PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Tony Watlington was officially sworn in as superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia Thursday morning, overseeing the education of 200,000 students.
Watlington, who rose from being a bus driver and custodian during a 27-year educational career in North Carolina, succeeds William Hite, who served as Philadelphia’s schools chief for the last decade.
The Board of Education chose Watlington in April, under a five-year contract.
Ever since he was introduced as the city’s new superintendent, Watlington has been spending a few days each week in Philadelphia.
“I’ve been very busy since April 1, commuting from North Carolina to Philadelphia,” he said. “I’ve been meeting with the Board of Education, both as a group and individually. I’ve met with City Council members, a few community members, a few grassroots organizations.
"I’ve been able to visit some schools and talk directly with some students and principals and a few teachers. And it’s been time very well spent.”
Related
Watlington, 52, will spend his first summer in Philadelphia listening to what the city has to say about the state of its school system.
“The first 100 days, I’ll have some key priority areas that I’m focused on,” he explained. “I will be out in the community, various parts of the city. I’ll spend some time doing Zoom meetings. I’ll spend some time doing small group, more focused group type of meetings.
“At the conclusion of that 100-day listening and learning tour, we will provide specific findings and recommendations that will inform the development of a specific, aggressive, five-year strategic plan.”
In an interview with KYW Newsradio, Watlington said his plan centers on five areas:
Related
Assessing student and staff well-being: “It’s really important that students and staff are well. We want to assess their physical health, their mental health. And also, have attention to issues of violence in the city and its impact on the school district and our students and our staff.”
Rebuilding trust: “In order to build trust, I have to first listen, and I’ve got to listen to understand the needs, the concerns, the aspirations for the school district that will help me to begin to understand: What do our community members think that the school district does well? And, what are the areas that this community thinks we need to make significant improvements? I want to really focus on building trust, so I’ll be very visible across the city in that regard.”
Assessing teaching and learning: “What does our curriculum look like? What kind of support are we providing to teachers so that they can deliver the curriculum in a way that all students master grade-level standards in literacy, mathematics, and in a robust career and technical education curriculum?”
Evaluating district leadership: “To what extent do we have really competent, effective leaders at all levels in the school district? And, how will we organize? And, what does that our organizational structure say about the extent to which we will achieve the board’s goals and guardrails sooner rather than later?”
Taking stock of district facilities, finances and operations: “A huge order in and of itself.” Watlington is planning more than 80 listening and learning sessions throughout Philadelphia in his first 100 days.
Related
School board confirmations postponed
The school district has a new superintendent, but it will have to wait at least another week to get a full school board. City Council on Thursday delayed a vote to confirm two new members to the Philadelphia Board of Education, nominated by Mayor Jim Kenney, after two councilmembers complained about the selection process.
They also said the Board has been unresponsive to Council requests for information. Sponsor of the resolution to confirm the new board members, Maria Quinones Sanchez, said she did not want to put confirmation off for too long but would hold the bill until next week.
Sarah-Ashley Andrews and Chau Wing Lam were nominated after a lengthy process to fill the seats of two board members who resigned.
Registration and a calendar of events are available at philasd.org/100days.