[pathways-teach] Carmen's picks for deputy chancellor-- Dorita Gibson

From: Marjorie Stamberg <marjoriestamberg@xxxxxxxxx>
To: pathways-teach@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 07:16:36 -0500
What do we know about Ms. Gibson?  She was formerly an administrator
in D79, apparently.


This news comes from "Chalkbeat," formely called "Gotham News."

Fariña promotes longtime principal, Bloomberg-era deputy to top posts

by Philissa Cramer on January 29, 2014


Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña promoted a Bloomberg-era official and
plucked a longtime principal from his Brooklyn school today as she
began to fill out the Department of Education's inner circle.

Dorita Gibson, previously the deputy chancellor for equity and access,
will be Fariña's second in command, the Department of Education
announced today. In her previous position, Gibson supervised the
department's system of alternative schools and its work with the
Bloomberg administration's Young Men's Initiative, and launched new
programs to diversify selective high schools.

Phil Weinberg, principal of the High School of Telecommunication Arts
and Technology, is the department's new deputy chancellor for teaching
and learning. That position, which Fariña herself held a decade ago,
disappeared in 2010 when the department dissolved its division of
teaching and learning.

Weinberg has chosen the city's former gifted education chief, Anna
Commitante, to be his top deputy. Commitante had been working as a
deputy in one of the department's five "clusters," providing
instructional support to dozens of schools.

Together, the three appointments offer the clearest picture yet about
Fariña's priorities. All three of the new hires have been in the
system for decades and have been teachers and principals in the school
system.

Gibson has served at almost every level of school leadership, starting
as a teacher in Queens and serving as a principal, regional
superintendent and deputy superintendent. Her appointment as senior
deputy chancellor also signals that Fariña doesn't intend to purge
some Bloomberg-era policies and appointees from the department.

"We've done such great work in the last 11, 12 years of this
administration. We have great schools. We have great programs," Gibson
told Chalkbeat in August. "But how do we as a school system make sure
that all of our kids, regardless of their color and socioeconomic
background, succeed in these programs?"

Weinberg has served as the principal at Telecommunication since 2001,
the school where he started his career as an English teacher in 1986,
according to a New York Times story highlighting his longevity as a
principal.

Weinberg has also voiced concerns about the new teacher evaluation
system, which he said put too much faith in data, rather than
principals' judgment. "Newly necessary distractions like marketing and
fund-raising and data analysis may have seemed more important than
getting into classrooms and working with teachers on how to plan
lessons and ask questions," he wrote in 2012.

From the city's press release.

CHANCELLOR FARIÑA ANNOUNCES NEW APPOINTMENTS AT DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION HEADQUARTERS

Veteran Educators to Lead Tweed into a New Era of School Support

New Leadership Will Renew Emphasis on Improving Instruction to Enhance Learning

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña today announced new members of her
leadership team at Department of Education (DOE) headquarters. Dorita
Gibson, previously the Deputy Chancellor for Equity and Access, will
assume the role of Senior Deputy Chancellor and the Chancellor's
second in command. With more than 30 years experience in the public
school system, Dr. Gibson has served as a teacher, assistant
principal, principal, regional and supervising superintendent, and
Deputy Chancellor. In this new and expanded role, she will oversee all
aspects of school support, Cluster and Network management,
superintendents, support for struggling schools, District 79 programs,
and school communications.

As head of Equity and Access under Chancellor Walcott, Deputy
Chancellor Gibson oversaw District 79, a citywide network of over 300
alternative schools and programs serving over-age, under-credited
youth; the Office of Adult and Continuing Education; and the
Department's Young Men's Initiative work. She created the DREAM-SHSI
program, which helps low-income middle school students develop skills
for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, as well as the
Summer Quest program, which provides students with summer learning
opportunities aimed at closing the achievement gap. As she moves into
the Department's number two role, Dr. Gibson will bring her
considerable expertise in expanding opportunities for underserved
school communities.
[pathways-teach] Carmen's picks for deputy chancellor-- Dorita Gibson

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