New MPS superintendent Brenda Cassellius talks challenges, urgency

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Public Schools' incoming superintendent said there's an urgency to fix the district's many problems. FOX6 News questioned Brenda Cassellius on a number of challenges the district faces. Here's what she had to say.

On workplace culture

The backstory:

An independent audit released Thursday said MPS had "a longstanding culture of fear and reluctance to change, compounded by high turnover across the organization and recruitment challenges, have stalled or altogether prevented change-making efforts."

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What they're saying:

"You bring the joy. You bring the bring the love and caring, even when I had to let people go or move people in different positions because it's a better fit for their expertise. You know, those are difficult. Those are just difficult management issues," said Cassellius. "But, you know, you do that in in concert with the employees. And so you want to be able to ensure that you're always being respectful of people and how and the time and service that they've provided the children."

On vacancies

The backstory:

Cassellius said vacancies are a challenge, but she said, since she won the job, she's been getting calls from colleagues who might want to work at MPS. She suggested using a hiring panel to help.

What they're saying:

"One big heavy lift is going to be going through all of the job descriptions in the roles of the district, so that there's not this duplication. So that people are clear on what their expectations are," she said. "I believe that sometimes new leadership can inspire people to new levels of expectation."

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On facilities

The backstory:

The school district's required financial reporting to the state was more than a year late. The former superintendent resigned during the crisis. Then, the Milwaukee Health Department recently found dangerously high levels of lead in a couple of schools.

What they're saying:

"I feel this tremendous amount of urgency to get to it. You know, we have the lead issue and, you know, wanting to work with the city on that. Obviously, that relates then to the overall larger facilities issue," said Cassellius. "There's strategic planning with the board that is in the audit. So getting some of those initial conversations and listening sessions going would be really nice to be able to do with the community, so that we can hear directly from them and start building those relationships and start rebuilding trust."

On national report card

The backstory:

MPS' national report card shows only 8% of eighth-graders are proficient in math, and 15% are proficient in reading.

What they're saying:

"It’ll be rare that you hear me talk about children only, because children don’t just come to us as just children. They come with whole systems of support. Or, unfortunately, some children come to us with very limited systems of support," Cassellius said. "It’s up to us, as adults, to create the conditions in which children succeed. And it’s up to us to be sure that they have everything that they need or that their family needs in order to create stability, so they can succeed."

On school resource officers

The backstory:

The school district has also failed to bring in the 25 school resource officers that state law required to start in January 2024.

What they're saying:

"I do want to say that I know that in earnest the team is working hard to get these agreements with the city. And I think the city is also there at the table in earnest. So I'm hoping that they come with some agreements," said Cassellius. "What's more important to me as the new superintendent coming in is going to be how are they reintroduced to the communities that they're serving, and how are we going to be interacting with our current 260 school safety officers within our schools and our school administrative teams.

"I like to meet deadlines, and I always do. So that's something that just really matters when you have something. Obviously, I was the commissioner of education. So we had a lot of deadlines."

On school closings, mergers

The backstory:

As Milwaukee Public Schools deals with declining enrollment, leaders have said school mergers or closures weren't just a possibility – they were probable.

What they're saying:

"I went out to all 125 schools within the first 100 days (in Boston). Now, that nearly killed me. So I'm not sure I can do that, but I'm definitely going to go walk our school buildings and get a good sense of what the buildings are like, because, of course, this decision is more, you know, it's one about the economics of it overall, and underutilization of buildings," Cassellius said. "Then it's about enrollment, and what is predicted around the enrollments within that community. And then it's about academics, and how are the students actually doing at the building? And then it's about what's the condition of the building. So you need to look at all of those data points."

On criticism

The backstory:

Cassellius faced some criticism about her time as superintendent in Boston. Here's what she said about that and what's next.

What they're saying:

"You know, I think that anytime you're going into a turnaround situation, you will be criticized as a superintendent," she said. "When you start moving people's cheese, it's not easy. And it is hard. It's just really, really hard work to be able to crank that flywheel. And it means that sometimes people don't agree with your policies, or they don't agree with, you know, the way that you've restructured. 

What's next

What's next:

MPS expects that the new superintendent's contract will start July 1. The incoming superintendent said she'll be in town next week. She still has to finish negotiating her contract, including her exact start day.

"It may take a few years, and I hope we’ll see some quick results and some quick wins, but I know this work is going to be hard," she said.

Cassellius said one of those early quick wins will be listening sessions to hear from the community.

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