Tad Footeball
1996 Interim Big East Conference Commissioner
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Anthony Hamlet speaks Wednesday during a news conference announcing his five-year contract agreement to become Pittsburgh Public Schools’ new superintendent. After attending the University of Miami, the physically imposing Mr. Hamlet had a brief NFL career as a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts, in 1992 and 1993.
Florida administrator, ex-NFL player to head Pittsburgh schools | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
May 18, 2016 11:34 PM
By Molly Born, Chris Potter and Dan Gigler / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Florida man chosen to lead the Pittsburgh Public Schools has spent the past two years as a mid-level administrator overseeing the most troubled schools in a district more than seven times the size of Pittsburgh.
City school directors voted 9-0 Wednesday evening to offer a five-year contract to Anthony Hamlet, 46, at a yearly salary of $210,000.
As director of accountability transformation in the School District of Palm Beach since June 2014, Mr. Hamlet has overseen 20 low-performing schools of more than 18,000 students and managed budgets totaling more than $128 million, he wrote in his resume. He was recently named director of recruitment and retention as part of a reorganization effective July 1, a Palm Beach schools spokeswoman said.
“In Palm Beach County, I’ve been given all the most difficult schools to deal with, and I’ve transformed those schools from terrible to great,” Mr. Hamlet said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Robert Avossa, superintendent of that school system, said in a statement that Mr. Hamlet “has been serving as a transformational leader, working with our most at-risk schools, supporting their academic improvement.”
“I think the experiences he’s had here will serve him well. We wish him the best.”
After attending the University of Miami, the physically imposing Mr. Hamlet had a brief NFL career as a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts, in 1992 and 1993. He then played a year for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League.
What Mr. Hamlet views as among his biggest challenges here aren’t unique to Pittsburgh, he said: keeping students in the district and closing the achievement gap. He called pre-K programs the “foundation” of achieving a strong graduation rate, a remark met with applause by school district employees, education advocates and local officials.
Under his leadership as principal of Palm Beach Lakes High School from 2012-14 — the district’s largest comprehensive urban high school — the graduation rate increased from 59 percent to 72 percent and the school saw a “historic reduction” of in- and out-of-school suspensions, he wrote in his resume. The school also implemented a “restorative practices” pilot program to address discipline problems. (Last year in Pittsburgh, 23 schools embarked on a similar program designed to improve learning and reduce suspensions.)
In listing its criteria for superintendent, the school board sought candidates with a background in education, previous leadership in a similar or larger urban school district, and a demonstrated commitment to diversity.
The 11th-largest school district in the country, Palm Beach County has 185 schools serving more than 181,000 students representing 150 languages or dialects. Pittsburgh Public Schools has an enrollment of about 25,000.
Brian K. Perkins of Perkins Consulting Group, the firm the school board hired to help guide the search process, said 21 men and three women representing 14 states, including Pennsylvania, applied for the job to replace current superintendent Linda Lane, who is retiring June 30. Twelve of the applicants are black, seven are white, three are Hispanic and two were unidentified by race.
The consulting firm helped narrow the pool to six, and the board interviewed three finalists.
Previously, Mr. Hamlet worked as a principal of a restructured school; assistant principal of a suburban high school; a high school psychology and multicultural studies teacher in an alternative school; and a behavior specialist and family counselor.
He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and master’s and doctorate of education degrees from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The single father of a 17-year-old son who is graduating today, Mr. Hamlet said he plans to move to Pittsburgh, likely Downtown, this summer.
Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers president Nina Esposito-Visigitis said the union “wholeheartedly welcomes” Mr. Hamlet, noting his “tremendous wealth and diversity of experience.”
“It was wonderful to hear him speak to the primary importance of a positive and supportive school culture, and we look forward to working with him, and introducing him to the great work of our teachers, our students and our union,” she said in a statement.
“I’m excited that Dr. Hamlet will be bringing his years of expertise, leadership and commitment to the lives of children to Pittsburgh’s schools, and the greater community as well,” Mayor Bill Peduto said in a statement.
Mrs. Lane, 66, presented Mr. Hamlet with a Steelers hat and a map of Pennsylvania at the news conference.
“I figured that Dr. Hamlet will need this because, guess what, the next trip [to Harrisburg] is his,” she said.
The roughly 15-member student committee tasked with crafting a question to ask each finalist focused its query on issues surrounding inequity, diversity and student voices, said Lucy Pearsall-Finch, a Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 sophomore. The students didn’t know which answer matched which candidate, but Lucy said she thought she could guess Mr. Hamlet’s.
“What really stood out is that he had ideas, and he had stuff that he has done previously and ... he wants to incorporate [those ideas] ... or if that didn’t work, do something else,” she said. “So it was really progressive and specific.”
In other district news, the board Wednesday unanimously approved extending expired contracts with teachers, paraprofessionals and clerical-technical workers through June 2017.
The teachers union voted in favor of the move Monday.
Molly Born: mborn@post-gazette.com; Chris Potter: cpotter@post-gazette.com; Dan Gigler: dgigler@post-gazette.com.
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