Post last updated at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7:
Lawrence school board President Kelly Jones on Wednesday announced the board’s selection of Jeanice Swift as interim superintendent.
Swift has been working as a consultant since January, according to the district.
“A 36-year veteran educator, Dr. Swift has served as an educational leadership consultant since January, supporting PreK-12 education leaders, leadership teams, and board trustees,” according to a news release from the district last week. “She previously served the Ann Arbor Public Schools as superintendent for over a decade. In Colorado Springs School District 11, she served as assistant superintendent, executive director, principal, assistant principal, resource coach, and secondary English and Spanish teacher for 15 years. She also taught ten years in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford School District in Texas. Dr. Swift earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, her master’s at the University of Colorado, and a doctorate at the University of Denver.”
“… In the Ann Arbor schools, Swift’s equity-centered leadership focused on student opportunities and achievement, fiscal responsibility, and community engagement,” the release continued. “The district made noteworthy gains in student outcomes, particularly among traditionally underserved students. Improvements included increases in graduation rates among vulnerable students, reductions in disciplinary rates, as well as a continued focus on improving support for all students.”
Swift was one of two external candidates the board was considering for the interim job. Both of them had some controversy in their last superintendent jobs.
WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit reported that a former school bus aide for the transportation services company for Ann Arbor Public Schools was convicted for repeatedly slapping a second grader “while he was in an illegally used restraint harness.” The child’s mother said she was kept in the dark for five weeks even though other students reported the abuse to their teachers and social workers.
Close to 100 parents in the district signed a letter that called for Swift’s resignation and said special education families didn’t feel safe in the district. “The letter also references allegations of ‘a racially hostile environment in our schools’ and concerns about ‘an overall lack of leadership in addressing antisemitic incidents,’” WXYZ reported.
In September 2023, the Ann Arbor school board voted 5-2 to approve a resignation agreement with Swift.
Swift, reached via email, said that “In our schools, we hold the safety and care of our students as our top priority, rising even above the critical mission of teaching and learning, and we take very seriously any report or incident of harm to a child. An incident of this nature is abhorrent and runs counter to everything I have worked for over a career dedicated to serving children in schools, as well as what our teams, schools and communities stand for in the care and education of our children.”
“The proven facts in the situation referenced include: Most unfortunately, an incident of child abuse occurred on a bus route in the AAPS in December 2020; the individual who committed this offense, a bus aide who was an employee of the transportation services company, was removed from duty, terminated from employment, charged, adjudicated, and served a jail sentence for the offense,” Swift continued.
She said she understands that “levels of concern rise for all of us when we hear of an incident like this.”
“I especially understand the level of concern among parents of students with specialized needs, and look forward, if given the opportunity in Lawrence, to opening and continuing conversations with our parents of students with special needs, to listen, to assure of the excellent work in place to serve students, and to address any questions or concerns as they arise,” Swift said.
She said a lawsuit was filed in federal court last summer, and because of the ongoing litigation, “we are not able to comment more specifically on particular details and allegations; more importantly, this child and family are entitled to their privacy.”
“… It is important to note that details of merit in this case will be thoroughly tested in court as a part of the ongoing litigation process,” she said.
The lawsuit — filed against the entire Ann Arbor school district, the principal of the elementary school the second grader attended, and the transportation company — alleges that in addition to the child’s mother, the district did not notify law enforcement or Child Protective Services of the incident for five weeks, “contrary to mandatory documentation and reporting laws.”
“Defendants ignored and concealed reports of the abuse from other children on the bus based on stereotypes that children with disabilities are ‘bad’ kids who are unreliable and poorly behaved,” the lawsuit alleges. “(Ann Arbor Public Schools, the school principal and the transportation company) placed every single child on the bus in danger each day (the bus aide) remained on the bus in December and January.”
Jones said last week that the board was aware of all finalist candidates’ histories.
“The board knows about each educator’s personal background and professional records of success in their previous school districts,” Jones said via email. “We have had candid conversations with each finalist about their strengths, challenges faced, lessons learned, and areas they desire to improve as public education leaders.”
Larry Englebrick, recently promoted from the Lawrence school district’s chief operations officer to the deputy superintendent role, was also being considered as a finalist.
“I see working with Dr. Swift as a tremendous opportunity for all of us,” Englebrick said in Wednesday’s release. “She brings a wealth of knowledge of systems design and improvement strategies from her previous roles. I look forward to supporting her in the continuous improvement of our district.”
Emerson Hoffzales, president of the district’s teachers union, Lawrence Education Association, wrote in a statement on social media Wednesday that a committee of eight LEA members conducted interviews with each candidate, and Swift’s advocacy and drive to support educators stood out.
“Dr. Swift was a dedicated union member and advocated for members while she was superintendent and incorporated NEA’s Blended-Learning program with educators,” they wrote in the post. “We see promise in her abilities to communicate with LEA and work alongside us to advocate for quality working conditions. Her ability to create innovative solutions to budget constraints with limited state funding shows that she will come in with ideas to help us without taking money or resources away from the students. We need her creative thought process to help guide our efforts to adding elementary plan time and increasing our wages.”
Members of the community can meet Swift during the Kids Expo from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and at a meet and greet at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12, before the board’s 6 p.m. meeting, both at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive, according to the release.
“Dr. Swift’s appointment marks a new chapter for our district,” Jones said in Wednesday’s news release. “We are optimistic about her contributions and leadership during this interim period and are hopeful for Lawrence Public Schools under her guidance. We are confident that she will prioritize student and family engagement, improve our instructional and curriculum strategies, and advocate for competitive base wages for our teachers and staff.”
Swift plans to visit schools during the first week of school and will officially begin her employment on Friday, Aug. 30, according to the release.
Superintendent Anthony Lewis’ last day will be Friday, Aug. 9. He was selected to lead Durham, North Carolina public schools.
The board plans for the interim superintendent to serve for the 2024-25 school year while they search for the permanent superintendent, to start with the 2025-26 year.
By October, the board hopes to have selected a consulting firm to help with the search, and Jones said last month that there were four or five firms on her radar. They’ll go through an interview process before one is hired.
Then, between November and March, the search firm and the board will seek out the next permanent superintendent with community engagement, the board agreed.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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