The St. Paul Public Schools Board of Education interviewed three superintendent candidates this week, with the finalist expected to be named at its regular board meeting Thursday.

The district named Brenda Cassellius, Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed and Stacie Stanley as finalists for superintendent earlier this month.

John Thein has been serving as interim superintendent since May after the departure of Superintendent Joe Gothard, who left to lead the school district in Madison, Wis., where Gothard grew up and attended school. Thein also served as interim superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools from 2016 to 2017.

The candidates each spent a day this week visiting schools, meeting district staff, students and community members, and attending virtual meet-the-candidate sessions. Impression forms were available for community members to fill out for each candidate to later be shared with the board.

Candidates were then individually interviewed by the board before providing presentations on academic outcomes. The final candidate interview took place Wednesday.

Board members asked the candidates questions about their plans or views on areas such as student outcomes, services for students with disabilities and multilingual students, and budget reductions. Candidates emphasized closing achievement gaps, community engagement and program development.

The district’s Board of Education selected and hired the executive search firm BWP & Associates in July to find the next superintendent. The board had interviewed three firms at a special meeting and unanimously chose BWP.

A task force conducted closed first-round interviews of superintendent candidates earlier this month. The task force was made up of school board members, parents and community representatives from the district’s parent advisory councils, employee labor group representatives, high school students and a district administrator.

Brenda Cassellius

Cassellius is CEO of Minnesota nonprofit Fresh Energy and previously served as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, according to SPPS. Cassellius lives in Minneapolis, according to Fresh Energy’s website. She also served as the state commissioner of education for eight years under Gov. Mark Dayton before she was replaced by Mary Cathryn Ricker when Gov. Tim Walz took office in 2019.

Cassellius also has held leadership roles with Minneapolis Public Schools, the East Metro Integration District and Memphis City Schools. She previously worked as a teacher in SPPS.

Cassellius has a doctorate in organizational leadership and policy from the University of Memphis, a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of St. Thomas and a bachelor’s degree in child psychology from the University of Minnesota.

“The superintendent is your partner. They are responsible for the achievement and success of all students and accountable for the administration of the policies and the personnel and decisions of the board. Everyone is accountable to the students, the staff, parents and community as a whole, and we should work together with that in mind,” Cassellius said.

Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed

Mhiripiri-Reed has been superintendent of Hopkins Public Schools since 2017 and began her teaching career in SPPS. She has held leadership roles as associate superintendent at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District in Monterey, Calif., director of leadership development at the District of Columbia Public Schools in Washington, D.C., and the inaugural board chair for the nonprofit Black Men Teach.

During her board interview, Mhiripiri-Reed emphasized creating support systems informed by research and having goal consistency across schools.

Mhiripiri-Reed has a doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University, a master’s degree in education policy and administration from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and teacher preparation from Yale University.

Stacie Stanley

Stanley is superintendent of Edina Public Schools and previously served as associate superintendent at Eden Prairie Schools. She grew up in St. Paul and graduated from Central Senior High School. She is the president-elect of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. Stanley has held leadership roles in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District, Roseville Area Schools and East Metro Integration District.

Stanley said that if selected as superintendent, she would create a superintendent academic advisory team that would include members of the executive leadership team, principals and other members relevant to supporting students. The team would allow the district to stay focused on its performance targets, Stanley said.

Stanley has a doctorate in educational leadership from Bethel University, and a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in K-8 elementary education from St. Catherine University.

Board expectations

While the board did not select a finalist following the final candidate interview Wednesday night, members discussed strengths and qualities they expected from the district’s future superintendent.

“I think that it’s just going to be really important for whoever comes in to be someone who can connect with all parts of SPPS, work collaboratively with the board, and can be the kind of leader that empowers people to come in with good ideas, and to have those good ideas elevated,” board member Uriah Ward said at Wednesday’s meeting.

The board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at 360 S. Colborne St. in St. Paul, where they will select a finalist. The meeting also will be livestreamed.

To learn more about the district’s superintendent search, go to spps.org/superintendentsearch.

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