Philly school district hires a new associate superintendent in reorganization
Brenda Elliott previously held a state-level role in Tennessee. She replaces Jayme Banks and Randi Klein-Davila, both of whom have submitted their resignations to the district.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. is shaking up his student support services department.
Watlington has hired Brenda Elliott, a veteran educator who was the Tennessee state superintendent for school turnaround, to staff a new role for the Philadelphia School District: associate superintendent of student life and innovation.
To make way for the new hire, Watlington is eliminating two positions — chief of student support services and assistant superintendent of student life. The changes represent a net cost savings, officials said.
Jayme Banks, who last held the student services chief role, will soon leave the district; Randi Klein-Davila, former assistant superintendent of student life, has already left.
“We will miss Chief Banks and Assistant Superintendent Klein-Davila, and wish them all the best,” Watlington said in a note to staff.
Banks joined the school system in 2019 as the director of trauma-informed school practices; Klein-Davila is a longtime district official who also served as a teacher and principal in the district.
Elliott will be paid $208,934 annually.
Watlington, in a statement, said he believed Elliott would help the district achieve its goal of becoming the fastest-improving large urban school system in the country.
“As we reorganize the Office of Student Support Services, we will better maximize our limited resources while continuing to provide the supports that our students need,” Watlington said. “I have great confidence that Dr. Brenda Elliott, who has been a battle-tested leader in multiple states, will bring a wealth of experience and a demonstrated track record of driving positive student outcomes.”
In Tennessee, Elliott was responsible for supports and interventions for the state’s 300 lowest-performing schools. It was a short-lived role, though — Elliott left the position after less than a year, according to news reports. Critics of the Tennessee education department said Elliott’s brief tenure underscored problems with the state’s takeover of struggling schools.
Elliott also worked in the Washington, D.C., public schools, as the district’s chief of equity and then its chief of school improvement and supports, and in multiple North Carolina districts. She is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
She will report to Jermaine Dawson, the district’s deputy superintendent of academic services.
Elliott’s office will be responsible for student services functions now split between the Office of Student Support Services and the Office of Student Life. She will also be responsible for partnerships with community organizations, businesses, and colleges and universities.