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The Springfield News-Sun digs into important stories about your schools, including recent coverage of an expansion at the Global Impact STEM Academy and school report card results.
Former Springfield City Schools Superintendent David Estrop is one of eight finalists being interviewed to be the next leader of Ohio’s public schools.
Out of 44 applicants, the State Board of Education will interview five candidates recommended by consulting firm Ray and Associates, as well as three others, including Estrop.
Estrop retired in 2015 after six years leading the Springfield district. He’s since formed a consulting business, Estrop Consulting.
The state superintendent post came open Jan. 1 when Richard Ross resigned after nearly three years on the job. The state superintendent is the CEO of the Ohio Department of Education.
Interviews will take place May 9 to 11.
“I’m honored obviously, and humbled, by the fact that the state board of education chose to put me among the final eight,” Estrop said.
He sees the biggest challenge for the next state superintendent will be sorting out programs that are working counter-productive to each other.
“There have been a lot of changes in education over the last several years, and some of those changes have come in bits and pieces, not a comprehensive package,” he said. “Which means that in some cases you have programs in which the state is investing a lot of money that are working counter productively with other programs that the state is spending millions on.”
That has lead to a lot of frustration for school districts that don’t know which direction they are supposed to be moving, Estrop said, especially as standards keep changing.
Another priority is early childhood education. Springfield has rapidly expanded its preschool program under Estrop’s leadership and he believes funding for preschool and full-day kindergarten is vital to increasing student achievement.
“There is an obvious strong correlation between the amount of poverty and student achievement,” he said. “One of the issues the state of Ohio has to address is the whole issue of preschool, particularly in the urban areas, particularly in areas of poverty. Because we need to help those children get off to a very good start.”
The other candidates to be interviewed are:
- Robert Sommers, a former education adviser to Ohio Gov. John Kasich and CEO of Carpe Diem Learning Systems.
- Paolo DeMaria, a former state budget director and chief policy adviser to former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, now an education consultant.
- Michael Sentance, education consultant and former senior education adviser to two governors of Massachusetts.
- Shonda Hardman, former head of the Houston school system who has also been a school administrator in Boston and Chicago.
- Thomas Lasley, executive director of Learn to Earn Dayton and a former dean at the University of Dayton.
- Tina Thomas-Manning, superintendent of Reynoldsburg City Schools.
- Thomas Jandris, senior vice president and dean at Concordia University of Chicago.
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