UPDATED: Providence Schools Chief Leaving
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Providence Schools Superintendent Thomas Brady has resigned his post, the district announced yesterday.
“My three-year tenure as Superintendent of Providence Schools has been professionally challenging and rewarding. I do not make this decision lightly,” Brady said in a statement.
“I will remain in Providence through the end of this school year, and will steadfastly continue to guide the work underway in the district, and we will ensure a smooth transition. The work accomplished in Providence Schools since my arrival in 2008 is a source of deep personal and professional gratification, and the experiences are ones that I will take with me as I embark on a new direction and embrace new career opportunities in public education,” Brady added.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHis announcement comes on the heels of another big news story for the district today—the announcement of four more schools that are deemed to be persistently low achieving.
It also comes at a time of turmoil in the district. Earlier this year, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras issued termination notices to all teachers and announced plans to close several schools.
Brady’s second in command at the district, Sharon Contreras, is on her way out too. She is headed to the superintendent’s position in Syracuse.
Brady had been appointed by former Mayor David Cicilline.
Brady recalls his accomplishments
In his resignation letter to Providence School Board Chair Kathleen Crain, Brady said that “particular points of pride” for him included:
- The development and implementation of the District’s Aligned Instruction System to support the Board’s strategic vision, which included a solid core curriculum and professional development for both teachers and their assistants.
- Improved student achievement on NECAP exams at the elementary level.
- Design and implementation of a criterion-based hiring and needs-driven assignment system.
- Collaborative planning with the Providence Teachers Union to support the four schools identified as Persistently Lowest Achieving.
- The increase in the city’s four-year graduation rate from 59 percent in 2007 to 68 percent in 2010.
- Collaborative work with PTU President Steve Smith, the American Federation of Teachers, and other urban districts toward an effective educator and administrator evaluation model.
- A variety of other social and community support services including the Full Service Community Schools program, and Providence’s extended day learning program across all middle schools and into high school.
He pointed with particular pride to the Breakfast in the Classroom program, which had previously been tested in the city schools, and is now implemented in all of them. Brady said the results have been fewer student trips to the school nurse in mid-morning; and teachers responded that the children remained more “on task” during the day.
“There was also no food left over,” Brady said. “That is pretty significant. That means that kids came to school hungry, and they got a breakfast they could eat in class.”
Says Taveras did not pressure him into leaving
Brady said there was no pressure on him to resign from Mayor Taveras, and that he had notified the mayor a few days prior to delivering his resignation letter to the School Board.
He does not plan to go to any other school district seeking a job as a superintendent, and will remain in the state, largely due to the fact that his three grandchildren are still in the school system here.
Asked whether or not today’s announcement of four more Providence schools being identified for reform measures or another specific issue may have triggered his departure, Brady said, “No, I can’t point to any particular event. You just know intuitively when it is time to go.”
He said that his future plans might be to help teach and prepare people to become urban superintendents, and giving them the how-tos on systemic reform, noting “no urban superintendent has the easiest job in in the world.” He left open the possibility of becoming an education consultant, particularly in helping on the ins-and-outs of systemic reform.
National search for replacement
Crain announced that a national search would be launched for Brady’s successor. She believes that such a perceived quick turnover in the continuity of the superintendent’s post was not a major concern, as “creating a strong base structure versus time” was a more important factor. On behalf of the School Board, and citing herself as “a mother with children in the Providence system,” she praised Brady for his three-year tenure in the top educational post in the city.
Regarding the search for a qualified successor, Brady said, “Any urban superintendence is a challenge. But it’s really an opportunity rather than a challenge. Providence has the typical urban challenges. And Providence only wants people that would want a challenge to come.”
Crain nodded in agreement.
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