Pinellas superintendent finalists all from Florida

The Pinellas School Board has selected five finalists to be its next superintendent. All five are from Florida Districts. The board came to a consensus quickly this morning, taking about an hour to cull the five names from 36 applications.

The finalists are:

• Alberto M. Carvalho, associate superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools;
• Nicholas M. Gledich, Chief Operations Officer of Orange County Public Schools;
• Julie Janssen, interim superintendent for Pinellas County;
• Barbara M. Jenkins, Chief of Staff at Orange County Public Schools;
• Sherrie Nickell, associate superintendent for Polk County Public Schools.

See the candidates' resumes and cover letters at this previous post on The Gradebook.

The School Board will meet with the finalists Aug. 27 and Aug. 28 to conduct public interviews and meet with them individually in private discussions. The board expects to narrow the field to two or three candidates on Sept. 2 and bring the back Sept. 8 for a second round of interviews and meetings with the public.

Comments

Hey, terminator gave himself a new nickname. He really seems to like buffed out characters from the 70's. HHHMMMMM . . . and he likes to talk about Charlie all the time . . . HHHMMMM . . .

The idea that if Carvahlo is hired in Pinellas that the teachers will never get a raise is as stupid as predicting that Rubio really was going to pass his version of property tax reform back in October. If the Legisalture provides increases to the school districts, teachers will get raises even if Newt Gingrich was the superintendent.

dark knight (termie) is really starting to loose it.

[dark knight]

2:13
you must be one of Carvahlo's toadies because if you were a real teacher you wouldn't want Carvahlo.
Carvahlo is opposed to teachers getting raises and was a CENTRAL part of the Miami-Dade leadership team that ranks as the worst school district in the state.
if Pinellas hires him, teachers will never see a raise again.

[school teacher]

Dark night

Have you been following our economy lately? Every school district has had budget cuts causing them to go into their contingency funds.

You may be a part of the leadership team, but that does not mean you are the top dog that makes the final call.

Mr. Carvalho is the last piece that this district is missing to have a well oiled machine. He is what our district needs to increases parental and community support, that will ultimately increase our student achievement district-wide.

Franz,

Well put. Blanton's a creep who only cares about Blanton.
The FSBA is a self-serving entity who gets paid hundreds of thousands yearly in dues from member school districts.
Anyone Blanton endorses is someone you don't want.
The first thing the new Superintendent should do is cut all ties (and dues) with the FSBA.

[Frans van Haaren]

It does appear that Mr. Blanton has played and will play a prominent role in the selection process. I was quite surprised to read his comments about various candidates in today's paper. Obviously, his very subjective opinions have already impacted the decision-making process. That's not right. It would be OK for him to evaluate applicants based upon objective information accessible to all, it is absolutely unacceptable for him to proclaim some candidates 'unfit' simply based upon information only available to him. I suggest we keep a close eye on our School Board and on Mr. Blanton's involvement in the decision-making process. Why would we want a superintendent who has been hand-picked by the Executive Director of the Florida School Board Association? School Board members are supposed to represent the best interests of their constituency, i.e. the children who attend the public schools whose very existence is supported by the financial efforts of the communities in which they live. It's all about our children and they desperately need our help; they need to learn how to read and do math; they need to learn about science and many more of them need to graduate from high school; achievement differences between blacks and whites need to disappear. It can be done with leadership knowledgeable in data-based instruction and a willingness to challenge the status quo. I suggest that none such leadership will ever be selected under the guidance of Mr. Blanton.

[dark knight]

retired school administrator:
you are a dope and don't know sh*t from shinola!

for your information, the Miami-Dade School Board is teetering on the edge of insolvency right now due to your friend Mr.Carvahlo and his good buddy Rudy Crew.

why don't you ask them how they drove the school budget into the ground the past two years running deficits of $66 and $44 million? Or how the board had to bail their sorry *sses out with the contingency funds after they couldn't balance their checkbook?

then this summer, the Sup't. unilaterally abrogated the already agreed upon teacher raises feigning financial urgency although he's yet to declare it. Of course they conveniently blamed it on the state legislature as opposed to their own profligate spending.

also, genius, the Dade Schools has lost about $140 million from the state over the past year, so how do you figure he knows how "to bring home scarce monies from Tallahassee"?

the bottom line is....the powers that be in Tallahassee can't stand the Dade School system because of all their mismanagement, incompetence and corruption.

Mr. Carvahlo was a big part of that leadership team. I hope your school board members are smarter than most of the ones in Floriduh!

Blanton only knows FL Superintendents. It is imperative that his bread is buttered here at home. A wink and a handshake will send a few hundred thousand from Pinellas tax payers to FSBA coffers. Blanton with have to "train" the new super and board to "work well" together. He will have to help draft an evaluation tool for the new super and the board.

same stuff different day

Sorry Pinellas school children. The adults have yet to get their act together to better serve your needs.

Remember, today's kids will attend to your needs during your retirement!

You reap what you sow!

[Confused]

I thought that Julie Janssen took the interim superintendent position with the promise that she would not apply for the job. What happened to that promise?

