KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo Public Schools may have a new Superintendent.
On Wednesday night the Board of Trustees unanimously declared themselves members of “Team Rita,” voting to open negotiations with Dr. Rituparna Raichoudhuri.
Dr. Raichoudhuri is the Executive Director of Early College and Career Education at Chicago Public Schools. She was chosen after the board interviewed their second finalist, Dr. Efe Agbamu, hours before their vote.
Dr. Efe Agbamu, who is the Assistant Superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools in Minnesota, toured the district earlier and told trustees that she was very impressed with the staff. “The commitment and the dedication to students was just amazing and very very fascinating to see such loyalty and such passion,” Dr. Agbamu said.
But in the end, board members were much more impressed with the detailed answers they got from Dr. Raichoudhuri during her interview process on Monday, and respected her process-oriented approach to dealing with challenges.
Raichoudhuri explained her process as, “Phase one is listening and learning, phase two is planning, and phase three is implementing and evaluating.”
While touring the district she also said that while class sizes were larger than she was used to in Chicago, she was impressed by how engaged the students were in the learning experience and amazed by how clean the hallways were.
Throughout the entire search, KPS Board President Patti Sholler-Barber says they received over three dozen applications. “We are honored to serve as representatives of the people and we consider the duty of hiring the superintendent to be the most important work we’ll ever do,” Sholler-Barber said.
Trustees noted that Raichoudhuri’s experience in career and vocational education would come in handy as the county embarks on the creation of a new vocational education center just approved by voters.
The board voted to open contract negotiations with Dr. Rita and if they are successful, she would start at the beginning on the next school year, July 1st.
The Board plans to hold a news conference and will present their new top administrator to the community after the contract is signed.
The new superintendent comes after former KPS superintendent Dr. Michael Rice was named the Michigan State Superintendent of Education back in May.
Below is a short bio of Dr. Raichoudhuri:
- Dr. Raichoudhuri is the Executive Director of Early College & Career Education at Chicago Public Schools in Illinois. She has a Doctorate Degree in Urban Education Leadership and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Raichoudhuri’s educational career has spanned 16 years including classroom teaching, building level principal and central office roles.
More information about the entire selection process can be found here.
