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UVa Picks Baltimore City Schools CEO to Feature in “Exploring New Frontiers for K-12 Systems Transformation.” Seriously.

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Sonja Santelises, CEO, Baltimore City Schools Courtesy UVa

by James C. Sherlock

I try to keep up in the field of education.

That led me to read “Exploring New Frontiers for K-12 Systems Transformation” produced by the UVa Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE), a long-existing joint project of the Darden School of Business and the School of Education and Human Development.

I read it hoping to see if perhaps Darden could rub some of the rougher edges off of the uber-progressive ed school and offer some good ideas.

Bad guess.

What I found instead would have passed for a satire on educational journals. Not the Bee could have published it. Only much shorter.

There she was on page 18, Sonja Santelises, smiling out at me on an entire page titled “Expanding High Quality Learning: Baltimore City Schools.”

She has headed up that school district since 2016.

Those are the same Baltimore City Schools which:

There is lots more, but you get the drift.

Mr. Jefferson’s University, perhaps dazzled by Ms. Santelises’ race, did not.

Bottom line.  Baltimore City Schools is a contender for the worst school district in the entire United States.

Yet Ms. Santelises, who the city of Baltimore pays more that $445,000 annually for her leadership, was given an entire page to express her views on “Exploring New Frontiers for K-12 Systems Transformation.”

UVA-PLE has embarrassed itself.  Those otherwise very bright people need to get a clue, or better researchers, or both.

On second thought, Not the Bee might have rejected that story.

Too absurd.

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9 responses to “UVa Picks Baltimore City Schools CEO to Feature in “Exploring New Frontiers for K-12 Systems Transformation.” Seriously.”

  1. Bob X from Texas Avatar
    Bob X from Texas

    Ms. Santelises is growing cannon fodder for the leftist riots coming to your town in 2024.
    People that can’t read, write, do math or know history get very aggressive when they discover they aren’t qualified for anything other than being a section 8 welfare recipient.

    1. how_it_works Avatar
      how_it_works

      Those section 8 waiting lists are years long.

  2. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    Jim, you’ve got this all wrong, Ms Santelises is a subject matter expert in
    “Exploring New Frontiers for K-12 Systems Transformation”. It’s in transforming Baltimore’s schools from not very good to ungodly terrible. What, you thought she was going to transform them to better? Transformation is a two way street. It is not judgemental, it is simply a measure of major change.

    You have unreasonable expectations for approaching a half a million bucks a year. Innumeracy and illiteracy are cheap at that price.

    Since she’s working with UVa, perhaps she will advise Charlottesville on how to make their Charlottesvile High School mess even worse. 30 students roaming the halls and fighting during class time is for pikers. Surely they can increase that to 100 and further destroy the learning environment for the other 1,400 students. Baltimore city schools show what can be accomplished through the concerted efforts of Ms. Santelises and her cohorts.

    1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      I am preparing a series on the destructive relationship between the University of Virginia School of Education and Charlottesville schools.

      It is, unfortunately, an easy walk from the Grounds to Charlottesville Public Schools headquarters.

      Those schools would be far better off if they were 100 miles away from the University rather than right down the street.

      1. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        For the sake of their schools should we move Richmond, Petersburg and Fredericksburg further away to reach 100 miles or Charlottesville? I personally vote for moving Charlottesville to the Valley on the other side of Afton mountain. That would be a physical barrier to infection. Someplace near Fishersville or Staunton might be nice.

      2. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        I am looking forward to that series, and for your assessment of the mess at CHS that has seemingly awakened the school board and system from its woke slumber. It has at least gotten their attention.
        https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wokeness-as-social-disease-charlottesville-schools-edition/#more-118077

        For the sake of their schools should we move Richmond, Petersburg and Fredericksburg further away to reach 100 miles or UVa?

        I personally vote for moving UVa to the Valley on the other side of Afton mountain. That would add a physical barrier to infection. Colocating UVa in Fishersville with the Woodrow Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center would be therapeutic for UVa and give Woody Wilson an infinite local pool of disabilities to train on. That is not far from the I64-I81 interchange which would retain the familiarity of the Rt29-I64 congestion UVa/C’ville has grown to know and love. Seems like a win, win, win.

  3. Nathan Avatar
    Nathan

    “Yet Ms. Santelises, who the city of Baltimore pays more that $445,000 for her leadership,…”

    Mr. Sherlock,

    The city of Baltimore doesn’t “pay” Ms. Santelises $445,000 per year. The city of Baltimore “invests” $445,000 annually in her leadership.

    Whenever the left pisses away money on something worthless, or counterproductive, it’s called an “investment”, not an expense.

    1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      I stand corrected. That change should be in spell check.

  4. William Chambliss Avatar
    William Chambliss

    James, you forgot to report two very important points:

    1. Prior to 2016, Baltimore City Schools were among the best in the nation, with an unbroken record of success dating to the 1950s.

    2. Little-known fact is that the COVID pandemic totally bypassed Baltimore City.

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