Broadway Elementary School stood at the corner of Girard and West Broadway in north Minneapolis, and it was there, in 1996, that a former University of Minnesota student began her education career.
Flash forward to Feb. 5, 2024 to the same corner.
Instead of an elementary school, the John B. Davis Education Service Center now stands, and that same woman came there for her first day as Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent.
“To come back as superintendent, I never would have imagined that,” said Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams. “Never. Not at all.”
Dr. Sayles-Adams was hired to replace Ed Graff, who left in the middle of last year after his contract expired.
After teaching eight years in Minneapolis, Dr. Sayles-Adams became a principal in Georgia, then came back to the Twin Cities as an assistant superintendent in St. Paul.
She was superintendent of Eastern Carver County Schools when she got the new job, and instead of waiting for a new school year to start, she got on board as fast as she could.
“One of the benefits of starting now is an opportunity to get into the buildings when we actually have students in the buildings, and we have staff in the buildings,” she said. “It’s nice to see how Minneapolis works.”
And now the process starts, with Dr. Sayles-Adams setting aside the next 100 days to talk with everyone involved with the education process.
“Doing a lot listening, a ton of learning,” she said. “After the learning piece, there will be some evaluation.”
She said she was able to ask the teachers what they would do on their first day if they had been hired as superintendent.
So, what did she do this past Monday?
“I showed up to work, and I was excited,” she said, admitting her first followed an almost-sleepless night.
“I wanted to make sure I had my first-day-of-school outfit on.”
Some of the hard stuff begins during week two, when Dr. Sayles-Adams meets with four committees that have been working on the district’s budget.
“They are going to share some of those recommendations with me, in addition to (teacher contract) negotiations, I am getting updated as well.”