ST. LOUIS — For the first time in 15 years, ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools will have a new superintendent to open schools in August.
Keisha Scarlett, chief academic officer and assistant superintendent of academics for Seattle Public Schools, was chosen by the ºüÀêÊÓƵ School Board after a nationwide search.
Scarlett, 48, replaces Kelvin Adams, who retired in December after 14 years leading the district. Scarlett's three-year contract with SLPS includes an annual salary of $268,000.
Scarlett was one of 49 applicants and three finalists for the job, including Nicole Williams, Adams’ chief of staff and interim SLPS superintendent, and Jermaine Dawson, chief academic and accountability officer of Birmingham City Schools. Williams will continue as interim superintendent until Scarlett takes over in July.
People are also reading…
Scarlett worked in Seattle Public Schools for 24 years as a teacher, principal and administrator. She was a principal of the year in Washington in 2014 after raising test scores to 80% proficiency at South Shore grade school. As an administrator, she helped develop strategies to improve early literacy rates for African American boys.
In 2020, Scarlett helped develop return-to-school guidance during the pandemic for President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Clark Atlanta University, a master’s from Heritage University and a doctorate from the University of Washington.
Scarlett and her husband, Christopher, head of technology and operations at the NBC affiliate in Seattle, have three adult children.
The new superintendent will face immediate challenges, including plummeting enrollment that has left too many schools with not enough students to fill them.
Scarlett said Seattle schools are experiencing a similar situation with falling birth rates and families moving out of the urban center.
“Having the stomach for (school closures) comes with the role of being a superintendent, making sure people feel respectfully engaged and all voices are heard,†Scarlett said. “I also don’t want to count out SLPS about how we grow enrollment, communicate the high-quality opportunities that are happening and not shortchange the future possibility of making sure ºüÀêÊÓƵ families choose ºüÀêÊÓƵ schools.â€
During Adams’ tenure, 25 schools were shuttered because of low enrollment. The district dropped from largest in the state to ninth this year, behind Rockwood, Parkway, Fort Zumwalt and Wentzville in the region. Enrollment in kindergarten through 12th grades has fallen by 40%, from 27,500 in 2008 to about 16,500 this year.
The SLPS board is leading a citywide plan for public education, which is expected to wrap up next fall with a strategy to address the changing demographics, meaning Scarlett is likely to face another round of school closures in the near future.
While SLPS has some of the highest-performing magnet schools in the state, the average test scores remain among the lowest, with 13% of students testing proficient in math and 20% in English in spring of 2022.
The district has increasingly tried to address external stressors on students and families, including a majority who live in poverty and 15% who are homeless. Since returning from virtual learning at the start of the pandemic, fewer than half of the students have a 90% or better attendance rate.
In a recorded job interview with SLPS, Scarlett said she would lead the district with her core values of “authenticity, collaboration and equity.â€
“SLPS is in a rebirth. They are in a renaissance and they are moving forward,†she said. “I am laser-focused on student outcomes but I am also laser-focused on loving relationships and we need those partnerships and relationships in order to propel our students forward with the opportunities that they deserve.â€
About 100 SLPS supporters rallied Tuesday at the Capitol in Jefferson City for various bills involving gun violence prevention, school funding and local control.
The new superintendent needs to listen to families and be “the biggest supporter there can be for public schools,†said Heather Macarthur, who came to the rally with her son, a seventh grader at Busch middle school.
“We chose SLPS for our children,†Macarthur said. “We have to stand strong.â€
Updated at 5:41 p.m.