidates were then invited to a Meet the Candidate forum with the Chester Champions and the Community Partnership Team, following which three candidates were invited back for the final interview round from which Gregory Shannon emerged as the finalist candidate."

In announcing the new superintendent, Watkins reiterated his commitment to the students of Chester Upland School District.

“Our students are as bright and capable as any students in the state, but their academic performance doesn’t show it,” Watkins said. “With reading and math scores among the lowest in the state, they deserve more from the educational system. We’re going to create an excellent district with outstanding administrators and faculty to help our children achieve their potential.”

Shannon will succeed Dr. Thomas E. Persing, who is serving as the acting superintendent at Chester Upland School District. 

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Media queries: Contact Becky Taylor at becky@btaylorpa.com or 484.574.1060.

Gregory G. Shannon

Joseph J. O’Brien, Ed.D

CCIU Educational Service Center

455 Boot Road

Downingtown, PA 19335

February 26, 2013

Dear Dr. O’Brien,

I am honored to submit the enclosed resume for your consideration for the position of Superintendent of Schools with the Chester-Upland School District. Previously I served as the Deputy Chief of the Office of Student Discipline, Hearings and Expulsions.  My resume further outlines and details my wide range of experiences and responsibilities that I have been fortunate to have since the inception of my career as a middle school science teacher.  Please allow me to share salient points about my values, my experiences, and my core beliefs about education and the work of developing students.

I believe strongly that our work must begin with the strength that lies within the classroom at the school level.  The relationships and interactions, as well as interventions, which take place between the teachers and students, are the key to learning and maintaining a successful development process.  I define my leadership style as one of an action oriented, dynamic leader, who is approachable, customer centered and driven, as well as one who possesses unwavering ethics and integrity.  My strengths include being an analytical and critical thinker, a high achiever and an activator.  I see myself as a role model as well as a teacher first and foremost.  By building and maintaining the relationships I have established over the years, it gives credence to this value in addition to my reputation of treating all people with dignity and respect.  I remain steadfast in the goal of doing what is best for the students and improving the lives of children.  I am energized by this work and transfer this to my staff that is energized as well, and together we are able to achieve high performance outcomes.  I truly believe that it is the role of senior leadership not only to believe in our children, parents and teachers, but also to act upon those beliefs and be congruent in our actions.  It is at that juncture that we will have made a true impact and real difference to those that matter the most.

In my 26 years working with the School District of Philadelphia, I have instituted a variety of programs and initiatives to meet the needs of the children in the regions and configurations of schools I have served.  I have also been privileged to learn, innovate and implement various types of instructional and operational monitoring systems due to my certification and training as a Turn Around Superintendent from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business/Curry School of Education, and the Harvard University Urban Education Seminar Certification.  The result of these opportunities was my ability to assess, analyze and implement strategic planning and infrastructure for a region of the12 lowest performing schools in the School District of Philadelphia where I successfully improved 8 of the 12 schools out of corrective action into Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) within two years.  I subsequently managed a region of 50 schools in the Restructured/EMO Region for an additional year followed by serving as the Superintendent for the East Region, responsible for monitoring and improving key performance indicators for its 26 schools resulting in improved performance of 23 out of 26 schools as evidenced by those schools meeting AYP standards within two years.  All of the initiatives were researched based and I worked with internal customers and external stakeholders, including university and business partners and colleagues from various locations to benefit from the shared work and bests practices of others.  The initiatives were planned and implemented with the goals of assuring equity of opportunity and leverage of resources throughout the district that was sustainable over time.

I have a vested interest in the success and lives of our customers as an educator.  As the Deputy Chief of the Office of Student Discipline, Hearings and Expulsions and Assistant Superintendent of the Transition and Alternative Education Division, I worked diligently on supporting behaviorally challenged students by utilizing and implementing pro social interventions in central office activities as well as in the field of schools in the School District of Philadelphia.  Pro-social supports and attention to the development of our young people in the most beneficial and appropriate manner, is tantamount to success for our children.  My belief in this expectation and process was evident in the revised version of the School District of Philadelphia’s Code of Student Conduct that I had the responsibility of authoring as the Deputy Chief of Student Discipline, Hearings and Expulsions.  Keeping all of this in the forefront of my work, I also focused on the improvement of our human capital to develop leadership amongst the staff and improve professional growth and development.  Through a myriad of supports, coaching and leadership academies and practices, I have worked to develop strong frontline staff, principals, and create intensive staff development focused on improving instruction and operational leadership. It is vitally important to delineate clear lines of authority, accountability and responsibility.  Once that is accomplished and the best people are in place in the right capacity, I am able to empower, support, monitor and move out of the way.

I hope that I have made a difference in the lives of the children and families I have served so far.  I look forward to the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the students and families of Chester-Upland School District in the future.

Sincerely,

Gregory G. Shannon