Marcia Andrews, a member of the Palm Beach County School Board, has become chair of the Council of the Great City Schools Board of Directors for a one-year term, effective July 1.
The 156-member board is composed of the superintendent and a school board member from each of the 78 big-city school districts represented by the council, the only national organization exclusively representing the needs of urban public schools. Andrews has been acting board chair since January, following the resignation of former Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero, who was the chair.
A graduate of the School District of Palm Beach County, Andrews has served on the Palm Beach County School Board since 2010, where she has worked to improve students’ access to advanced coursework. Andrews has 49 years of experience as an educator, having served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, principal, director of recruitment and chief officer of human resources in the Palm Beach County school system.
Sonja Brookins Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, will assume the role of chair-elect. Valerie Davis, a school board member of California’s Fresno Unified School District, will serve as secretary-treasurer, the third member of the leadership team.
“With her extensive background in education and her commitment to fostering learning opportunities for all students, the council is extremely fortunate to have Andrews as its new chair,” Council Executive Director Ray Hart said. “The combined experience of Andrews and her leadership team will bolster the council’s mission of educating the nation’s most diverse student body to the highest academic standards, and I look forward to working with them.”
Learn more about the Council of the Great City Schools at www.cgcs.org.
