69传媒

School & District Management

National Superintendents鈥 Group Backs Away From Firm at Center of Chicago Probe

By Denisa R. Superville 鈥 April 28, 2015 7 min read
Chicago Public 69传媒 CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett speaks at a news conference in Chicago in 2012 after being appointed to the position by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, right. Ms. Byrd-Bennett has taken leave from her position amid a federal investigation over a $20.5 million no-bid contract that the district awarded to the SUPES training academy where she once consulted.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

AASA, the School Superintendents Association, is moving to end its partnership in a preparation program for new schools chiefs that it runs jointly with the SUPES Academy, the Illinois-based firm that鈥檚 part of a federal investigation in Chicago.

Daniel A. Domenech, the executive director of AASA, said Monday that his organization wants to run the still-nascent superintendent-training program on its own, given the cloud over the company.

鈥淭he bottom line is that I have no complaints about the work they have done for us,鈥 Mr. Domenech said, 鈥渂ut the program that we are running requires that it be beyond any type of reproach, and thus the move on our part to assume the management of the program entirely.鈥

The group鈥檚 pullout is the latest blow to the SUPES Academy, which provides professional development and training to district superintendents, administrators, principals, and teacher leaders, since news broke last week that the FBI is investigating the company along with the Chicago Public 69传媒 and others. The investigation revolves around a $20.5 million no-bid contract to train the district鈥檚 principals, according to local media accounts. Neither the school system or SUPES Academy will comment on the scope of the investigation.

While no one has been accused of wrongdoing, a federal subpoena made public demanded that Chicago school district officials provide records of contracts, payments, and communications between the company and key leadership officials with the school system, including Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who worked for SUPES Academy as a consultant before joining the school district in 2012. The subpoena also sought information about Gary Solomon, the chief executive officer of the SUPES Academy; Tom Vranas, the company鈥檚 president; and the Chicago Public Education Fund, a well-connected nonprofit made up of civic, academic, and business heavy-hitters, some of whom have close ties to both Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.

In the wake of the investigation, Ms. Byrd-Bennett has taken a leave of absence from her job, and the Chicago Board of Education has suspended the district鈥檚 contract with the SUPES Academy.

A spokesperson for the Chicago school district did not respond to an interview request before publication.

Mixed Reviews

In addition to Chicago and AASA, the SUPES Academy has worked on district leadership training programs with 14 school districts, one charter school network, and two departments of education, according to the company鈥檚 web site. The academy also runs selective superintendent programs.

There are glowing testimonials on the company鈥檚 website about the services it has provided, and Mr. Domenech said that the superintendents who participated in the program have found it valuable.

In its national certification program for superintendents, Mr. Domenech said that the SUPES Academy helps AASA whittle down the candidates selected to participate and helps choose the sitting superintendents who provide the lectures, coaching, and mentoring services. The company also helped develop the curriculum for the program with AASA leaders, he said.

Mr. Domenech said AASA partnered with the SUPES Academy because of the company鈥檚 extensive background in training school leaders. The AASA program, which started in the summer of 2013, is aimed at training and providing support to superintendents with less than five years on the job.

鈥淲e did that primarily because they had been involved in doing extensive training for aspiring superintendents and principals and other administrators,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd they seemed to have the experience that we were looking for to work with us on the certification program.鈥

Mr. Domenech said the program has gotten very high evaluation results from all the participants. In Chicago, however, many principals were less than impressed with the company鈥檚 work through the district鈥檚 Leadership Academy.

Clarice Berry, the president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said the program received 鈥渦niformly negative鈥 reviews in the first year.

鈥淢ost principals thought the contents of the workshops were completely useless and of no value to them,鈥 Ms. Berry said.

Ms. Berry said she heard two strands of complaints: that content was not relevant to the work that Chicago principals were engaged in, and the courses were taught by educators from districts too dissimilar to Chicago and who did not understand the city鈥檚 unique local school governance structure.

Ms. Berry said she took those complaints to Ms. Byrd-Bennett, and principals were allowed to sign a waiver to opt out of the program.

