After hiring and then losing two chief academic officers in as many years, Baltimore County schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston is eliminating the position.
The district is returning to the position of associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction services, under whom two new executive directors - one for liberal arts and another for science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM - will serve.
The change comes after the second chief academic officer, Patricia E. Abernethy, retired in April.
"This is the last part of the formula for us, to bring the school system in a position to best provide services and support in preparing our children," Hairston said of the reorganization, approved by the school board this month.
The chief academic officer post was created in response to a 400-plus-page audit of the school district by the education advocacy group Phi Delta Kappa International. Among its major conclusions, the audit found that "no one is actually 'in control' of the total curriculum, its developmental processes, its piloting and revision, and its pacing in terms of systemwide implementation."
Shortly before the report was released in March 2007, Hairston hired Sonia Diaz, a longtime educator who recently had been fired from her job as superintendent of New Mexico's second-largest school district. Hairston hired her as associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction, but soon changed her title to chief academic officer.
Diaz's contract was not renewed after a year. A few months later, Abernethy, formerly deputy chief of staff for Baltimore City schools, was hired to fill the position. An educator from Ohio, Jonathan Brown, was brought on as associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction, serving under Abernethy.
Brown recently resigned and is a finalist for jobs in Ohio, a district spokeswoman said.
"Sometimes in these situations, you have to have the right fit," Hairston said of the departures of Diaz and Abernethy. "It is no reflection on individuals. ... These are all fine educators, but that job calls for a specific role or function that drew them away from their strengths."
The rationale behind the audit recommendation, he said, was to have someone solely dedicated to the day-to-day work of curriculum and instruction rather than someone seeking a broader role in the school system.
