The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Massachusetts could soon have a new commissioner. State education officials are recommending the outgoing head of Chicago Public Schools to lead DESE.
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted Tuesday to recommend current-Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez as the state’s next education commissioner.
The vote came after a lengthy series of screenings and interviews – narrowing down a field of 42 candidates to three finalists.
Board members say Martinez stood out for his commitment to multilingual learners, standing firm in the face of backlash and simply being able to manage school districts on a large scale.
“… you need to understand the communities you're serving,” Martinez told them during public interviews held on Thursday, April 17. “Whether you're a school district superintendent or a state commissioner superintendent - you have to meet them where they're at. The success that I've gotten in Nevada, in Texas or in Chicago - the common element was always [that] we met people where they were at. We met communities where they were at, I put an expectation to my school leaders to meet children where they were at…”
Born in Mexico, Martinez came to the U.S. as a child and grew up in Chicago – later earning degrees in accounting and business administration, along with a fellowship at Harvard University's Public Education Leadership Project.
Martinez became superintendent of the Washoe County School District in 2012 – one of the largest in Nevada. Despite rising graduation rates, the school board moved to fire him in 2014 over a dispute involving his bonafides as an accountant - a process mired in controversy due to the board apparently violating open meeting laws.
During Thursday’s interviews, Martinez says part of the issue involved him standing his ground as a new school board allegedly looked to redirect school funding of some kind. Martinez would end up serving as “superintendent in residence” for the Nevada’s education department, before taking a job as superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District in Texas.
There, according to DESE, Martinez received “statewide recognition from the governor and commissioner of education as the fastest improving large district in Texas in 2018, 2019 and 2021.”
In 2021, he would return to Chicago – a district of around 320,000 students - which he described as being in “disarray” amid the pandemic and other factors.
“So, the first year, I was able to stabilize the district and just build trust …” he said. “By the end of the second year, we were leading the nation in recovery for literacy, led by our Black students, and second by our Latin/a students. Our high schools hit record levels across graduation rates, credits earned … and that continued until my third year. And by the way, this will be my strongest ever - this is a district that leads the country in students going to college: 70% of our graduates go to college, 73% persist with record levels of scholarships and credits earned…”
Martinez was recently fired again – without cause amid a dispute with Chicago’s mayor and teachers' union.
According to CBS Chicago, Martinez had previously “declined” Mayor Brandon Johnson's request to have “CPS take out a $300 million high-interest loan to pay for the costs of a new proposed teachers' contract and pension costs previously covered by the city.”
In December, the Chicago Board of Education, loaded with Johnson appointees, voted unanimously to fire him. Per his contract, Martinez is able to still serve as CEO of Chicago Public Schools for several more months, according to Chalkbeat Chicago. In a statement obtained by the outlet, he said he intends to serve through mid-June.
On Tuesday, board members in Massachusetts praised Martinez's work in Chicago, including overseeing the expansion of full-day early childhood classrooms and “record-high graduation rates." That, and his work involving students who are multilingual or experiencing poverty, says Dr. Ericka Fisher.
“For me, personally and professionally, his commitment to students in poverty and multilingual learners is extremely important as we try to close these opportunity gaps,” the board member said. “His specific example of magnifying and increasing the number of dual language schools and programs is extremely important, given the diversity of our Commonwealth, and as our numbers begin to rise, if we really want to see equity, if we want to close those gaps, we need a leader who is passionate – has shown that experience.”
The board acknowledged some of the controversy that’s flared up during Martinez’s career, though it was largely drowned out with praise for his accomplishments.
“I think of what he's been able to accomplish in Nevada, in Texas and in Chicago - sometimes with controversy, sometimes without - and he seems to be coming out ahead each time,” said Vice Chair Matt Hills. “This is what we need here. This is someone who has a vision, who understands different pieces of an organization and an ecosystem that need to be pulled together, and he's done that.”
Nine members voted in favor of Martinez. Two who had voiced support for another candidate, Former Texas Education Agency Deputy Commissioner of School Programs Lily Laux, opted to either abstain or vote “present.”
The recommendation now goes to Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, who also voiced support for Martinez.
Tutwiler has been serving as interim commissioner following the departure of Dr. Russell Johnston. Johnston himself was an interim commissioner and was recently picked for a superintendent role in Pennsylvania, after previously stating he would not be applying for the full-commissioner job in Massachusetts. He replaced Jeff Riley early last year.
A spokesperson for DESE says there is no exact timetable for when Tutwiler will give final approvals on Martinez.
