The Madison school board has narrowed the list of candidates for superintendent to three. The board promises a decision by the end of this month. Here’s my take on the candidates and the process.
How did this guy make the cut? The fact that former Maryland schools superintendent Mohammed Choudhury even made the cut from the 60 applicants is baffling. Choudhury served for only two years in Maryland before his governing board suggested he might not want to serve further. Isthmus writer Eric Murphy has detailed his troubles in an extensive piece. Murphy quotes a former colleague in Maryland, “I almost fell out of my chair yesterday when I found out Madison was considering this guy.” A Washington Post expose accused Choudhury of creating a toxic work environment, being abusive to staff and micromanaging. And here’s what a local writer in Maryland, who had been a supporter of Choudhury at first, had to say upon his departure from the job there: “The tale is a Shakespearean tragedy of self-inflicted downfall. I’ve noted that Choudhury ‘is hardworking, smart, data-driven at warp speed and passionately devoted to equity.’ But he is also in denial — unable to get beyond his misbelief that criticisms about him were because he was, in his own words, ‘a disruptor’ who was ‘going to rub some people the wrong way.’” The fact that Choudhury is a finalist casts doubt on the whole process and on the executive search firm the board hired.
A troubling lack of transparency. When the Wisconsin State Journal reached out to the three candidates for a more in-depth piece on their backgrounds all three refused to talk. That suggests that they had been told or advised by the district not to speak to the press or, if they weren’t told that, then it means the candidates don’t feel comfortable answering hard questions reporters might ask on the record. Either way, for a district that recently had to force out its spokesperson, Tim LeMonds, for stonewalling the press and actually abusing reporters and his own staff, this is not a good start.
How important is it to understand Madison? Among the board’s 10 criteria for candidates is this: “Knowledgeable about Madison and/or committed to becoming an engaged and longstanding member of the community.” Two of the candidates, Choudhury and Yvonne Stokes, have no experience with Madison at all. The third candidate, Joe Gothard, has a lot. He grew up here, attended Madison public schools, got his degree in education from Edgewood, started his teaching career here, served as a top administrator in the Doyle building, and was a candidate for superintendent back in 2013 when that board chose Jennifer Cheatham instead. But if two of three candidates completely miss the mark on one of 10 criteria, again, what does that say about the search firm or about the board’s commitment to its own stated objectives?
The missing criteria. Speaking of that criteria, here they are:
At least three years of teaching/classroom experience or experience in a direct student-facing role.
Demonstrated track record of success with improving student and data-driven decision making ideally in an urban public school district setting.
Administrative experience leading an organization matching the scale and complexity of an urban school system; includes managing a budget and leadership team supporting multiple units or organizations spread over a geographic area.
Successful experience working in diverse economic, multicultural, and multilingual communities and environments. Proven cultural-competence skills with a history of inclusive and relevant equity practices.
Knowledgeable about Madison and/or committed to becoming an engaged and longstanding member of the community.
Deep understanding of the complexity of education systems and evidence of leading large scale change in urban public school contexts.
Experience and successful track record of collaboration with labor unions and collective bargaining units.
Experience working in conjunction with a board to identify priorities, establish goals, monitor progress, and produce outcomes in service to stakeholders.
Exceptional written, oral, and visual communications skills and a desire to develop and maintain deep relationships with a variety of diverse constituents.
Meets eligibility criteria for a Superintendent’s license in the state of Wisconsin.
Notice what’s missing? There’s nothing in there about a track record of actually improving education. Nothing about a record of improving test scores. And, in fact, according to a piece in the New York Times from last week, Madison is underperforming both the national and state averages on math test scores while our improvement post-COVID lags both the state and the nation.
Having said all that, give the board some credit for attracting a fair number of candidates, 60, and for getting at least one stellar applicant in Gothard, who not only knows the city and the district, but is one of four candidates for national superintendent of the year. Gothard currently leads the St. Paul district, which is larger and more diverse than Madison. Unlike Choudhury and Stokes, he has served in his post for six years and he was not forced out of his previous job, though, in fairness to Stokes, she appears to have gotten caught up in a rightward political shift on the board in that suburban Indianapolis district. Still, all-in-all the other two candidates don’t come close to Gothard’s qualifications.
But will this board choose him, especially when they have a chance to hire MMSD’s first Black woman superintendent in Stokes? I’m not so sure. Stay tuned.
Dave Cieslewicz is a Madison- and Upper Peninsula-based writer who served as mayor of Madison from 2003 to 2011. You can read more of his work at Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos.
