School Board ratifies new superintendent’s leadership team
JUNE 23, 2009 – The Rockford Board of Education tonight approved incoming Superintendent Dr. LaVonne M. Sheffield’s new top management structure for the public schools, the first phase in a re-organization to provide more support for classrooms and improve learning.
Board members accepted six appointments to an expanded leadership team designed to focus greater attention on areas including instruction, professional development, communication, building operations and project management. The six administrators assume their new Cabinet assignments July 1 to coincide with Dr. Sheffield’s official start date as superintendent.
Among the appointments are Dr. Patrick Hardy as Chief Academic Officer and Cedric Lewis as Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Hardy, the former principal of Ellis Arts Academy, is returning to Rockford Public Schools after working since 2008 as youth leader for Heartland Community Church and as the founding chief executive of a proposed charter school. Mr. Lewis comes to Rockford from New Orleans, where he holds a similar position with the Recovery School District.
Two of the appointments represent promotions of current administrators to Cabinet seats: Todd Schmidt as Chief Operations Officer and Mark Bonne as Chief Communications Officer. The remaining two appointments signify new roles for current Cabinet-level officers: Colleen Cyrus becomes Chief of Student Support and Community Partnerships, while Pamela Laughlin becomes Special Assistant to the Superintendent.
When fully assembled, Dr. Sheffield’s Cabinet will include nine members. A chief accountability officer -- whose job will include data analysis to measure academic achievement, monitor federal Title 1 and economic stimulus spending and gauge performance of charter schools -- has yet to be hired. Steve Katz continues to serve on the Cabinet as board attorney/general counsel; the Cabinet also includes Gina Rinaldo-Nelson as Dr. Sheffield’s executive assistant.
Dr. Sheffield emphasized that while she is expanding the size of her Cabinet, the leadership changes amount to a net increase of one administrator: the unnamed accountability officer. Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Bonne and Ms. Nelson are being elevated from their current jobs to nonacademic Cabinet-level assignments.
Mr. Bonne will oversee the establishment of a Communications Department and development of a Districtwide communications plan. Ms. Nelson will concentrate on more efficient project management and operation of the Superintendent’s Office, among other duties. Mr. Schmidt will provide a stronger voice for maintenance, technology and other infrastructure concerns which had previously been combined with finance at the Cabinet level. In her new role, Mrs. Laughlin will evaluate and enhance professional development opportunities and serve as a liaison to employee bargaining units. Mrs. Cyrus will remain in charge of discipline, truancy, nursing and other student support while also working to increase partnerships with businesses and other outside organizations.
“My intent is to bring new voices to the table and a greater diversity to our decision-making,” Dr. Sheffield said. “I thank the Board of Education for sharing my confidence in the new structure and the talented, accomplished individuals I’ve asked to serve at my side. We will work together to advance our schools and deliver as many resources as possible to support our students.”
The ultimate purpose of the restructuring is to achieve the five goals for Rockford Public Schools that Dr. Sheffield articulated as a candidate for superintendent:
- Enhance learning opportunities for all children;
- Ensure parents are partners in the education process;
- Provide clean and safe schools;
- Hold adults accountable;
- Run an efficient business operation.
In addition to the Cabinet appointments, the Board of Education announced transition roles for outgoing Superintendent Linda Hernandez and Marcia Strothoff, who has served under Mrs. Hernandez as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Mrs. Hernandez and Mrs. Strothoff will work as special project managers until February and December respectively. Tom Hoffman, who has served as chief operating officer under Mrs. Hernandez, is being reassigned to a staff position overseeing federal grant funding for special education, while Thomas Schmitt, assistant superintendent for community outreach and procedures, will become principal of Spring Creek Elementary School.
“The Board thanks Mrs. Hernandez and her team for their years of service and for assisting in an orderly transition,” Board President David Kelley said. “We are excited about Dr. Sheffield’s vision for our schools, and we look forward to working with her and her Cabinet as they turn that vision into reality.”
Cabinet members’ duties and salaries may be adjusted in coming weeks as Dr. Sheffield continues to examine the workings of the administration. Plans call for Dr. Sheffield and Cabinet members to visit summer school sites the morning of July 1 and meet officially for the first time in the afternoon. |
