Diversity, achievement are on agenda of St. Paul superintendent candidates

One came here from Santiago, Chile, knowing little English. Another made it through segregated schools in southern Arkansas, while the third hails from northeast Minneapolis and says she's a "tried and true" Minnesotan.

The finalists for the St. Paul school superintendent's job are as diverse as the district's students. In public interviews this week, they all said they planned to stay the course. They also promised to make the tough decisions necessary to trim a looming $27 million budget shortfall, and to hasten student academic progress.

St. Paul's school board now has until Monday to choose among Valeria Silva, currently the district's chief academic officer; Charles Hopson, deputy superintendent for the Portland, Ore., schools, and Deborah Henton, superintendent of schools in North Branch.

Deborah Henton

Henton, 54, is a devotee of Bikram Yoga, or hot yoga, which is performed in temperatures of more than 100 degrees. It may be good practice, at least metaphorically, for sweating out the details of the tasks the next St. Paul superintendent faces.

An example came Thursday when Henton was questioned by community members about her experience in dealing with a diverse school district, especially Hmong students at Harding High school where she had been principal. Henton said she supports and promotes diversity and is open to improving any deficiencies. Later, Henton added that she learned a lot about cultural differences at Harding and still has much to learn.

Her rise through Minnesota's education community began in Woodbury teaching social studies. From there, Henton became an assistant principal in Stillwater and St. Paul before taking the reins at Harding High School; eventually she became chief of staff under former Superintendent Meria Carstarphen.

She left the district to run the North Branch schools two years ago, because "I wanted to take my carer to another level," she said.

Henton played a key role in developing St. Paul's strategic plan, which lists more than 120 initiatives, and she also has spearheaded a new strategic plan for North Branch, which didn't have one before.

In a tough race, Henton will tout her Minnesota roots when asked. "I'm a Minnesotan tried and true," she said. "I'm a Twins fan, a Vikings fan, and a Gophers fan."

Valeria Silva

Silva came to Minnesota 24 years ago, at age 24, and worked her way through the school district, starting as a teacher in a Spanish immersion program in St. Paul. She's been a principal at Dayton's Bluff and at Adams Spanish Immersion elementary schools.

Among her biggest achievements are helping close the achievement gap between the 40 percent of St. Paul students with limited English proficiency and its white students. She's used ground-breaking methods to do so, which have placed her on the national education stage.

She is one of 24 educators in the country selected to work on national education standards that are set to be delivered in weeks.

This week she emphasized her graduation from the Broad Superintendent's Academy, a prestigious, Los Angeles-based 10-month training seminar for people who intend to lead urban school districts.

Personally, she is passionate and feisty -- a "chili pepper," she called herself. "I am relentless. I am stubborn. I don't do anything if it is not about kids," she said. "I always think out of the box."

Charles Hopson

The son of a Pentecostal minister who grew up in a small town in southern Arkansas, Hopson, 51, is the only non-Minnesotan among the finalists.

He calls himself an "emerging systemic equity leader," meaning he's part of the movement in education that believes the achievement gap between white students and students of color can be closed with more resources, by rethinking how some children are taught, and through understanding cultural differences.

That strategy is consistent with St. Paul's for closing what has become one of the largest such gaps in the nation.

In Portland, Hopson worked his way up from vice principal to principal of a middle school, and then principal of a high school.

A top accomplishment there occurred when his high school met federal guidelines for academic progress, after never having done so. His hallmarks have been lowering suspension rates while calling on kids to be more responsible.

He gave only lukewarm support to the state's Q Comp pay-for-performance initiative, saying that he opposed a similar plan in Oregon because it created pay disparities between principals of schools that were predominantly white -- and who tended to be white -- and principals of schools with larger numbers of minorities.

Gregory A. Patterson • 612-673-7287