Buffalo, New York Has a New School Superintendent Following a Nation-wide Search

After reviewing the resumes of 34 qualified applicants, the Buffalo School Board released the short list of three candidates consisting of Edward Newsome, Jr., assistant superintendent in Baltimore County schools; Dr. Pamela Brown, former assistant superintendent in Philadelphia; and Amber Dixon, a veteran administrator in Buffalo Schools who has been the Interim Superintendent during the past school year.

Edward Newsome was the first to be eliminated as not being dynamic enough to be effective. Amber Dixon was the sentimental favorite initially, having spent 21 years in public education in Buffalo Public Schools. Her Buffalo roots and intimate knowledge of the district bode well for her candidacy. While serving as interim superintendent, Dixon faced two large challenges: submitting improvement plans for seven low-performing schools, and reaching an agreement with the teachers’ union and the State of New York regarding teacher evaluations. The Schools were in danger of losing $30 million in state aid if an agreement on the evaluations was not in place by January 2013. She accomplished both of these projects. Her leadership style was welcomed after years of contention between the union and the former Superintendent, James Williams, who retired under pressure from the School Board.

Some critics felt that Buffalo had shut itself out of the best pool of candidates by delaying the process for so long that the better candidates had been hired by other districts.

Dr. Pamela Brown’s interview with the Board was delayed because of family considerations. She was the only finalist with Ivy League credentials, having obtained her doctorate at Harvard University. Her other assets include her background as a Spanish bilingual teacher; her 12-year tenure as a principal in Charlotte, North Carolina; increases in math and English scores under her leadership there; her three years of service as an assistant superintendent in Philadelphia; and time spent there as an interim chief academic officer, the No. 2 job in the district.

The School Board voted 7-2 to appoint Dr. Pamela Brown, 57 years old, as Buffalo’s new school superintendent. She will be the first female African-American to serve as superintendent in Buffalo in a permanent capacity.

Dr. Brown will have several challenges to face in Buffalo in the years to come. It is hoped that she can improve the graduation rate in Buffalo schools which has dropped below 50% this past year. District-wide attendance figures show that 52.05% of students have satisfactory attendance. The rest are chronically absent or are at risk of chronic absence.

In addition to student challenges, Dr. Brown faces a strong teacher union, a need for collaboration among teachers, administrators and support staff, and demands from parent groups who are disenchanted with the downward direction the district seems to be taking.

My hope as a former Buffalo teacher and central office administrator is that Dr. Brown can turn around the failures that have existed in our schools for perhaps decades. The question remains as to whether she will ask Amber Dixon to be a member of her administrative team.

Sources:

The Buffalo News, June 3, 5, 6, 8, 14 of 2012

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/schools/article902095.ece