Bloom Hires Chicago Principal Who Was On CPS Do Not Hire List

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — The District 206 school board has hired a new principal for the district who in the past had been placed on a do not hire list in Chicago because investigators showed she had been falsifying attendance records.

Supt. Lenell Navarre recommended that the board hire Kenyatta Starks, chief executive officer of Empowered Community Schools, a Chicago school management company, as Bloom High School's new principal.

In 2016, an Investigator General's report for Chicago Public Schools showed that Starks and four other principals and school leaders had been falsifying student enrollment and attendance records. Starks was principal of John Marshall High School, a CPS school, and a director with Chicago International Charter Schools, when the report said the incidents occurred. A do not hire letter was placed in her employment file, but she continued to be employed by charter schools.

Christopher Paicely, a District 206 spokesman, explained in a statement why the board approved hiring Starks.

"While we at Bloom Township High School District 206 are not at liberty to discuss the lawsuits and hiring policies of other school districts, we are willing to provide context in why we are excited for Kenyatta Starks to join our leadership team as the principal of Bloom High School," he said.

"Our decision to hire Ms. Starks comes from an extensive multi-tiered interview and review process, which included calls to multiple professional references. Among those references were those she reported to and worked with at Chicago Public Schools, who spoke very enthusiastically about Ms. Starks work and commitment to serving the students and families. Ms. Starks’ extensive background of more than two decades in education — specifically her strong track record in school leadership, innovation and service of large populations of students — certainly factored into this decision. This May, she received the Administrator of the Year Award from the Chicago Public League Basketball Coaches Association. Most of all, throughout this process Ms. Starks has been a consummate professional. We couldn’t be prouder to bring Ms. Starks skills, experience and talent to Bloom High School."

Starks did not respond to requests for comment. She and two other principals later sued Chicago's school district, saying they had been singled out because they were black. In the lawsuit, she and the other principals denied that they had falsified records and said they were following CPS procedures.

CPS sought to have the case dismissed, but the court sided with Starks and a hearing is set for later this month. The next steps of the case are not yet clear.

A spokesman from Chicago Public Schools has not yet confirmed whether Starks remains on the do not hire list at that district. She will begin her new role in July.

Bloom's current principal, Scott Savage, resigned to pursue a doctorate degree, Paicely said.