Life After Green

At the end of June, Dr. Stephen Green, superintendent of the Kansas City Missouri School District, plans to leave for another job offer in Atlanta —superintendent at the DeKalb County School District. Mike Shanin interviewed Green on “Ruckus” about this departure and what the transition to a new superintendent will look like. Green is optimistic that his exit will not negatively effect the district.

“The infrastructure that’s been built here is built to sustain the district. It is no longer “superintendent dependent,” so to speak. I think that protecting and preserving and enhancing, building on the structure we put in place over the last four years, will sustain the district going forward,” Green said.

Green has said the reason for his departure is family. He has two children and three grandchildren in Atlanta, so the move will bring them all closer together.

In Green’s tenure, the district has seen some noticeable improvements. For instance, under Green, the district went from an unaccredited status to partial accreditation. Green even seemed to suggest that there is hope for full accreditation before he leaves.

“We are very, very optimistic that we will have enough points [from test scores] to make a claim for full accreditation this year,” Green said.

This does not impress everyone on the “Ruckus” panel, however.

“If you look at the history of this district, it has been accredited, unaccredited, accredited, unaccredited. But if you look at one thing that has been constant, it’s kids are not being educated,” President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, Gwen Grant, said.

The DeKalb District’s 100,000 students is a big increase from the Kansas City District’s 14,700, and with it Green is likely to gain a considerable salary increase. But as Grant has stated, even with the developments made under Green’s tenure, the district still has a lot of room for improvement.

Check out “Ruckus” for more information regarding Dr. Green’s departure and other news, and catch “Ruckus” on KCPT every Thursday at 7 p.m.