Although there were rumors that principals feared repercussion from signing a waiver, since it had to be sent to Ms. Byrd-Bennett, Ms. Berry said she had heard of no one being disciplined or facing blowback from not signing the form or simply not going to the sessions.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 pleased with the SUPES [Academy] when it came in, we took it directly to her, and without much consternation on her part, she gave us the waiver immediately. There was no sanctioning or punishment or any issues,鈥 Ms. Berry said.

She said she did not believe that the contract was money well spent.

鈥淎ny professional development here for $20 million should have been customized,鈥 Ms. Berry said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of money for professional development for principals to walk out of it and say they got no value.鈥

Defending Chicago Work

But Mr. Solomon, the CEO of the SUPES Academy, defended the work in Chicago. Mr. Solomon said the training was customized to the city鈥攁s it would be for any district鈥攁nd lecturers were briefed on the unique attributes of school governance in Chicago.

When seeking lecturers, the company looked for school leaders with a track record of success. The company then provided the names of possible lecturers, with their backgrounds and expertise, to district officials who approved the list of practitioners, he said.

Further, Mr. Solomon said, the professional-development program was developed to address needs that were articulated by the district, and the programs were tweaked throughout based on feedback from participants and the district.

For example, he said, the second year of the program offered electives, including a deeper dive into student-based budgeting, staffing, communication, time management, and, at the time of the teachers鈥 strike and wave of school closures, managing through 鈥渦nsettled waters.鈥 The courses covered personal leadership, fostering buy-in and support for a school鈥檚 mission, vision and goals, parent and community outreach, teacher evaluation, common-core instruction, and financial strategies.

Mr. Solomon said that there was 鈥渃onstant evaluation [of the curriculum] to make sure that it鈥檚 best aligned to meet the needs of the practitioner or end user, which, in a lot of places was the principals.鈥

He said there was also a coaching component to the training; but acknowledged that given the complexity of the system, some relationships between principals and coaches were stronger than others. He said of the 200 principals who provided feedback of the program, much of it was 鈥渜uite flattering鈥 and 鈥減ositive.鈥

鈥淚 am very proud of the work we did in Chicago, and we have a long working relationship with the district, and we think that our work has added value to the leaders that we鈥檝e been fortunate enough to work with,鈥 Mr. Solomon said.

But Troy LaRaviere, the principal of Chicago鈥檚 Blaine Elementary School and a frequent critic of the city school system鈥檚 leadership, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said he found the courses lacking and that they did not address the issues he thought a professional-development program for principals in Chicago should cover: understanding and implementing best practices as identified by educational research; improving school climate and culture; improving students鈥 soft skills; and helping teachers to improve the quality of their instruction. Most importantly, he said, the program lacked follow up.

Mr. LaRaviere wrote on his blog about a dissatisfying experience in a marketing class he said was taught by S. Dallas Dance, the superintendent of the Baltimore County, Md., school system, who is also a 2011 graduate of one of the SUPES Academy鈥檚 superintendent program. A request for comment to Mr. Dance鈥檚 office was forwarded to the Baltimore County School鈥檚 press office, which declined to comment.

Mr. Dance, who had accepted the consultancy with the SUPES Academy at the same time his own district had a contract with the company, is no longer working with the firm, according to The Baltimore Sun.

A version of this article appeared in the May 06, 2015 edition of Education Week as Chicago 69传媒 Probe Prompts AASA to End Alliance With Firm

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School & District Management Reports Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress
This report highlights key findings from surveys of K-12 administrators and product/service providers to shed light on the alignment of purchasing with instructional goals.
School & District Management Download Shhhh!!! It's Underground Spirit Week, Don't Tell the 69传媒
Try this fun twist on the Spirit Week tradition.
Illustration of shushing emoji.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How My Experience With Linda McMahon Can Help You Navigate the Trump Ed. Agenda
I have a lesson for district leaders from my (limited) interactions with Trump鈥檚 pick for ed. secretary, writes a former superintendent.
Joshua P. Starr
4 min read
Vector illustration of people walking on upward arrows, symbolizing growth, progress, and teamwork towards success.
iStock/Getty Images
School & District Management Opinion How Social-Emotional Learning Can Unify Your School Community: 7 Timely Tips
It鈥檚 a stressful political season. These SEL best practices can help school leaders weather the unpredictable transitions.
Maurice J. Elias
4 min read
Modern digital collage of caring leader surrounded by positivity. Social Emotional learning leadership.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva