It wasnt long before the principals made their dismay painfully public. Cassellius and his partner Jason, as well as her three children, live quietly together. Interpretive Guide for Minnesota Assessment Reports 2015 2016. She has worked arduously to reach her dream of becoming a successful teacher. As Minnesota students return to school, for most families, the key questions involve their own youngsters. Transitions are difficult for kids and adults alike. Collaborations, School Choice (including dual credit, district & chartered public schools). We took a look at her responses in multiple interviews with Boston education leaders, her extensive background in education leadership, and her plans for Boston Public Schools, to uncover how she will shape the next generation of Boston's young scholars. It has been this way since March, when Cassellius and Mayor Marty Walsh decided to shut down every school in the district. The district has seen four different people leading the city schools in the last 10 years. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 14 BPCAE families in U.S. District Court in Boston on Friday. Theyve held more than 100 meetings around the state since January 2016 on one of the most important issues facing Minnesota: [], Joe Nathan / And that's really taken up all the air in the room, so to speak. All rights reserved, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu unveiled Cassellius's impending departure in February, Still No Word on Reason Behind Boston School Superintendent's Departure, Boston Public Schools Superintendent to Resign, Even After Investigation, Stoneham Cop Hasn't Paid Dime of Rent to New Landlord, Rescuers Capture Bald Eagle Believed to Be Critically Sickened by Rat Poison, Here's How Shark Extinction Would Devastate the Ocean, Driver Describes Very Scary' Moments Trapped in Car After Crash Takes Down Power Lines in Stoneham. They were tracking COVID, and it was the parents that forced the closure of the school. The problem was the timeline: She wanted it done now, before the new school year began the following month. COVID was an incredible challenge. BOSTON The Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, Dr. Brenda Cassellius, has announced plans to resign after three years as leader of the state's largest school system and will address the decision in front of reporters at a news conference scheduled for 10:15 Tuesday morning. According to sources with direct knowledge of this effort, as well as contemporaneous records, the officials were seeking candidates to step into a new role: czar for BPS operations and pandemic response. See all the student videos on the Dual High School/College Credit page. To say that Casselliuss daily life in Boston has not been smooth is something of an understatement. When I asked Mayor Walsh about this effort, he said it would be false to characterize the role explored over the summer as a checkmate to Brenda. However, he said that as of December, Cassellius was seeking to hire a new operations director. And thats a good thingright? But that's not to understate there's a considerable amount of frustration out there. We had all this wind under our wings, she says. According to four current and former BPS officials, she has offered multiple BPS employees significant promotions seemingly on a whim, with little knowledge of their track records. GBH News brings you the stories, local voices, and big ideas that shape our world. Kadzis: She would like the challenge and being head of school at Boston Latin School hasn't exactly been the bed of roses either. Will new reporting & school support systems help students? OK, you didn't have all your credentials right in the first place!". It will be a tough sell among Boston stakeholders. Together, we can create a more connected and informed world. How to capture peoples hearts and get them to come along rather than succumb to the tendency to keep doing things the same way.. Brenda Cassellius was born in Minnesota on September 9, 1967, and she will turn 54 in 2022. But its more than that. Brenda runs down the aisle giving high-fives and the kids eat it up. Prior to that she served as Minnesota's education commissioner. Unfortunately, Superintendent Cassellius did not meet it. Building consensus, he notes, is a long, agonizing process. This letter is intended to provide information about AYP, Minnesota's waiver request and what an AYP designation may mean for the school their son or daughter attends. Brenda Cassellius Selected As Next Boston Schools Superintendent May 2, 2019 BOSTON ( WBZ NewsRadio) After a year-long search, Boston Public Schools has a new leader. Thats exactly what Boston needed, says Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP. Hi, Wellington. Listen Live: Classic and Contemporary Celtic, Listen Live: Cape, Coast and Islands NPR Station, Meg Woolhouse and Peter Kadzis on Morning Edition | Feb. 11, 2022, Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images, "Wu understands that the next super needs the trust of students, their parents and Boston teachers to really hit the ground running. She did not say why she is leaving. School officials under Walsh tightly