The Orleans Parish School Board is set to interview 15 candidates to replace outgoing NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. in special meetings on Thursday and Friday.
The board will likely then vote to move some of the candidates to a second round of interviews, which will include additional background and reference checks from their hired search firm Greenwood Asher and Associates.
The candidates
Angela Beck is the superintendent of Redesign Schools Louisiana, a non-profit organization that runs three charter schools in Baton Rouge. She was also a principal and later assistant director at Celerity Schools California over four years. Beck’s resume.
Jawan Brown-Alexander was most recently the chief of schools for the nonprofit New Schools for New Orleans. Her last day of employment was Feb. 15 according to NSNO CEO Dana Peterson.* She is the daughter of John Brown Sr., who announced his intent to resign from the Orleans Parish School Board this week, after she was invited to interview. Brown-Alexander’s resume.
Meria Joel Carstarphen runs a consulting firm and is the former superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, where she served from 2014 to 2020. Prior to that, she served as superintendent of the Austin Independent School District and St. Paul, Minnesota Public Schools. In the mid-2000s, she worked as chief accountability officer in the District of Columbia Public Schools. Carstarphen’s resume.
Charles Grandson has worked for the Boston Public Schools since 2017. He currently serves as the chief equity and strategy officer. Grandson’s resume.
Torina Lewis taught at Alice Harte Elementary School in 2006 and went on to work as a mathematics professor at several universities, most recently Clark Atlanta University. She currently works for the American Mathematical Society. Lewis’ resume.
Brian Metcalf is the CEO of Tindley Accelerated Schools in Indianapolis. He previously worked as a principal and in leadership roles in the Chicago Public Schools. Metcalf’s resume.
Orlando Ramos-Domenech is the founding principal of Real Journey Academies Charter Schools. He spent two years as the chief academic officer at the American School of Fez- Morocco. Prior to that he worked in administration for Milwaukee Public Schools and the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. Ramos-Domenech’s resume.
Thomas Rogers is an assistant superintendent at Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Prior to that, he served as a principal for nine years in the Shelby County School district, where he worked as the instructional leadership director for three years. Rogers’ resume.
Marshall Tuck works for Great Public Schools Now, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. He was the CEO of Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, a nonprofit that took over low-performing Los Angeles Unified School District schools, and the COO of Green Dot Public Schools charter network in Los Angeles. He’s run twice, unsuccessfully, for state superintendent of public instruction for the state of California. Tuck’s resume.
Cherie Washington is the chief of schools and student support for the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas. She’s also served as an assistant superintendent in that district and been a principal at multiple schools. Washington’s resume.
Bobby White, Jr. founded Frayser Community Schools — a three-charter network in Memphis — in 2013 and has served as the CEO since that time. He previously worked as a principal in the Shelby County Schools and was a fellow at the Tennessee Charter School Center while preparing to launch Frayser. White’s resume.
Avis Williams has been the superintendent of Selma City Schools in Alabama since 2017. She was an assistant superintendent in the Tuscaloosa City School district and high school curriculum and instruction director at Guilford County Schools in North Carolina. Prior to that she was a principal. Williams’ resume.
Andre Wright was the chief academic officer for the Aurora Public Schools in Colorado for five years prior to moving to MGT Consulting in Tampa earlier this year. Wright also worked as an Area Executive Director for the Fulton County Schools in Georgia where he also served as a principal. Wright’s resume.
Jermall Wright is the superintendent of the Mississippi Achievement School District, a state-run turnaround district similar to Louisiana’s Recovery School District. He was the chief academic and accountability Officer in Birmingham City Schools for two years and prior to that worked in Philadelphia, Denver and Washington D.C. public schools. Wright’s resume.
Caprice Young has served as the president of the Education Growth Group for 10 years. She was the CEO and president of the California Charter Schools Association for five years and the former National Superintendent of Lifelong Learning, a non-profit organization that assisted schools in five states. She was also an assistant deputy mayor in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s. Young’s resume.
*Correction: This story previously misstated the name of New Schools for New Orleans’ CEO. (March 9, 2022)
