Time to look for another school superintendent

Brenda Cassellius will resign at the end of the school year, roughly three years after she was hired away from Minnesota.

In a letter to "the BPS community" this morning, Mayor Wu said she, School Committee Chairwoman Jeri Robinson and Cassellius decided it was time for Cassellius to move on.

Over the last several days Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Boston School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson, and I have been in conversation together about the Boston Public Schools (BPS) - our progress, future, and leadership. Today, we are announcing a mutual decision that the Superintendent will transition out of her role leading the district at the end of this school year.

Cassellius can expect a good recommendation from the mayor:

We have come to this decision after careful deliberation, with mutual respect for all involved and an acknowledgment that there is much work still to be done this school year and beyond. I am so grateful for the Superintendent’s leadership, especially while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, and for her courage in addressing needed structural changes within our district. She has given Boston three years of strong leadership and service, and we are a better city for it.

Dr. Cassellus has been and remains an incredible champion of our children, and for equity. Her contributions have made BPS stronger today and have set the City up for future successes. Under her leadership BPS has:

• Created a school quality guarantee so every school has access to a social worker, nurse, family liaison, guidance counselor, school psychologist, and librarian to provide a full range of supports to each student;
• Increased rigor and high expectations across all schools with implementation of the MassCore academic standards;
• Made important progress toward greater equity, inclusion and justice by reforming grading, attendance, student privacy, and selective admissions policies; and,
• Championed greater transparency and authentic engagement with students, parents and community members.

Wu continued that her priorities for the next school superintendent will include "expanding access to early childhood education, reimagining BPS facilities to advance learning, and ensuring excellence across the district, including in all our high schools."

Cassellius replaced Tommy Chang, who resigned in 2018 after roughly three years in the job.

Wu said she will announce details of the search for the next superintendent "in the coming weeks."