AT CLARK STREET The Office of High School Development has been reorganized again. Sandra Fontanez-Phelan has been promoted from manager to director of high school design and support. She succeeds Edward T. Klunk, who was named deputy officer, high school cluster north, a new position. Powhatan Collins, former deputy officer of the Office of High School Development, was named deputy officer, high school cluster south. Wilfredo Ortiz is the top high school official. Klunk had been principal of Amundsen; Collins, of Whitney Young; and Ortiz, of Curie. … Georgette Hamilton has been promoted from manager to director of risk and benefits management. She succeeds Cynthia Asghar, who now is the district’s deputy chief fiscal officer. Asghar succeeds Chuck Burbridge, who has left CPS.
PRINCIPAL APPOINTMENTS Rita Stasi, a teacher at Corkery, has received a principal contract for that school. Judith J. Adams, assistant principal at Jefferson, and Christine Ogilvie, assistant principal at Warren, have become contract principals at their schools. Learna Brewer-Baker, assistant principal at Collins High, has been appointed interim principal at Austin High, succeeding Arthur Slater, who is now an administrator in Region 3. Interim principals Miguel Trujillo at Roosevelt High and Rayna Murphy at Burnside Elementary have received four-year contracts. Ron Beavers, former director of truancy prevention, has been appointed interim principal at Chicago Vocational Career Academy. He is the fourth interim principal since Betty Despenza-Green retired last April.
RETIREMENTS Principals who are retiring: Myrtle Kelly Burton-Sahara, Locke; Jessie L. Butts, Lovett; Terrence J. Murray, Garvy; Therese B. McManamon, Peterson; Ronald K. Clayton, Walsh.
TUNNEY CHALLENGE Another contest is in the offing for president of the Chicago Association of Principals and Administrators (CPAA). “We need a change in leadership,” says Clarice Jackson-Berry, principal of Fiske and a CPAA governing board member since 1990. While Jackson-Berry generally is considered to be a candidate, she says she will not comment until March on whether she is running. The election will be held in May. Beverly Tunney, who became full-time president of the association in 1993, has faced opposition only once, in 1998. That year, she was forced to run as the challenger after poor attendance at a nominating committee meeting put control of the committee into the hands of a group that was unhappy with her leadership. Tunney won by a “landslide,” according to a spokesperson. To run, candidates either must win the backing of the nominating committee or get 50 members to sign a petition.
NEW CHARTER GROUP Greg Richmond, director of the CPS charter school office, has created the National Association of Charter School Authorizers to increase communication among the administrators from school districts, universities, state agencies and other institutions that grant charters. In most places, these individuals operate in isolation from the broader education community, he says. The association’s goal, he says, is to promote the creation and operation of quality charter schools that will test new school designs as well as offer greater educational opportunities. So far it has 500 members. Richmond is founder and president of the association.
STUDENTS SALUTE TEACHERS Freshmen at St. Ignatius College Prep selected 40 of their elementary and middle-grade teachers for special recognition; the teachers were saluted for their professionalism, caring and enthusiasm. They included six CPS teachers: Ted Bartlett, Lincoln Elementary; Brigid Cashman, Edison Regional Gifted Center; Luba Markewycz, LaSalle Language Academy; Patrick Brian, Morgan Park High School; Ellse Mooney, Murray Language Academy; and Betty Morley, Lenart Regional Gifted Center.
LSC TRAINING DAY The Chicago School Leadership Cooperative has organized a day of free LSC training on Dec. 9. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the University of Illinois, College of Education, 1040 W. Harrison. It will include required and supplemental topics, including lessons on LSC effectiveness and improving educational quality. LSC members joining councils for the first time since spring are required to complete 18 hours of training by the end of the year or face dismissal. Participants should bring their lunch. Pre-registration is not required but recommended. For more information, call (312) 499-4800.