Citing criticism of city schools CEO, the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners announced Tuesday that Gregory Thornton will be replaced by former city school chief academic officer Sonja B. Santelises.
This move comes after months of searching for a new leader. Thornton will throw in the towel on Friday, and Santelises will take over July 1.
For the time being, Tammy Turner, General Counsel for the Baltimore City Public School System has been named acting CEO through June 30. Turner has been the General Counsel since 2006.
In a statement, Marnell Cooper, Chairman of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners said, "We believe Dr. Santelises is the person to lead Baltimore City Schools for the next 10 years."
Cooper said the board identifies Dr. Santelises' work as Chief Academic Officer in Baltimore that set them in a path where the students were actually improving.
In addition her recent experience at The Education Trust in Washington gives her an edge as far as a broader perspective is concerned and this "will result in greater academic achievement in Baltimore City," Cooper added.
Dr. Santelises was the vice president for K-12 Policy and Practice at the Education Trust, a Washington D.C. based non-profit. From 2010 to 2013, Dr. Santelises, 48, was the Chief Academic Officer of Baltimore City Public Schools, reports ABC2.
Cooper also praised Thornton in a statement.
"In a short time he made progress, cutting costs and helping the system save millions by insisting on an independent audit of our health insurance," Cooper said.
Cooper also pointed out that the school system's first five-year strategic plan drafted by Thornton, who is out after only two years on the job, will be passed down to the next CEO.
That said, under Thornton's leadership there's been growing insecurity as far as quality of education in Baltimore is concerned. Low test scores, violence on campus and a video surfacing in March of a school officer caught slapping and kicking a student further added fuel to criticism of Gregory Thornton as city schools CEO, according to reports on CBS Baltimore.
Stacey Thompson, a Baltimore parent said, "It's constantly an ongoing problem, an ongoing issue, that's not being resolved so I think they need to change the leadership for here."
Rather than concentrating on the issues, many believe this is the right time to get Baltimore and the schools back on track.
Baltimore parent, Sherrell Savage expects the changes to "address some of the structural things that have plagued the district for a long time".
We will need to wait and watch if the new CEO, Sonja Santelises will be able to provide the guidance Thornton apparently lacked.
