ReNEW Schools CEO resigns 8 months after assuming the role
- Wilborn P. Nobles III, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune Feb 27, 2018 Updated Jul 12, 2019
Parents attended a meeting at ReNEW McDonogh City Park Academy Dec. 19 to learn how they can enroll their children into another school for the 2018-2019 school year.(Wilborn P. Nobles III, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
ReNEW Schools chief executive officer Kevin Guitterrez is stepping down, a decision that comes after the charter network's Board of Directors unanimously voted for him to assume the role last June. The charter group made the announcement Monday evening (Feb. 26).
Guitterrez became CEO more than eight months ago in June after Colleen Mackay announced last September she was stepping down at the end of the 2016-17 school year to move out-of-state to be with family. Guitterrez previously served as president of ReNEW Schools.
ReNEW Schools Board Chair Stephen Rosenthal said in a statement released Monday he will motion to appoint current Chief Operating Officer Tanya Bryant as the network's new CEO at a board meeting Wednesday. A reason for Guitterrez's resignation was not included in the news release.
l expertise in educating students and managing Rosenthal praised Guitterrez's commitment to ReNEW in a released statement last March when Guitterrez was named CEO. Rosenthal said Guitterrez had "exceptionacharter organizations," and added that Guitterrez was promoted to help ReNEW maintain the "strong momentum" it experienced during Mackay's tenure.
ReNEW stated Guitterrez served as the founding chief administrative officer at the Algiers Charter Schools Association and deputy superintendent of the state-run Recovery School District before he became president at ReNEW. He also served as a senior vice president of Services and Partnerships for the National Institute for Excellence in Education.
Rosenthal Monday stated Bryant has been with ReNEW "since the beginning," drawing attention to her experience in the city's education system over the past 15 years.
"Tanya has seen first-hand how the educational landscape in our city has evolved, and how ReNEW's model has improved schools and prepared students for success in life," Rosenthal stated.
Guitterrez's departure comes after the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in December not to renew the charter for ReNew Cultural Arts Academy. The Orleans Parish School Board in January decided to close the school and find a new operator for the D-rated school at 3128 Constance Street.
The ReNEW board last December also decided it would close ReNEW McDonogh City Park Academy at the end of the 2017-18 school year in June. City Park Academy dropped from a D to an F in November after the state Education Department released its performance scores for public schools. Guitterrez at the time said scores at that school fell in the first two years of operation "for a conglomeration of reasons."
ReNEW's other New Orleans schools are Accelerated High, Dolores T. Aaron Academy, Schaumburg Elementary and SciTech Academy.
*UPDATE: An earlier version of this story reported that OPSB will make the final decision about the ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy's future. The board in January decided to close the school.
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Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNoblesC.
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