Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Prichard Committee Exec Silberman Retiring

Awaiting life-saving kidney transplant

 This from Brad Hughes at KSBA:
Stu Silberman, executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence for the past four years and a longtime educator, will retire Sept. 4 to spend time with his family in advance of an operation needed to address a rare kidney disease.

Silberman, who previously served as superintendent of the Daviess Co. and Fayette Co. school systems, shared the word of his decision in emails and a post on the Prichard Committee’s Facebook page Monday afternoon.

“It is with mixed emotions that I write to let you know I will be retiring, effective September 4, 2015. This comes after four years of service with the Prichard Committee and 41 years in education serving students and their families,” he said.

“As many of you know, I was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease several months ago and will need a kidney transplant sometime in the future. After much prayer and discussion with my family, we agreed that it would be very important to spend time together before a transplant is imminent. That is the sole reason for my decision to retire,” said the recipient of KSBA’s F. L. Dupree Outstanding Superintendent Award and the Superintendent of the Year award from the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents.

“I have been blessed to have had this opportunity to work side by side with such great people. I know that, because of them – because of you, the Prichard Committee is on very firm ground and will continue its strong advocacy for progress,” Silberman said. “I have greatly enjoyed my time with the committee and know the significant differences it continues to make in the lives of the children. I have great confidence that this will continue.”

According to Silberman, the Prichard Committee board has appointed a selection committee to begin a search for his successor, and it plans to begin interviews in the near future.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

As an educator, I survived the Silberman years. I shed no tear when this man left the school system. Anti-intellectual, populist, and egotistical, he was not what we needed. He threw teachers under the bus and his ineptitude almost cost Rosalind Hurley Richards her job. Thank god the Kentucky Supreme Court said Silberman was wrong. He did the same with Brenda Allen and Peggy Petrelli. His hires from michael Ernst to melody Parker were not intelligent choices.

I was baffled that he was chosen to replace Bob Sexton at Prichard.

He fooled a good many citizens. I am sorry he I'll, but I was most sorry when he took over the helm at FCPS. I hope one day to write a book about his tenure as superintendent.

Anonymous said...

And if Stu didn't do enough disservice to FCPS, he ushered in the ultimate conman, Tom Shelton. Lead us to slaughter like lambs. Sadly, we fell for it twice. Back to back debacles at the helm of FCPS. Here's to hoping we do better this time around. As for Stu, I wish you good health and a quiet retirement.

Anonymous said...

Shelton gone! Holliday retires! Silberman retires! It's a trifecta win for teachers and students in the Commonwealth! We may just right this ship yet!

Anonymous said...

Stu convinced Fayette County parents that until he came, there was no equity and that teachers were hostile to teaching. Poof.
With a magic wand he waved, the new slogan was " It's About Kids."

While subjecting teachers to cruel lashings by principals and new school directors, Central Office became bloated and it took on a life of its own. With almost no oversight or accountability, new hires including Kathy Dykes, Michael Ernst, and Melody Parker seemed free to do as they pleased.

If there ever was someone who knew how to manipulate public opinion, it was Stu. While nobody wants Stu to be ill, it is important that we remember his misdeeds. And I hope the board members will hear the message loud and clear,

Anonymous said...

I wonder what FCPS folks are going to do now that they apparently have won the "trifecta"? Who now will they be able to place the yoke of condemnation and blame when all students still continue to not achieve through the service of Kentucky's highest paid teaching force (other than JCPS)? I assume it will now be the children's parents' fault that the kids aren't learning.

Anonymous said...

The district is doomed to repeat the inequities that have plagued it for years because the system works its way back to status quo and will not let any real necessary change happen. All kids will not be successful unless meaningful changes are made. As soon as the last two superintendents started to make these changes, the system fought back and made the necessary changes impossible. Sad that a district with so many resources does not want to use them to help all kids succeed!