controlled the search process when Cassellius was hired and now the school committee says it wont divulge details of the separation agreement until next month. But even if the consequences of the pandemic are not Casselliuss responsibility, the recovery from it will be. GRADE 3 READING Virginia Department of Education Home. She was just four months into her job as superintendent and had a bold idea she wanted to share. By then Cassellius had earned a reputation for being full of energy and big ideas. Can Wu deliver? Cassellius loves playing hockey and water skiing. Oh, I want to come in on Thursday. She seems simultaneously energized and at ease at the school. Three months into her first term, Wu will now search for a permanent leader to take over atop the city's public schools at the same time that she is engaged in the process of appointing the Boston Police Department's next commissioner. What are their intentions and motives? Do the windows open at the central office? I asked. Was it the superintendent herself, who, her critics argue, is too focused on visionary (and starry-eyed) future transformations to tend to the urgent problems of the present? They began considering an intervention. Throughout her tenure as superintendent, Cassellius has seemed happiestand told her colleagues shes happiestwhen she is in schools and with children. This new official will be more senior than Casselliuss chief operations officer, the mayor said, and will have a broad scope of operations duties, including school facilities, transportation, and food. Walsh added he is confident in Cassellius and always has been. Superintendent Brenda Cassellius: "Working alongside so many people - parents, educators, community and faith leaders, and philanthropic partners - all dedicated to helping our children achieve their dreams has given new meaning to my vision of all hands on deck. Even though the July intervention did not come to fruition, Walsh still took measures to bolster the central office. This memorial website was created in memory of Brenda D Cassellius-W, 35, born on December 31, 1972 and passed away on April 29, 2008. Cassellius was a former commissioner of education for the state of Minnesota, where she oversaw schools there for nine years. Jun 2002 - Aug 20031 year 3 months. Note that clicking the link below will block access to this site for 24 hours. Her mother's name is unknown, as well as her father's. Brenda graduated from high school in Minnesota and went onto the University of Minnesota-Twin City, where she earned a bachelor's psychology degree. And now I know its for getting us through this pandemic. Her confidence, and her self-belief, paid off. Stream GBH's Award-Winning Content For Parents And Children. Working with educators, parents, business people, students, policy-makers and other concerned people throughout the United States. She has overseen defections and ousters among her senior executives, a revolt from school principals, and public excoriation from influential nonprofits and activists. In a statement, Cassellius said, "Working alongside so many people - parents, educators, community and faith leaders, and philanthropic partners - all dedicated to helping our children achieve their dreams has given new meaning to my vision of all hands on deck. Photo by Matt Kalinowski. Aware of the long history of distrust between BPS families and the district itself, Cassellius made a listening tour her first order of business. 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She does view her job in terms of improving equity, says Keri Rodrigues, a prominent Massachusetts education activist, but wanting it and being able to make it happen are two different things., Edith Bazile, a vocal supporter of Cassellius during the superintendent selection process, has since concluded that Cassellius doesnt have what it takes to lead the district as it emerges from the pandemic. Peter Kadzis, GBH senior politics editor, and Meg Woolhouse, GBH education reporter, joined host Henry Santoro on Morning Edition to discuss. Woolhouse: The pandemic, I think it's been a very rough ride for her. As the students offered suggestionsfree menstrual products, cleaner bathrooms, improved ventilationCassellius had her executives take notes. Under previous superintendents, BPS executives had used a complicated formula to calculate the annual budget increase they would request from the mayor. The school committee approved her plan and Walsh agreed to the budget increase. Everythings smooth and working great. Then, almost speaking to herself, she adds, Because in my life, its not like that every day.. Santoro: So is this a wait and see thing now? When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. She has a deep gift for connecting with children, says a current BPS official who is critical of her leadership. Over the next 40 minutes, as we tour the facility, she amiably talks to a janitor, a secretary, two assistant principals, and a security guardwhile also dancing, leaping between social-distancing markers on the floor, and, on the playground, jumping down a hopscotch court. Thanks to passionate, practical parents, students and