Overview
- Dawson, whose contract won unanimous board approval Monday, will take over July 1 and has begun shadowing outgoing CEO Sonja Santelises.
- Following Monday’s announcement, he visited Patterson High School and Moravia Park Elementary on Tuesday to meet students and staff and to start a listening tour set for next month.
- Dawson comes from the School District of Philadelphia as deputy superintendent for academics, and Superintendent Tony Watlington said Brenda Elliott will serve as interim after Dawson departs.
- He says he will build on literacy gains, raise math performance, cut a chronic absenteeism rate that reached 46% last year, and track graduates into college, work, military service, or entrepreneurship.
- District leaders warn he must also stabilize finances and press for state support while tackling school choice and transportation gaps that can force long, unreliable commutes and limit access to advanced programs.