The Seattle School Board has narrowed its search for a superintendent from six semi-finalists to two contenders – and both are African American.
"We had a very qualified pool of semi-finalists from which to choose," said School Board President Cheryl Chow. "High-caliber candidates from across the nation were attracted and recruited, and the entire Board was very impressed by their leadership quality, educational experience, and personal enthusiasm."
The two finalists for the role of Superintendent are Maria Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D., currently superintendent of the Charleston County School District in Charleston, S.C., and Gregory Thornton, Ed.D., who serves as chief academic officer for the School District of Philadelphia, Penn.
Goodloe-Johnson and Thornton are career educators with 25-plus years of experience that includes working in large urban school systems. Both candidates began their careers as classroom teachers, progressing on to principal and then to senior leadership roles.
The two finalists will visit Seattle for a day of interviews and meetings later this month, and will visit schools, and meet with the school board and the district's leadership team as well as representatives from a wide array of community organizations.
The school board hopes to select a superintendent before the end of April. More background and timeline information is available on the school board's Web site at http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/search/search.htm.
