They’re not so super.
Seven of the 15 new superintendents appointed by Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña led schools that were rated below average.
Superintendents Maria Lopez, Mabel Muñiz-Sarduy, Leticia Rodriguez-Rosario, Danielle Giunta and Rafaela Espinal were principals at primary schools that received poor ratings on school progress report cards or whose students scored below city averages on state exams this year.
Muñiz-Sarduy, Lopez and Rodriguez-Rosario all led schools where students struggled on the state’s tough Common Core tests.
Ten percent of students passed math and only 7 percent passed reading at the Lopez-led IS 318 in The Bronx.
Only 24 percent of the kids at PS 86 in Brooklyn passed the math test and 21 percent passed the reading exam when Muñiz-Sarduy was in charge. And only 24 percent passed math and 19 percent reading at PS/IS 218 in The Bronx, which Rodriguez-Rosario ran until the summer of 2013.
Citywide, 38 percent of students passed the math test, and 29 percent reading, in 2014.
At the high school level, former School for International Studies principal Fred Walsh claimed he had no idea his assistant principal dismissed eighth-graders on the last day of school in June 2011 while marking them present.
Three months later, he explored hiring a public relations consultant to improve the Brooklyn school’s image.
His new job? Superintendent of high schools for five school districts.
Each superintendent has a proven track record and is committed to working tirelessly to improve the schools they support … I will hold them accountable.
- Carmen Fariña
Joining him is Michael Prayor, whose Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology prepared only 12 percent of its students for college and had a graduation rate of merely 49 percent in 2013.
Department of Education officials said the new superintendents led schools that achieved significantly better results than schools with similar populations in their districts.
The officials singled out Walsh as a star performer, saying his school’s graduation rate jumped from 48 percent to 70 percent under his leadership, while attendance soared to 90 percent.
The officials noted that Walsh’s school was in danger of closing before he took over.
Records show its graduation rate dropped to 45 percent in 2013.
Education reformers said the promotions would do little to improve struggling schools.
“Promoting principals, some of whom have overseen persistently failing schools themselves, does not come close to addressing the problem,” said Jenny Sedlis of StudentsFirstNY.
Fariña insisted the new hires would get the job done.
“Each superintendent has a proven track record and is committed to working tirelessly to improve the schools they support … I will hold them accountable,” she said.