WASHINGTON 鈥� Antwan Wilson, the chancellor of the D.C. public school system, resigned on Tuesday in the wake of his announcement last week that he violated system policy by circumventing the lottery process to get a school transfer for his child.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced at a news conference that she had accepted Wilson’s resignation Tuesday afternoon, saying Wilson聽鈥渨ould be unable to successfully lead the schools, having not been able to regain the community鈥檚 trust.鈥�
Dr. Amanda Alexander, the chief of elementary schools, will be the interim chancellor, Bowser said.
Wilson said in a statement Friday that he 鈥渟ought assistance鈥� on how to transfer his child to Wilson High School 鈥渃orrectly,鈥� but that 鈥渢he process I followed did not align with DCPS policy.鈥� Jennifer Niles, the deputy mayor for education, resigned that day as a result of the announcement; at least one D.C. Council member said Niles was the one who gave Wilson that assistance.
The policy was one Wilson himself put in place 鈥� one of his first moves upon taking over the school system last year.
Earlier Tuesday, Councilmember Robert White confirmed that Wilson had been placed on administrative leave and asked to resign.
Bowser on Tuesday called Wilson “an extraordinary educator” and 鈥渁 human being that made a mistake.鈥� She said that while Niles resigned immediately after Friday’s announcement, she gave Wilson “the opportunity to explain that mistake and seek to regain the trust he needed to lead.”
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said in a statement, “I support today鈥檚 resignation of the D.C. Schools Chancellor.” He said the request for Wilson’s resignation came after a meeting among himself, Bowser and Education Committee Chairman David Grosso “in order to come to a consensus on the best way forward for our school system. The resignation of the chancellor is that way.”
Mendelson called the actions Wilson announced “indefensible,” and that he was “highly disappointed that our progress in public education has come to this point.” He added, “The challenge 鈥� our challenge 鈥� is to overcome this moment, and recent scandals over attendance and graduation.”
Asked whether he was pleased with the mayor’s decision, Grosso said,聽鈥淧leased would be too strong of a word. I鈥檓 OK with it 鈥� I think it would have been very hard for the chancellor to continue.鈥�
He said about Wilson,聽鈥淚 was impressed with the work that he did,鈥� adding that they had 鈥渁 strong working relationship. … It鈥檚 gonna be hard to rebuild it.鈥�
Grosso wasn’t one of the seven members of the D.C. Council who had called for Wilson’s resignation. On Tuesday he said,聽鈥淚 was trying to be thoughtful and deliberative about it. 鈥� I don鈥檛 do anything on a whim and I don鈥檛 do it quickly.鈥�
He said he talked with colleagues and the community, and that 鈥渢o be honest, the feedback I was getting鈥� on the question 鈥渨as more along the lines of 50-50 on this; it wasn鈥檛 a straight call for resignation.鈥� He added that Wilson had been “very well received” at a community meeting at scandal-plagued Ballou High School last week.
On the job a year
Bowser chose Wilson for the chancellor’s job in November 2016; he started in February 2017. He was previously superintendent of the Oakland schools.
He signed a two-year contract when he began the job; asked about financial arrangements, Bowser said, 鈥淲e will negotiate his exit.鈥�
Alexander said on Tuesday that she was 鈥減leased to serve鈥� as interim superintendent, and that she wanted to 鈥渇inish the year strong.” She also said she planned 鈥渢o connect with members of our community 鈥� to rebuild鈥� the trust that has been eroded. She said a series of community meetings will be scheduled, but haven鈥檛 been announced yet.
Asked whether the council would have more responsibilities in the process of choosing the next chancellor, Bowser said that they already had a consent role.
Grosso agreed, calling the process that led to Wilson’s hiring “robust.” He said Bowser had fulfilled all the expectations he had expressed to her in a letter he wrote her at the beginning of the last process.聽鈥淵ou can鈥檛 鈥� prevent somebody from doing what happened.鈥�
‘Deeply disappointing’
Earlier Tuesday, the number of D.C. Council members calling for Wilson’s resignation grew to seven 鈥� a majority of the 13 members.
Many of those who called for his resignation praised the job Wilson had been doing while at the same time saying Wilson wouldn鈥檛 be able to regain that trust from parents.
Brianne Nadeau, D-Ward 1, in a statement Tuesday described Wilson as someone 鈥渨ho truly listens, who is responsive to parent concerns and has worked with me in partnership to move forward on long-standing issues鈥� in the school system. She also praised his 鈥渙penness and spirit of collaboration.鈥�
But that just made Wilson鈥檚 actions more 鈥渄eeply disappointing,鈥� concluding that 鈥渢oo much damage has been done to the public trust,鈥� citing 鈥渉ow stressful and challenging the school lottery can be, and how important school placement is for each child.鈥�
Kenyan McDuffie, D-Ward 5, said in a statement Tuesday, 鈥淚f prior to this controversy Antwan Wilson was the person to lead DCPS into the future, it is now clear that he no longer maintains the public confidence needed to do so.鈥�
Councilmember Mary Cheh, D-Ward 3, said on Monday, however, that Wilson needed to resign 鈥渇or reasons that go well beyond the school-placement issue,鈥� citing recent revelations of improper grade-changing at many D.C. high schools.
蜜桃视频app’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
