MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After nearly a year of waiting following the Memphis-Shelby County School Board's decision to delay the search for the district's next superintendent, new semi-finalists for the permanent role were announced Friday - including two names from the previous list of finalists.
MSCS announced Dr. Yolanda Brown, Dr. Cheryl Proctor, Dr. Marie N. Feagins, Dr. Carlton Jenkins, and current MSCS deputy superintendent Dr. Angela Whitelaw, as semi-finalists in the superintendent search.
The district also said they are interviewing each candidate live, which you can watch HERE.
Jenkins, who is the former superintendent of the Madison, Wisconsin, Metropolitan School District, and Whitelaw were previously named finalists in April, when the MSCS school board delayed the search over "concerns" with search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates' (HYA) process.
"While we believe all of the proposed finalists are viable, we must have a level of confidence that they are truly the best for this critical role," MSCS Board Chair Althea Greene said in April.
Dr. Yolanda Brown, the chief academic officer for Atlanta Public Schools, will be interviewed first at 10:30 a.m. Friday. She'll be followed by Dr. Cheryl Proctor, the deputy superintendent of instruction and school communities at Portland Public Schools in Oregon, at 11:45 a.m.
Dr. Marie Feagins, chief of high schools and leadership development at Detroit Public Schools, will be interviewed at 1:45 p.m. Jenkins and Whitelaw will be interviewed at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
Superintendent search controversy
The district's original finalists included Jenkins, Dr. Brenda Cassellius, the superintendent of Boston Public Schools, and MSCS interim Superintendent Toni Williams. Whitelaw was named a finalist when Cassellius dropped out of the running three days after she was announced a finalist.
Williams was the most controversial of these finalists, as the MSCS board said earlier in the search she had "no desire" for the role, wanting only to serve as the interim.
MSCS school board members said in June they wouldn't have the job filled by the start of the school year in August, after missing their initial self-imposed deadline to have the position filled by May.
The President of the United Education Association of Shelby County, Danette Stokes, spoke on behalf of the district's educators, and to say the least, they're fed up.
"That is unacceptable, and it is totally out of order, because you had almost a year to get a superintendent in place," Stokes said. "The things they're doing now should've been done in September. They should've been having a retreat in September, October, November, December of last year."
MSCS Board Vice Chair Sheleah Harris then announced during a board meeting in June she was stepping down as an elected member of the board after three years on the job. She referenced the superintendent search as the reason why.
"This is the highest level of ignorance I've ever been a part of, and for my own health, I just can't be a part of it anymore," Harris said in front of the Board.
The Board released a statement at the time:
We've heard the community concerns regarding the MSCS Super Search: better define the candidate selection process, answer unanswered policy questions and get this right for the benefit of all, especially our children. Rather than stopping the search, we will temporarily pause to allow the time and attention necessary to complete the required tasks. This must be thoughtfully done to instill community confidence in the person chosen to lead Memphis and Shelby County Schools.
The website for the district's "Super Search," MSCS's effort to involve the community through town halls, question-and-answer sessions and community feedback sessions on what they wanted from a superintendent, has been taken down, and the district maintains news updates about the search on their website. The most recent update before Friday's live interviews was Nov. 7.
Interim Superintendent Toni Williams took over the role in September, 2022, after former Superintendent Joris Ray resigned in August amid a misconduct scandal.