[Retired Public School Administrator]

How wonderful to see an individual like Mr. Carvalho on the finalist list for Superintendent; an individual who has been involved with all aspects of education from the classroom to district administration. He has shown he can work with a diverse community and more importantly, brings home the results, including scarce funds from Tallahassee and increased FCAT scores. We would be lucky to get him.

[different Matt]

No CJ, they didn't say which Orange County it was, but about 3 lines above the list of names, it does mention that all 5 are from Florida districts. If I'm a betting man, I'm putting some chips on OC, FL

[CJ]

Matt, there is Orange County FL, VA, CA and NC off the top of my head, might be more, notice they didn't state which Orange County the finalists are from.

[Matt]

Amazing. Out of a national search come only individuals from Florida into consideration. With the Florida school system known to be deplorable compared to those in other states, why not bring someone knowledgeable from another part of the country?

Why not? Cause of the ones selecting are clearly biased. God forbid we try to enhance our school system rather than keeping the status quo.

[Bill]

Let's see, an all chick school board chooses 3 out of 5 female candidates.....imagine that.

[truth hurts]

Thats all we need is a female super and an all female board. The all female board is the problem with the county now, they have implemented so many costly ignorant changes and "choices" if you will.
Please vote out all incumbents on this board.
And thank god 2 of them have higher callings to mess up other areas of government

[Kim]

It will make no difference until you get rid of the school board you have now. They run to the school super like children to tell him their side. They act so tuff then run like kds to the supper for one on ones talks. Look who they had before and they were down on their knees kissing this super's feet. That is the school board you have now. If I hear one more time from them the words "We are here to make decessions for the children" They rush to keep our taxes up to pay the teachers higher wages and all these special programs and what do we get in return. 51% of our kids don't even graduate and only 30$ black. Just how many McDonalds do we have? No jobs for them so they sell drugs and rob. Our police raid art shows. hey run from crime in their shorts with their fat bellies flapping in the air. We have so many teachers who need to go in to other fields. We need a good sweep. two terms only not life. Lets not make the new supper a millionair in his first four years.

[Gilbert R. Ford]

12:31P, You are ABSOLUTELY correct! I, too, was extremly impressed when she was chronicled on CBS, last month.

However, being mindful of the political correct atmosphere that we now live in, I would not refer to her as a ---an Lady!

I certainly would not have her reporting to St. Pete's Mayor, oh hell no! We want her to do the job and not get tarnished. I would love to see her clamp down on the (2) troublemakers, that now occupy the seats! Great choice though, really great choice! Ms. Janssen, is a part of the problem as it stands now, she, too, needs a different location, as did Clay, Clay.

Let's see if termie can endorse any of the finalists as being deserving both of the consideration and the position. I'll bet not. Even with the list being shortened from three dozen plus to just five, I am sure that he will claim that everyone under consideration is corrupt, incompetent, etc. What a sad way to look at life he unfortunately enbodies.

In fact, why not ask termie to predict the outcome of the search since he has done so well with his predictions over the past two years (I think that he is about 1 for 250, and I'm not sure about the one)?

[LT]

Julie Janssen! Julie Janssen! Julie Janssen!

[anonymous pasco teacher]

12:36, NO, you don't want that! If you do, the only legal qualifications for Superintendent are: at least 18 years old, a resident of the county, not a convicted felon. Of course the real qualifications will be: a recognizable, electable name, lots of money (with all the political baggage that entails) to run a campaign, and the willingness to put up with all the 'stuff' that goes with campaigning. Isn't "Why can't we get better candidates?" a common lament among the voters? Do you really think that the best-qualified person for this job will always be found amongst the residents of your county? Do YOU want a Superintendent whose only experience is being a 2nd grade teacher before being elected to the State Legislature and who isn't even qualified to hold a 'Supervisor' position in her own district?

It is time for Pinellas to elect their superintendent!

[hammersmith]

We need the Korean lady that is in her first year of turning upside down the Washington D.C. school district. She reports directly to the Mayor and does not have to deal with a wishy washy school board. She also interviewed all principals and assistant principals, and discharged 33% of them along with tenured teachers who were not doing their job. It is tough love with all the emphasis on teaching kids and encouraging them to stay in school and she is showing improvement in scores of about 10% for the first year. Watch her, DC has historically the worst school system in the country. I predict everybody will be modeling DC's system in a few years.

I am thrilled to see that Alberto Carvalho has been selected as a finalist for the position of "our" Superintendent. It is clear that the Board has done their homework. Carvalho is a forward thinker that will push Pinellas Schools to the next level. I have watched this man's career and have been very impressed. My grandchildren are entering 1st and 3rd grades and I have worried what they will be learning in our public classrooms. If Carvalho agrees to come here I believe that we will see the rigor and relevance of materials presented in our public schools increase across the board. I can also attest to the fact that Carvalho has been a steadfast supporter of parental and community engagement in the schools. His work in the 1990's with the New American Schools project was amazing. I believe that Carvalho presents the "total package" in what we need to see in a modern urban superintendent.

Proud Grandpa and Retired Administrator