A Chief Executive Officer of public schools, or a CEO of schools is an

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

who is responsible for the administration of a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...

. Similarly to a receiver, CEOs replace traditional superintendents in managing the daily operations of struggling school districts in an attempt to improve failing schools. With the introduction of private market ideas into the school system, CEOs are generally given unilateral power to enact necessary reforms. This concept was first introduced by the Chicago Public School System in 1995.

Function and purpose

The functions of the CEO vary from school district to school district. Whereas the CEO mostly replaces both the roles of the school board and superintendent, other school districts place the CEO below the superintendent and grant power over the day-to-day operations. In Chicago, the CEO has the power to appoint the school board. However, in other school districts with elected school boards, the CEO is often appointed in spite of the board. Using a CEO in a public school system mirrors the typical structure of a charter school which, perhaps, serves as the inspiration for using a CEO of a public school.

Comparison to superintendents

A CEO is different from a superintendent in that the CEO of schools has total control over every decision made by a school district; the CEO decides what rights, if any, are delegated to the board of education. A CEO of Schools often needs no background in education. The goal of implementing a CEO of schools is to remove power from School Boards of ineffective school districts and replace with an individual to bring private market business ideas to the education system. It is a way to address the inequality of public schools and attempt to raise failing schools to a functional level.

Historical development

The first school district in the nation to appoint a CEO was the Chicago Public School district, who appointed

Paul Vallas Paul Gust Vallas (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Publ ...

as CEO in 1995. Baltimore implemented reforms to its school system in 1997 which led to the appointment of a CEO. Cleveland soon followed suit by appointing Barbara Byrd-Bennett as CEO under Mayoral Control in 1998.

Controversy

The appointment of CEO has proven controversial in some instances. The attempt to appoint a CEO of the Youngstown, Ohio school system has been met with a lawsuit. The lawsuit was unsuccessful. Proponents argue that, by removing local control and placing it in the hands of a CEO, it creates a more efficient system which can turn around the school system. Opponents argue that it strips local control and accountability from the management of the school systems. Another controversy has centered around Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and later Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Byrd-Bennett was the subject of a 23-count federal indictment accusing her of executing a scheme to give a $20-million no-bid contract in return for a kick-back. She entered a guilty plea on October 13, 2015.

Examples of CEOs of schools

* The

Baltimore City Public School System Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS), also referred to as Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) or City Schools, is a public school district in the city of Baltimore, state of Maryland, United States. It serves the youth of Baltimore Cit ...

installed Dr. Gregory E. Thornton as CEO for the 2014-2015 school year. Of note, Dr. Thornton has taken an approach which has restored funding for the arts and reduced school suspensions. * The CEO of the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

is Pedro Martinez. The system implemented by Paul Vallas utilized quantitative metrics by which both students and schools were evaluated; under-performing students were held back and under-performing schools were placed on probation. This resulted in the closure of 82 under-performing schools, replaced by 116 new schools. * The

Cleveland Metropolitan School District Cleveland Metropolitan School District, formerly the Cleveland Municipal School District, is a public school district in the U.S. state of Ohio that serves almost all of the city of Cleveland. The district covers 79 square miles. The Clevela ...

installed Eric Gordon as CEO in 2011. Mr. Gordon has implemented a "Humanware" Initiative which seeks to improve "student safety, support, and social and emotional development." Cleveland had the lowest graduation rate of urban school districts in the country as of 2006. * The CEO of Minneapolis Public Schools, Michael Goar, served below the Superintendent before being promoted to superintendent. As a sign of the struggles of the school district, African American male students only had a literacy rate of 20%. *

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

appointed a CEO in the year 2000. * The CEO of

Youngstown City School District Youngstown City School District is the public school system for Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population ...

and Ohio Governor John Kasich signed a bill creating the position of CEO of the Youngstown City School District. The School District sued to overturn the Bill and prevent the appointment of a CEO. The litigation is ongoing and the State of Ohio filed a Motion to Dismiss.

Notes

{{reflist Education and training occupations