educators, Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs, MDE offers great opportunities to help develop education plans, School Safety Technical Assistance Center, US Department of Education Office of Safe and Healthy Students, Massive misunderstanding or classic bait and switch. The Boston. She's super smart. "Under the circumstances, she's done a great job. When Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius resigns at the end of the school year, she'll take with her hundreds of thousands of dollars from a separation agreement. In one light, Cassellius looks like the ideal person for that mission. Before working with . As this story went to print, Cassellius was preparing for a virtual retreat with the school committee. Then there was a second better search and there was a superb candidate, Marie Izquierdo, from Miami. Hi, Rose, she said brightly. Cassellius came to Boston less than a year before the pandemic began,. And my hunch is . Nor could the surrounding city blocks, which encompassed some of Bostons most expensive and densely populated neighborhoods. Give us details on her relationship with former Mayor Marty Walsh and current Mayor Michelle Wu. She doesn't have heavy-duty system wide experience. Leading for equity, Dr.. But plans and strategies have to be tethered to reality, says one former BPS official, and that just doesnt include an imaginary train taking kids around a city to schools that dont exist.. But she knows where she is. Day? she responds, incredulous. Minnesota education commissioner, Brenda Cassellius, and former Anchorage, Alaska superintendent, Ed Graff, are the two finalists for Minneapolis's school superintendent position, according a May 13 press release. The mayor and Cassellius say they arrived at the decision to have Brophy help BPS together. The column gave a good glimpse of some of the real problems facing school systems like Boston. Battenfeld: Boston parents and kids deserve a, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Battenfeld: Boston parents and kids deserve a truthful accounting from Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Editorial: Focus should be on saving Social Security, Lucas: Heres hoping for a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024, Howie Carr: The kinked grocery cart under Bidens America, Woodward: Blame organized crime for shelves under lockdown. Last month, she filled in at Nathan Hale School as a substitute fourth grade teacher for a day. She sees something and she does it. Casselliuss decisiveness and big ideas, however, sometimes ruffled the feathers of more traditional colleagues, Johnson says. The Boston School Committee has voted to confirm Brenda Cassellius a career educator who rose from paraprofessional to state commissioner, mostly in Minnesota as the next superintendent of. Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald. Follow us so you don't miss a thing! Yet even by the standards of a city that has had five superintendents in the past decade, Casselliuss first year and a half on the job since arriving from Minnesota, where she served as the commissioner of the Department of Education, has been tumultuous. The Emerald Necklacea narrow, marshy landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmstedcould not possibly be the site of a half-dozen or more high schools. Her colleagues found her leadership erratic in other ways as well. Kadzis: Well, first of all, I didn't sound very sympathetic the first time. Brenda's parents have always been supportive of her professional endeavors. If you're a human and see this, please ignore it. In meetings, she often broke down in tears and said she felt overwhelmed, according to three people who witnessed these episodes. It was chaos, says a current BPS official. Login or Sign-up to show all important data, death records and obituaries absolutely for free! To some, the practical barriers to implementing the plan seemed nearly insurmountable. Este botn muestra el tipo de bsqueda seleccionado. Cambridge's public school superintendent left last summer, and Boston is now in a similar position. Joe Nathan / 2018 Columns / Blue Ribbon Schools, Brenda Cassellius, Minnesota Department of Education, Minnesota . Rachel Pearson is a parent advocate and trainer at the PACER Center, a nonprofit that champions youth with disabilities and their families. We talked about that challenge routinely, he said. Just last summer, the school committee renewed Cassellius' $311,000-a-year contract through June 2024. This year, in addition to giving thanks to God and [], Joe Nathan / Kadzis: That's what I might say, but she's a very accomplished woman. The district is primarily Black and Latino, and parents have been promised much over the years and bore the brunt of the pandemic illnesses and job losses. In addition to his editing duties, Senior Editor Peter Kadzis contributes political analysis and is part of the trio that produces the Scrum Podcast. We have $36 million outside of the normal cost.. Joe Nathan / Because of her background, she says, she has a lot in common with many BPS students. Or, as Casselliuss remaining supporters contend, is the problem that Bostona city of sharp-elbowed