Former Washoe superintendent takes top job in Chicago schools

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot named San Antonio schools Superintendent Pedro Martinez Wednesday arsenic the caller CEO of the nation’s third-largest schoolhouse district.

Martinez antecedently worked for Chicago Public Schools and replaces interim schools CEO Jose Torres, who had been starring the astir 350,000-student territory aft CEO Janice Jackson announced plans to measurement down successful May.

The alteration comes astatine a captious clip for the district, which afloat resumed in-person classes past period adjacent arsenic COVID-19 cases stay precocious successful Chicago, with an mean of 430 infections reported daily. District leaders and the Chicago Teachers Union stay astatine likelihood implicit COVID-19 information measures. Several apical leaders near astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic Jackson.

Martinez, 51, has led the 50,000-student San Antonio Independent School District since 2015, but is acquainted with Chicago, wherever helium grew up and attended metropolis schools. He served arsenic Chicago Public Schools’ main fiscal serviceman from 2003 to 2009.

Lightfoot called Martinez, an migrant from Mexico, the archetypal Latino CEO of the district, though helium follows the little enactment of Torres, who is from Puerto Rico. Martinez was the archetypal successful his household to be assemblage and has an accounting grade from the University of Illinois and a maestro of concern medication from DePaul University.

His enactment followed a nationwide search.

“This historical process yielded an historical candidate,” Lightfoot said extracurricular Benito Juarez Community Academy, wherever Martinez went to school. “He is simply a staunch advocator for children.”

She cited his enactment to amended academics successful San Antonio and disguise and vaccine mandates for schoolhouse staff, which went against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s enforcement bid banning specified mandates.

Martinez said helium hopes to unite the territory and plans to promote vaccines arsenic helium works to code different longtime issues successful the mostly low-income territory wherever astir students are Latino oregon Black.

“The force is COVID. The force is the systemic racism we’ve had successful our country. The force is poverty. There are galore enemies. We are connected the aforesaid side,” helium said. “We are going to unite radical due to the fact that we are connected the aforesaid side.”

Chicago has required COVID-19 vaccinations for teachers, installed aerial filters successful classrooms and begun rolling retired investigating among students and staff. But the national says those efforts autumn abbreviated and has questioned the accuracy of the district’s online COVID-19 lawsuit tracker, saying cases aren’t updated rapidly capable and parents are often near successful the dark.

In a statement, the national urged Martinez to conscionable with educators to perceive their concerns, saying “it is wide that Mr. Martinez has a gangly task up of him from time one.”

Even earlier the pandemic, the territory had a tumultuous fewer years. Jackson took bureau pursuing scandals involving 2 predecessors and led the territory during an 11-day teachers onslaught successful 2019.

Martinez defended his grounds successful San Antonio, wherever helium clashed with the teachers union, including implicit charter schools.

Lightfoot besides said she was assured successful his enactment aft reporters asked astir him being briefly dismissed successful 2014 from a Nevada schools job. Martinez returned to enactment successful Nevada’s Washoe County aft the firing was recovered to beryllium illegal; the territory paid him a settlement.

Before joining Washoe, successful 2011, Martinez had been the superintendent’s prime to oversee instruction for the Clark County School District.

Martinez said helium and his household were excited to determination backmost to Chicago.

“The process you developed gave maine an accidental arsenic idiosyncratic from Chicago, an migrant kid, to travel backmost location and to travel to this imagination job,” helium said.

— The Review-Journal contributed to this report.