Newsmaker: Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises

Today it’s Midday on Education, and Tom's Newsmaker guest is the president and CEO of the Baltimore City Public Schools, Dr. Sonja Santelises.

As yet another horrible mass shooting of students and staff in a Nashville school on Monday reminds us, school safety is a challenge faced by schools nationwide.And, in the first post-COVID assessment of schools by the MD state department of education, Baltimore City and Baltimore County students ranked among the lowest in the region. The percentage of students proficient in math in grades 3 through 8 dropped from 33% to 22% over the years of remote learning during the pandemic, although students demonstrated some overall progress in English proficiency.

To be sure, there are problems in our school system. But there are many gifted and dedicated teachers in our city’s schools, scores of involved and conscientious parents, and young people who are trying to achieve what they are capable of achieving.

The city's Board of School Commissioners appointed Dr. Sonja Santelises as CEO of City Public Schools in the spring of 2016; she took office on July 1 of that year. Last summer, she became the longest-serving city schools chief in the last 30 years.

Dr. Santelises joins us here in Studio A. She is with us for the hour. 

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