Kelvin Adams takes helm of 25,000-student district today

Kelvin Adams arrived here a week ago Sunday, the better to get the lay of the land before reporting for work as the 36th superintendent to head the St. Louis Public Schools.

Today, he begins navigating the terrain—sometimes rocky and always unpredictable—that has seen eight of those leaders come and go since 2003.

Adams' arrival from New Orleans, where he served as chief of staff in the Recovery School District restoring that city's education system in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, signals a noteworthy move by the Special Administrative Board to put its imprint on the district it has governed for the past 17 months.

Adams plans to tread cautiously between now and the winter break, evaluating the curriculum and filling three key posts in his administration, most notably that of chief academic officer.

From that point forward, he indicated the St. Louis schools could start to look significantly different. Parents, students and teachers seeking a hint to the direction Adams may take the city schools, need glance no further than New Orleans where, among other reforms, the recovery district tacked an extra 75 minutes onto the school day this year.

"You have to look at extended time to give students an opportunity to achieve," Adams said in an interview Saturday, squeezed around the movers bearing his belongs from Louisiana.

That could mean a longer school day, an academic year that stretches well into summer or even Saturday classes. At this juncture, said Adams, everything is on the table.

Whatever time St. Louis students spend in class will occur in schools supervised by principals granted unprecedented autonomy over what transpires in each building.

The trade-off for shifting responsibility for learning from a central office to the leaders of individual schools will be accountability.

The premise is simple: Principals who elevate student achievement will survive; principals overseeing schools where learning slips or stagnates will not.

The principals will be held to no less a standard than the academic performance benchmarks built into the terms of Adams' three-year, $225,000 annual contract.

"We will give them the support," Adams said. "But once you provide that support, how can they not be held accountable?"

As Adams takes over a 25,000-student district barely hanging onto its status as the largest school system in Missouri, another question hangs in the balance.

Exactly how many principals will be needed in St. Louis come the start of next school year?

Last week, the administrative board awarded a $625,609 contract to a facilities management firm that will determine which of the district's schools could be shuttered when classes end in June.

The evaluation by MGT of America Inc. will focus on the physical condition of the buildings, educational suitability, technological readiness and other factors. MGT will also hold a series of community forums to gather public input. The firm will report its findings to the administrative board — which has estimated that 14 to 22 schools need to be closed.

Just seven years ago, 42,000 students attended city schools. In response to the drastic drop in enrollment, the district has already shuttered 25 buildings since 2003.

"Everyone needs to be open-minded enough to let (MGT) do its work. But I think everyone also needs to understands that more schools need to be closed," said Adams. "The question needs to be: How many more schools? And I think, right now, it's premature to say we're going to close 20 schools. At this point they're just making an educated guess."

After the decision on closings is made, Adams said, he may ask the administrative board to consider breaking some of the remaining properties into "schools within schools."

A version of the "small school movement," such a plan could assign designated sections of a school building to specific grades or specialized "learning communities" (such as students concentrating on health careers).

Adams said he would not rule out St. Louis following the lead of New York City and New Orleans by perhaps integrating a charter school into a building where traditional public education is taking place.

The post-Katrina conditions in New Orleans, he pointed out, made shared charter and traditional schools a necessity. "It works," he said. "But I don't know if can work permanently."

Adams was the director of human resources during a short stint with the St. Louis schools in 2006-07. He said he is returning to the district without preconceived notions.

"We may not see a lot of changes before Christmas," he said, leaving plenty of room for speculation on the shape of the district, in the classroom and at its downtown headquarters, in the new year. Courtesy of Steve Giegerich, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.


SLPS Parents Movement to Support Dr. Kelvin Adams.