School & District Management

Maverick Streak

By Lesli A. Maxwell — June 20, 2006 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

See Also

Return to the main story,

Challenging the Status Quo

Read the other story profiles:

Answered Prayer

Historic First

Into the Fray

Position: Superintendent, Pittsburgh public schools, since July 2005

Former jobs: Managing director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education; member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Pittsburgh: Mark Roosevelt, a former Democratic state lawmaker in Massachusetts, is using his political skills to shake up the Pennsylvania school district.
—Photo by Jason Cohn for Education Week

Pittsburgh: Mark Roosevelt, a former Democratic state lawmaker in Massachusetts, is using his political skills to shake up the Pennsylvania school district.

Broad Superintendents Academy, 2003

Mark Roosevelt is a skilled politician, at ease in the media fishbowl. His maverick streak runs deep—his great-grandfather was President Theodore Roosevelt.

Perhaps that explains why this former state lawmaker and one-time Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts has had no qualms about shaking up the Pittsburgh school system in his rookie year as a superintendent.

In just 10 months, Mr. Roosevelt, a 50-year-old Harvard University-educated lawyer, pushed through a plan to close 22 schools. He negotiated an overdue contract with the teachers’ union, and, in May, he announced a strategy to raise achievement, especially among African-American students.

He has aggressively pursued his initiatives despite a fractious school board that did not unanimously support his appointment. Viewing his outsider status as an asset, he has not flinched. The 32,000-student district, which was facing a $40 million deficit in its $533 million annual budget and the threat of state takeover when he started, needed some audacious decisionmaking, he said in a recent telephone interview.

“Everything here has been so dramatically dramatic,” he said. “I think what has helped me most is my eagerness to get outside players involved, and my willingness to marshal forces to overcome the status quo.”

He acknowledges his lack of classroom savvy, but believes that hiring veteran academic chief Lynn Spampinato (who is a fellow Broad Academy graduate) to oversee curriculum and instruction should ease worries about his inexperience.

At his request, the Broad Foundation paid for four veteran school leaders—Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant of Boston and former district chiefs Arlene Ackerman, Ramon C. Cortines, and Eric J. Smith—to go to Pittsburgh and advise the new superintendent on strategies to improve the curriculum and student achievement.

“There they were, some of the best minds in public education, focusing entirely on Pittsburgh schools for two full days,” Mr. Roosevelt said. “It was off-the-charts helpful to me personally, and to the district.”

A version of this article appeared in the June 21, 2006 edition of Education Week as Maverick Streak

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Sometimes Principals Need to Make Big Changes. Here’s How to Get Them to Stick
School leaders need their community to take a leap of faith with them. But how do they build trust and conviction?
8 min read
Image of a leader reflecting on past and future.
akindo/DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management A New Study Details Gender and Racial Disparities in the Superintendent's Office
Women and people of color are less likely than their white male counterparts to be appointed superintendent directly from a principal post.
6 min read
A conceptual image of a female being paid less than a male.
hyejin kang/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Late Arrivals, Steep Costs: Why Some Districts Ditch Third-Party Bus Companies
Districts are facing a host of transportation challenges. Some have addressed them by deciding to bring buses back in house.
6 min read
School buses parked in Helena, Mont., ahead of the beginning of the school year on Aug. 20, 2021.
Some districts are pulling back on decisions to outsource bus services in an effort to save money and improve service.
Iris Samuels/AP
School & District Management Rising Tensions From Israel-Hamas War Are Seeping Into Schools
As effects of the war reverberate in school communities, schools have federal responsibilities to create discrimination-free environments.
5 min read
People gather in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Vt., for a vigil, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. The three students were being treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said.
People gather in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Vt., for a vigil, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war are playing out in schools and colleges across the country, including some K-12 schools.
Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP