Deray McKesson Named Chief Human Capital Officer for BCPSS - Entrepreneur Generations

In a move that, for me, was as surprising as his last-minute entry into the Baltimore mayoral race, internationally-known Civil Rights Activist Deray McKesson has been named Chief Human Capital Officer for Baltimore City Public Schools a couple of days ago. He, as well as Dr. Sonja Santelises (my take on her hire here) started his new position today.

Besides being a prominent Black Lives Matter activist, McKesson is an educator. For Minnesota Public Schools, he served as the Interim Director of Talent Acquisition, designed and implemented the school leader hiring model, and reformed district hiring processes, resulting in a significant increase in applicants and early teacher hires (that's from his LinkedIn page). Before that, he spent two-and-a-half years working as the Special Assistant for Human Capital in Baltimore City Public Schools, managing day-to-day affairs in the office. Even before that, he spent a year as a manager for the New Teacher Project, and of course spent two years as a 6th grade teacher in Brooklyn in the Teach for America program.

McKesson is definitely qualified for the position, despite what the racists say in the comments threads of any news story you see about the hire. I also don't have a problem with his $165,000 salary; as a cabinet member of the BCPSS, one of the highest of the higher-ups at North Avenue, he should be making more than principals (whose salaries can top out at around $120K) and teachers (whose salaries can top out at around $90-100K), and less than Dr. Santelises (who will be making $298K). It's also important to note that McKesson has only been named the interim director; there will be a nationwide search during the school year.

Now, is he the right hire? If you ask 10 teachers for their opinions on Deray McKesson, you will likely get 10 different opinions. Some find him to be one of the smartest people they've interacted with in education; they hang on his words and see a smart, experienced, and dynamic mind working through issues in education. Others see him as a "typical TFA alum," someone who spends two years in the classroom and immediately moves into administration, away from the real work that happens in classrooms. Others had positive and professional mentoring interactions with him here in the Baltimore City Public Schools, when he was working in a leadership capacity for Baltimore City Teacher Residency program; others in the same program have told me that he felt anti-teacher to them. Others think he is anti-union, or pro-teacher performance pay. Still others think he is doing this position for the money, or the fame, or for the resume building for another mayoral run. Opinions are all over the board.

My own take on DeRay McKesson's hire is of cautious optimism. There has been no office that has caused more frustration for Baltimore City teachers than the Human Capital office. A countless number of my colleagues have groused about certification problems originating in the office, or lost paperwork, or of lack of communication. My certification expires in 2017, and, while I'm busily getting credits and saving paperwork, I am dreading my upcoming experience with the Human Capital Office.

DeRay McKesson gives this office a face. In fact, would argue that he gives the entire BCPSS headquarters a public face. He is active on Twitter and Facebook. He responds and engages with followers. If the Office of Human Capital continues to be difficult to navigate, he provides a very public synecdoche for the office and even the building. If I have a problem with my certification, I'm probably going to tweet @DeRay. There will be a big spotlight on him and the office.

Secondly, I've never met DeRay McKesson (we wore our vests, but my friend/colleague and I were too shy to ask for a photo after one of the Baltimore mayoral debates this year), but I respect him and, hearing him in a couple of debates and reading some of his writings, I know he's smart and reflective. BCPSS could use more intelligent and thoughtful people, and, combined with his experience in education and his years in the BCPSS headquarters building, his hiring has the potential to have a significant positive impact on city schools, at least in the short term.

Lastly, I have respect for McKesson, the prominent Black Lives Matter activist, in engaging within the offices that can bring change, and perhaps extending or building off of his protesting. Protesting is certainly important to every change our country has undergone, but his move into the mayoral race seemed to be a move to bring BLM into mainstream politics, and his joining of the BCPSS feels like this, too. It's only a week or so since BLM in San Francisco dropped out of marshaling the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade because of increased policing in the wake of the Orlando Massacre. I think the extra police at a Pride parade after a horrific massacre of gay people and at least one attempted copycat at a different gay pride event was probably prudent, so that move struck me as a desire for purity rather than furthering their progressive activism, and I think that hurts the movement. Deray's ambition to bring his BLM ethos into positions of political power (the mayor's office, the BCPSS cabinet) serves as a pathway for the movement to carry through change within the institutions that need it the most. 

That's my optimistic take on it, at least. It could be that Deray McKesson will only be in the job for six months and won't make a huge impact. But it could also mean some real change to an office and a headquarters that needs it. Whatever it is, I'll be rooting for him, and for our district, and for our students.

from Epiphany in Baltimore http://ift.tt/29iCTxf Deray McKesson Named Chief Human Capital Officer for BCPSS - Entrepreneur Generations

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