PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After a six-month national search, Tony Watlington has been chosen to replace William Hite as Philadelphia’s next schools superintendent.
All three finalists identified by the board were outsiders with no ties to Philadelphia.
Watlington is currently the superintendent of the 22,000-student Rowan-Salisbury school district in central North Carolina. He has also led 72,000 students in the Guilford County, North Carolina school district. The School District of Philadelphia is comprised of 200,000 students, one of the largest public districts in the U.S.
The 51-year-old has 27 years of experience in nearly every level of education, having started his career as a custodian and bus driver before becoming a teacher, principal and superintendent.
“I’m the ideal candidate to be the next school superintendent in the School District of Philadelphia,” Watlington said during a finalist town hall last week. “As a free and reduced-lunch student myself, who came from the other side of the tracks, I can understand and appreciate … how do we get better faster? No parents want their kids go into an ‘F’ school. And we absolutely can do better.”
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As the only Renewal School System in North Carolina, Watlington’s district was given a waiver from the state that allowed it to innovate with charter-like flexibility. As a result, he said, the district’s statewide literacy ranking rose from the bottom to the middle of the pack.
Hite announced back in September his intent to step down as superintendent. The board will formally vote on Watlington’s contract next week, and he will assume his role at the end of the school year, on June 16.
Watlington agreed to a five-year contract with a $340,000 base salary, approximately the same amount Hite would have been paid if his contract were renewed. There are no incentive clauses in the deal.
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“If we think this is really what built the middle class in this country, and what really made this country the world’s largest economy, we’ve got to pay teachers boatloads more even than they make currently,” Watlington said.
In Philadelphia, he will be overseeing a district with a $3.9 billion budget. Watlington described himself as “a teacher at heart, not a bureaucrat.” He said the first ingredient to student achievement is attracting quality teachers.
“We absolutely can do better. But teachers can’t do it alone. And so it’s got to be a partnership,” he continued. “If we could do it quickly, this district would have delivered on all of those outcomes some time ago.”
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Asked how he would restore community trust in district leadership, Watlington responded that he would earn it continuously. “Trust is the cumulative effect of very small acts over time,” he explained. “We would be very transparent with all of our stakeholders. When we do things well, we’re going to tell our story. I’m sure we’ll be proud of it. If we fall short in areas, we’ll tell folks that too.
“The first way that I will build trust is to be very visible throughout Philadelphia. I’m one of those leaders that likes to put my cards on the table face up.”
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Watlington would be leading a district 10 times the size of Rowan-Salisbury, but he believes solid fundamentals can be expanded.
“Good teaching is good teaching, whether you’re in a 5,000-, a 10,000- or a 200,000-student district,” he added. “Great systems for how we do the work of the school district are scalable.”
Although he grew up and worked in North Carolina, he said he would make an immediate effort to learn about the city.
“I am not from Philadelphia. I don’t know the Philadelphia way or ways, but I’m a quick study and I would value all of the district accomplishments to date. And I would bring a set of fresh eyes and a new lens.”
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Mayor Jim Kenney welcomed him at an announcement at district headquarters Friday.
“I am confident that thanks to the Board of Education’s inclusive and well-run search process, we have found a visionary education leader who will work in partnership with communities and families to raise student achievement,” he said.
“Dr. Watlington is the right person to lead the work ahead and ensure that every child has the opportunities and supports that they deserve and can reach their full potential.”
“Public education is one of the most important investments a community can make in its future, and it touches everything,” added board President Joyce Wilkerson. “Dr. Watlington is a deeply experienced, respected, innovative and visionary educator whose background and expertise make him the right person to become the next superintendent.”
“The Board is proud to have delivered on our promise,” echoed Leticia Egea-Hinton, board vice president. “We are appointing a successor to Dr. Hite who can lead the School District forward with a commitment to the themes we heard from nearly 6,000 Philadelphians in our community engagement process.”
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Watlington is still the superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury school district, but he plans to spend a lot of time in Philadelphia getting to know his new city. His first duty will be a listening tour, meeting with school board members, community members and lawmakers in Harrisburg who control school funding.
“I think it’s really, really important to build trust and transparency,” he said. “They don’t know me, but they will get to know me. And certainly, that will be a major priority during my listening and learning tour.”