Dear DPS Community,
Thank you for your support and engagement with our search for our next superintendent. We’re focused on selecting a visionary leader for DPS who will move our district through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, make student- and community-centered decisions, drive our equity work forward, and ensure all who serve our students are supported to provide the best public education we can.
Today, we’ve reached an important milestone: announcing the three finalists to our leaders, our staff and our community. We are so excited to introduce Dr. Alex Marrero, Dr. Stephanie Soliven, and Andre Wright. Summaries of their bios are available below, and we encourage you to visit superintendent.dpsk12.org to watch their introductory videos as well.
Alex Marrero – Dr. Marrero joined the City School District of New Rochelle in January 2020 as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. He became the first Latinx head of the city’s school system in September, serving as acting and is the current interim superintendent. Prior to that, as Assistant Superintendent at the East Ramapo Central School District in New York, Alex supported schools into Good Standing—a designation that represents dramatic growth—and increased graduation rates. He has earned numerous awards, including being honored as an outstanding administrator by the Latino Caucus of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and inducted into the New York Academy of Public Education. Alex has earned degrees from Fordham University, Manhattan College and Sage Colleges where he was the recipient of the Outstanding Student Award.
Stephanie Soliven – Dr. Soliven is the Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Leading and Learning for the School District of Brevard County in Florida. Under her leadership, the district has increased graduation rates and participation, and success in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge (AICE), Career and Technical Education, and Early College programs. Prior to that, as a principal for eight years, Stephanie championed programs that enhanced equitable access to social-emotional development and college and career readiness programs and increased academic achievement. She has earned numerous awards for education, including being honored nationally as a Milken Foundation educator, selected by the state of Florida as Assistant Principal of the Year, and chosen as an NAACP Unsung Hero. Stephanie earned her doctorate in education (Curriculum and Instruction) from the University of Central Florida where she also earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees.
Andre Wright – Andre Wright currently serves as the Chief Academic Officer of Aurora Public Schools, where, over the past four years, he has produced consistent academic achievement increases for scholars. Prior to joining APS, he served in his home state of Georgia as Area Executive Director for the Northeast Learning Community in the Fulton County School System, an urban Atlanta-area school district with nearly 100,000 students, 100 schools, and 14,000 staff and support personnel. Andre also served FCS as principal and instructional leader, leading his school to a Distinguished Title I school status every year under his direction. He was also an assistant principal in the Fulton County School System and in the Dekalb County School System. Andre began his teaching career as a middle school language arts teacher.
Participate in the Finalist Stage Process
We are encouraging our community to be active in the process of selecting our next superintendent. The interview question submission form is still open through Monday, May 10, and we invite you to share your ideas for what panelists should ask the candidates at their interviews next week.
Each finalist will interview with seven different interview panels: students; teachers and school staff; school leaders; central staff; senior leadership team; Board of Education; and DPS parents, guardians, families, and community. DPS will livestream both the student and community interviews on Thursday, May 13. The student-led interviews will begin at 4 p.m., followed by the community interviews at 6 p.m. Please visit superintendent.dpsk12.org to watch the interviews live via Vimeo, or watch the recordings when it’s convenient for you.
We will also invite you to complete a feedback form on each of the candidates during or after the interviews on May 13. All feedback must be submitted by May 17 at 5 p.m. If you would like to share your thoughts publicly at the board’s public comment session on May 17, please sign up to speak by 5 p.m. on May 16.
Thank you for your patience and perseverance this school year. We look forward to hearing your thoughts as we get to know our superintendent finalists better.
Sincerely,
Carrie A. Olson, PhD, President
Jennifer Bacon, Vice President
Angela Cobián, Treasurer
Tay Anderson, Secretary
Scott Baldermann
Rev. Bradley Laurvick
Barbara O’Brien, PhD
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