Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Finalists for Superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools

The finalists selected by the Search Committee for consideration by the Worcester School Committee are, in alphabetical order:

Charles A. Grandson IV, Ed.D.
Dr. Grandson currently is the Chief Equity and Strategy Officer for the Boston Public Schools, a position he has held since 2019. He has also served as Chief Academic Officer and Deputy Chief Operating Officer for BPS. From 2016 to 2017, he served as interim superintendent of the Malden Public Schools. He has also worked for the Poughkeepsie (NY) City Schools, where he served as Deputy Superintendent, and the Springfield Public Schools, where he served as School Redesign Officer after serving as the principal of High School of Commerce. Dr. Grandson began his career in education as a history teacher at Brook Farm Academy in the Boston Public Schools.
Dr. Grandson holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership (dissertation: Turning Around Schools: A View from Superintendent/Central Office as Policy Implementers), a Master's in Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in History, all from Boston College. 

Rachel H. Monárrez, Ph.D.
Dr. Monárrez currently is the Deputy Superintendent of the San Bernardino (CA) City Unified School District, a position she has held since 2016. She has also served as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for the Santa Rosa City Schools; a principal in the Pomona Unified School District; and the Senior Director of the English Learner Program in the Rialo Unified School District. Dr. Monárrez began her career in education as a bilingual/English immersion and special education teacher in the Pomona Unified School District. Dr. Monárrez is bilingual in English and in Spanish.
Dr. Monárrez holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education with an emphasis on urban education from Claremont Graduate University (dissertation: Tales of La Lucha: Reflections of Latina Bilingual Educators), a Masters of Arts in Education also from Claremont Graduate University, and a Bachelor of Art in History from the University of California, Irvine. 

Malika Savoy-Brooks, Ed.D.
Dr. Savoy-Brooks currently is the Chief Academic Supports Officer for the School District of Philadelphia (PA), a position she has held since 2018. She has also been an Assistant Superintendent and the Director of Instructional Resources for the School District of Philadelphia, and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Chester Upland District. She has also served as a principal, a Director of Instruction, a Prevention and Intervention Coach, a Curriculum Content Academic Coach for the Philadelphia schools, where she also began her career in education as a teacher. 
Dr. Savoy-Brooks holds a Doctorate of Educational Leadership: curriculum and instructional design from the University of Phoenix (Dissertation study: Teachers' Perception of their Pre-Service Experience in Preparation for Cultural Competence; apologies, couldn't find that online); she is part of the Urban Superintendents Academy of the American Association of School Administrators/Howard University. Dr. Savoy-Brooks also holds a Master's of Science in Educational leadership and a Master's of Science in Elementary Education from St. Joseph's University, and a Bachelor's of Science in Food Science and Management from Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture. 

Sonya E. Somerville Harrison, Ed.D.
Dr. Somerville Harrison currently is an Assistant Superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia (PA). She also is Network Lead for the Penn Educational Leadership Simulations at the University of Pennsylvania. She has also served as principal and assistant principal within the schools of Philadelphia. Dr. Somerville Harrison was a special education teacher for Hall-Mercer of Pennsylvania Hospital and within the New York City Public Schools, where she began her career in education. 
Dr. Somerville Harrison holds a Doctorate of Education in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania (Dissertation: The Enactment of Effective Leadership Practices During Systemic Change), a Master's of Education in Special Education from Temple University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Spelman College. 

Members of the Worcester School Committee will be visiting the home districts of candidates later this week. Next week, each candidate will spend a day in the district, with an afternoon reception for the public, followed a public interview with the School Committee; I will share the schedule once it is public later this week.

Following the final interview on Thursday, April 28, the Worcester School Committee will deliberate and selected the next superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools, who will begin on July 1. 
(more on next steps here, with more to come)

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