Chester Upland hires $225,000 worth of administrators

Greg Shannon - Superintendent

The school district brass can’t expect that folks will be too happy to read in today’s paper about the new $225,000 purchase of new administrators.

One of them will do 3 jobs: Chief of Staff; Lead for Human Resources; and Community Relations. The other one will direct accountability and assessment.

Honestly, I don’t know what a chief of staff is responsible for. I’m not sure if the lead for human resources is the same as a director of the same. And community relations is whatever you make it out to be. As far as accountability and assessment is concerned, I really don’t have a clue.

The school district claims these positions don’t cost them new money since they are replacing other administrators who decided to leave that money behind and move on from here. 

$225,000 is small change in a $100+ million budget, but in a city with an average family income well under $20,000 a year, that school board administration paycheck does raise eyebrows. 

Chester folks want to see more of the Council Lady Portia West approach to saving money. Her department receives the same money for trash collection but will only pick it up once a week this summer. Folks would like to know if the school district could have picked up fewer administrators in an attempt to save money. 

SUPERINTENDENT NAMES NEW MEMBERS OF LEADERSHIP TEAM

TO TURN CHESTER UPLAND INTO EXCELLENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

(CHESTER, PA)— Chester Upland School District Receiver Joe Watkins last night approved new members of incoming Superintendent Greg Shannon’s leadership team, specialists at turning struggling school districts around.

Shannon, who is already making a positive impact at Chester Upland in an ongoing series of strategy meetings with key district personnel, has named three education leaders to his team.  They include Tamara Thomas Smith as deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Claudia Averette as chief of staff and lead for human resources and community relations, and Josh Culbertson, director of accountability and assessments.  

“It’s going to take a team of experts to achieve the reforms needed to give our children an excellent education,” said incoming Superintendent Shannon.  “Everything we do begins and ends with our children.”

 “Things around here are going to change. Expectations are going to rise,” Shannon said. “We will win in everything we do. That is the expectation.”

In recent meetings with senior staff, Shannon has reviewed district curricula, operations, data and accounting systems and special education programs. He is gathering information about all departments and looking as well at community stakeholder engagement.

“I want more than anything for our work to be transparent,” said Shannon to staff. He is examining accountability of staff – from senior leaders to principals to teachers -- and will insist on consistent implementation of quality educational programs and processes.

He said he will also be looking at the district’s data monitoring system to understand how each student, teacher, principal, school and the overall district are performing. He will look at reading and math levels of student performance, student attendance, safety issues, and will incorporate professional development and accountability of staff. 

“I have very lofty expectations of each and every one of you,” he told staff. “I’m going to hold everyone accountable to what the data and the numbers tell us.”

Receiver Watkins last night approved Averette and Culbertson’s appointments at a special Meeting of the Public. Last week he approved Smith’s appointment. All three are filling recent vacancies in the district at similar levels.

Smith has demonstrated her commitment to an equitable and engaging learning environment for 16 years.  Having held every role in the Philadelphia public school system from guest teacher to principal, she has an understanding of the factors that impact success for children of all backgrounds. Because Smith has seen and experienced urban education as a student, parent, teacher, and administrator, she is passionate about increasing the academic gains of urban scholars.

Describing herself as a modern Renaissance woman, Smith has served as an urban school principal, professional development facilitator, leadership academy intern, school-based teacher leader, Commonwealth Association of School Administrators steward and principal learning team coordinator.  She is the mother of four children, ages 1 through 17, and married to a fellow educator.

Averette has served as deputy chief of the Philadelphia School District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement since early 2012. From 2008 to 2010 she designed and launched the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Technology. She was recruited back to the district in 2010 to serve as the deputy chief of administration to the late Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.

Under the previous administration, Averette served as the chief of staff to Paul Vallas and Tom Brady. In that post she was responsible for overseeing the Office of Communications, the Office of Parent and Community Engagement, Legal Counsel and the Office of School Climate and Safety.

Averette brings more than 20 years of urban healthcare experience, as well as building and sustaining business and community partnerships. She draws from her diverse background in healthcare, banking, and public education.  She has a strong commitment to students, families, community and business partners, building lasting relationships and partnerships that benefit the health and welfare of the children of Philadelphia.

Joshua Culbertson has worked in education administration in the School District of Philadelphia for 15 years. He came to work for the School District of Philadelphia in 1998 as an assistant to the associate superintendent. In the wake of increasing incidents of school violence nationally, he served on the leadership team of the Office of Instructional and Behavioral Intervention, which spearheaded Philadelphia's initiative to explore alternative education models, not only as a response to serious incidents, but ultimately to provide a variety of educational options for youth who face a variety of challenges due to being overage, under-credentialed, or having contact with the juvenile justice system.
He has served as a program manager for alternative education, developing accountability systems which track student attendance and truancy, violent incidents, suspensions, disciplinary transfers and expulsions, and other pertinent demographics for the entire School District of Philadelphia. He is considered a subject-matter expert on student information systems for a variety of areas of child accounting. He has served on the development and selection teams for the district's data warehouse and business information tools since 2001.
Culbertson has also served as a consultant to other community organizations and educational entities, including helping to draft and revise the Code of Student Conduct for both Philadelphia and the New Orleans Recovery District. He has served as data specialist on Philadelphia's Mayoral Blue Ribbon Commission on Safe Schools. Additionally, he is a senior staff member of two community organizations devoted to youth conflict-resolution and community-building through drama and athletics.