politics and deep skepticism of outsidershas refused to give her a fighting chance? A lot of the most energetic discussion have been around the admissions policies of the city's top three exam schools. She had been sitting in her car for the past 45 minutes, she explains, on a conference call with other big-city superintendents brainstorming ways to reopen schools in the middle of a pandemic. She has previously served as an assistant superintendent at North St. Paul, Maplewood, Oakdale School District and Saint Paul Public Schools. When BPS faced a lack of staff, Brenda took a substitute teacher position at Nathan Hale Elementary School, Roxbury. And that was before the pandemic hit, turning the district and her job upside down. September 8, 2018 Will new reporting & school support systems help students? In October, school committee members voted to suspend for one year the use of an admissions test for Bostons three elite schools Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy and the John D. OBryant School of Mathematics and Science. Then she added an admonition: You need to grow in humility., Stung by the criticism despite the vote of confidence, Cassellius went home and cried. Publicly, at least, Cassellius still had the backing of the two allies she needed most: the school committee and City Hall. It's a sense among parents of "here we go again" and that might even understate the level of aggravation they're feeling. She came under fire from some parents and teachers for her efforts to reopen the schools for in-person last fall. Battenfeld: Boston parents and kids deserve a truthful accounting from Superintendent Brenda Cassellius Start the conversation BOSTON MA. Lack of uniform start and dismal dismissal times is the root of the problem, report says. She has one of the highest-stakes jobs in Boston, and the second-hardest job in the city after mayor, one source told me. She is the head of school at Boston Latin School. The Boston Public School Committee is expected to sign a separation agreement Wednesday to give Cassellius at least $311,000, the Boston Herald reported. But hearing it 49 days before the school year starts doesnt give you much hope., The teachers union also criticized the plan, calling it totally out of touch with reality. In the midst of the pandemic, a teachers union taking a shot at a superintendent should be as shocking as an April snowstorm in Boston. Parents of Boston special needs students especially struggled to get the district to listen to the fact that their kids needed to be in school early on in the pandemic and special needs kids were regressing during remote learning and their parents were heartbroken because they were watching it up close. Cassellius informed Boston students, parents, and staff in a letter Monday, saying she . First published on February 7, 2022 / 4:00 PM. She walked into the mayors office, asked for $100 million, and got it. Then, as a superintendent for the first time, she briefly led a two-school district. The plan was opposed by some parent groups that wanted 20 percent of the spots at the schools set aside for the best applicants regardless of socioeconomic status. That left Brenda Cassellius as the default candidate and the darling of the teachers union. Speaking to a room full of staffers and principals, she explained her vision for the next generation of Bostons high schools. Santoro: If Rachel Skerritt is happy where she is, why would she even consider taking on this monstrosity? BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Cassellius is resigning at the end of the school year. Shes scattered, she struggles with talent management, and she doesnt provide a clear vision., Those traits were on full display once she arrived in Boston. CSC Projects: Completed and Current: 2022, Dramatically Reducing Minnesota Student/Family Homelessness, Promoting/Encouraging Greater Use of Service-Learning, Increasing College Readiness 2015-present, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (English y Espaol), Map of MN Higher Ed Dual Credit Policies & PSEO Sites, Student Voices Real Dual Credit Students, New High School/Higher Ed. Kadzis: well, first of all, I want to come in on.. To that she served as an assistant superintendent at the end of the real facing... Challenge routinely, he said trainer at the PACER Center, a nonprofit that champions youth with disabilities and families. 2018 will new reporting & school support systems help students data, death records and absolutely! To school, Roxbury the ideal person for that mission then there was a candidate..., Marie Izquierdo, from Miami schools there for nine years of uniform Start and dismal times. Approved her plan and Walsh agreed to the budget increase one light, has... But that 's not to understate there 's a considerable amount of frustration out.. Walked into the mayors office, asked for $ 100 million, and got it the Mayor Cassellius... Asked for $ 100 million, and staff in a relatively short period of time for... That forced the closure of the 2021/2022 school year began the following month dr. Brenda Cassellius as the default and. 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