Donyell Dickey, Portland Public Schools Pick for Superintendent, Backs Out

PORTLAND, OR — After announcing Dr. Donyell Dickey as the next Portland Public School's Superintendent on March 3, district officials said Thursday that Dickey has withdrawn his candidacy.

From Portland Public School's spokesman David Northfield:

Today our finalist for PPS Superintendent, Dr. Donyall Dickey, withdrew his candidacy. We know his decision was not made lightly and we respect it. After a thorough and comprehensive process we came to a mutual understanding that our expectations for the job were not in complete alignment.

Dr. Dickey is a talented educator who has an impressive record of improving student success — and he has a bright future in education. We wish him only the best in the next phase of his career.

Our responsibility as a Board is to make the best decisions on behalf of our students and the taxpayers we serve. We now must turn our attention forward.

PPS has a remarkable team. We have an active parent community, an inspiring student body, a creative force of teachers and a dedicated administrative staff led by Interim Superintendent Bob McKean and Deputy CEO Yousef Awwad. We are very confident we will hire a permanent superintendent who will help lead our district in our next phase because of what we have to offer — a vibrant, caring city with a passion for public education.

We will not let this decision distract from the great work happening across our schools or stop us from pressing ahead on important initiatives like literacy adoption, middle school curriculum, health and safety improvements in our schools, and building 21st century learning facilities for all of our students.

The district began its search for a new superintendent following the sudden resignation of former PPS Superintendent Carole Smith in July 2016.

After the release of a third-party investigation examining how the district handled the discovery of lead in the water at many of the districts school facilities, Carole stepped down abruptly.

At a press conference following Dickey's withdrawal announcement Thursday, PPS Board of Education Chair Tom Koehler said he was "optimistic" about the district's future and getting the right person into the superintendent position — reiterating that Dickey's decision to withdrawal was accepted by the board.

"The board is united," Koehler said, "that (Dickey's withdrawal) was a good decision," adding that the district's national search for a new superintendent will resume immediately.

Asked whether the search will now be more difficult following Dickey's withdrawal, the Board collectively disagreed.

"There are candidates out there who would love to come to Portland," Board member Julie Esparza Brown said.

Koehler said the search will likely be the same as before if not possibly better — especially is the upcoming Bond vote passes and shows prospective candidates the community's willingness to invest and commit to supporting the local school district.

Interim PPS Superintendent Bob McKean agreed.

"I believe Portland Public Schools will attract a high caliber candidate," he said.

District officials ultimately selected Dickey from a pool of 32 applicants. Dickey, whose experience as Chief Schools Officer and Chief Academic Officer for Atlanta Public Schools helped secure the position, was considered an excellent choice by members of the PPS Board, including Koehler, who offered this statement following the district's selection:

"Donyall's career has been driven by a commitment to equity, instructional excellence and accountability for results.

His repeated success in turning around underperforming schools in large urban school districts in a short amount of time demonstrates his unique ability to put in place operational systematic changes that support teachers, spur student achievement and improve schools.

This is exactly the kind of academic leadership and community experience we need at this time in PPS."

This post was updated to include comments from the Portland Public Schools Board of Education.

Photo Courtesy: Colin Miner, Patch