Photo by Kris Connor/Getty.
This post has been updated.
D.C.’s top education official is leaving her post at the end of September. D.C. Public Schools chancellor Kaya Henderson announced that she’s stepping down from the role she’s held since 2010. She’ll be replaced temporarily by John Davis, who currently serves as the system’s head of schools.
“Simply put, I am ready to take on new challenges,” Henderson wrote in a letter to DCPS staff. She also wrote two separate messages to DCPS parents and community members and principals.
In a letter addressed to District residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser says she’s grateful to Henderson for making DCPS “the fastest improving urban school district in the country.”
Henderson joined DCPS in 2007 as Deputy Chancellor to oversee the Office of Human Capital, under then-chancellor Michelle Rhee. Former Mayor Vincent Gray appointed her as chancellor shortly after he was elected in 2010. At a mayoral forum hosted by the Washington Teachers’ Union, Gray defended his decision to a rowdy crowd, calling Henderson “somebody who understands how to work with people” and “somebody who is flexible enough to move in the direction we need to move in.”
In 2013, Henderson’s name was thrown around in the press as a possible candidate for New York City’s next schools chancellor. Although she chatted with then mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, she said that she took the interest as recognition that DCPS is a “leader in high-quality urban education.” And she decided to stay put.
Still, earlier this year, Henderson tweeted that she was tired of her work being relegated to “a kinder, gentler version of Michelle Ree,” who’s known for her education reform tactics that included firing ineffective teachers, closing under-performing schools, and more aggressively pushing students and teachers to perform better.
In her most recent State of the Schools address Henderson touted her accomplishments announcing the system’s enrollment increases, improved teacher retention rates, and higher student satisfaction. Meanwhile during her tenure, she’s faced criticism regarding her own set of school closures and a high-profile ordeal involving the system’s food vendor, among other things.
In response to her exit, Scott Pearson, of the DC Public Charter School Board, called Henderson “a consistent partner and friend” who is leaving “an extraordinary record of achievement.” Former mayor Anthony Williams, who’s now leading the Federal City Council, joined in on the praise, saying in a release that D.C. “has been fortunate to have had such a strong leader guiding the reform and improvement of our school system. “
Henderson says that she has complete confidence that the folks she’s leaving behind are “prepared to drive our work forward under new leadership.” In the fall, DCPS will launch a selection process for a permanent chancellor.
