PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The second of three superintendent finalists met with school communities in Philadelphia Tuesday. A state school official from Illinois, with experience turning around schools, faced a day of questions.
Krish Mohip, deputy education officer for the Illinois State Board of Education, met with parents Tuesday morning at Philadelphia school headquarters.
The 43-year-old's parents emigrated from Trinidad and Tobago. He spent three years as the appointed CEO of the Youngstown City School District when the state of Ohio took over.
“I had some detractors. I had some people that put bricks through my windows. I had people that smashed my windshield. I had people that placed death threats against me. But I was not shaken by that," said Mohip.
“I was the guy nobody wanted. There were protests in the streets before I got there, but by the time I left I was the guy nobody wanted to see leave.”
During that time, he said, the high school graduation rate in Youngstown rose 11% in two years.
He said he had the power to unilaterally make changes, but he chose to collaborate instead.
“You guys are coming out of a state takeover. You want somebody that’s going to be collaborative. I want to be in a place that’s collaborative. I want to be in a place that’s supportive. And I want to be in a place that believes in children. I believe I’ve found that here in Philadelphia.”
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Philadelphia parents asked him how he would rebuild trust and improve transparency, and again, he talked about his Youngstown experience.
“I did weekly Facebook Live meetings. It was just me giving a five- to 10-minute monologue about what was happening in the district. ‘Here’s what you need to know.’ And then just opened it up for parents, unfiltered, to ask any questions they wanted,” he said.
“And there were some doozies in there. But if you’re being transparent, you have nothing to hide.”
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Mohip also answered a question that has come up repeatedly during these superintendent candidate meet-and-greets: How would you change the new lottery system for admission to Philadelphia’s criteria-based schools?
Mohip said the key is to improve the offerings at all schools.
“Any public school district in the country should have the courageous leadership to say, ‘If it’s good enough for one, it’s good enough for all.’ And we’re going to try and find ways to do that.”
At an evening town hall, Mohip was asked if he would clean house at school headquarters and bring in his own people.
"I am an outsider, right? And I understand there’s probably some resentment around that," he said. "I’m not in a position to say yes or no, but I’m telling you that I’m here now. And as I’m building out my administrative team, the first place I’m going to look is here within the central office.”
Over three days this week, the School District of Philadelphia is introducing the city to the three men who want to be the city’s next schools superintendent. The third and final candidate, Tony Watlington, a superintendent in North Carolina, visits Wednesday.
The school board is expected to choose a new superintendent next week to replace William Hite, who will end his tenure in August to take a position with an educational organization in Cincinnati.
Related videos: Mohip's town halls and meetings with the public, officials, students and parents in the Philadelphia School District Tuesday.
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