Dear Team DPS,
We hope you are doing well and getting ready for a well-deserved winter break! As we look ahead to next semester, we wanted to share some updates about recent leadership decisions.
With the departure of Deputy Superintendent of Operations Mark Ferrandino, we are excited to announce Jim Carpenter, our current Chief Financial Officer, will be stepping in as Interim Chief Operating Officer to oversee this team and important work. Jim has been very engaged with all of our Operations teams, and we feel confident he’ll be able to use his knowledge and skills to support the team and lead the important budget work needed over the next several months.
Our current Chief of Safety Mike Eaton will serve as Interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer. Mike will work closely with Jim in leading the division, and will support our Transportation, Enterprise Management, Facilities, Construction and Safety teams.
Chief Human Resources Officer June Taylor will join the Senior Leadership Team meetings so that the important voice of Human Resources can be part of the conversations over the next several months.
This structure will allow the Operations team to continue its essential work, and allow each of the interims to be able to keep leading their teams while expanding their reach to support even more broadly.
Additionally, with the departure of Associate Chief of Portfolio Management Jennifer Holladay, we are excited to announce that Grant Guyer, our current Associate Chief of Schools, will serve in the role of Interim Associate Chief of Portfolio Management. We offer a warm welcome to Grant, who has agreed to serve in this interim role through the end of the school year. Grant is a longtime leader within DPS, where he has served in a number of roles including the Executive Director of Accountability, Research & Evaluation (ARE), the interim Deputy Chief of Staff, and the Senior Advisor to the Elementary and Secondary Education Divisions. As we transition, we will shift a number of his current supervisory roles and responsibilities so that he can provide the necessary supervision and support to the work and schools within the Portfolio division, and we will use time during the transition to discuss the right structure for this important work moving forward.
We are grateful to have such strong leaders step up to support the work of DPS. Please help us in welcoming them to these roles.
Looking ahead, the Senior Leadership Team will continue the discussion and search for these roles, long term. We’re committed to keeping you updated as needed.
Thank you for all of your work on behalf of our students and families, and we hope you have a great winter break!
Sincerely,
Dwight
