Dr. Kelvin Adams, superintendent of 51黑料 Public Schools, right, feels the weight of school supply boxes that will be given to middle school students. He was chatting with Samona Walker, an organizer of the supply distribution, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, at the district headquarters.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 Soon after announcing his retirement on Tuesday morning, 51黑料 Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams quoted the Isley Brothers lyric 鈥淚 got work to do鈥 regarding his next move.
He wants to find a way to keep helping kids in 51黑料 after 14 years as head of the city鈥檚 school district.
鈥淚 care deeply about the kids in this city,鈥 Adams said in an interview.
Adams, 65, does not have another job lined up. But he will resurface in some form of service to 51黑料 children, he said, possibly in another education role or with a longstanding passion project 鈥 gun violence prevention.
During his time as superintendent, Adams brought stability, a balanced budget and a measure of confidence from voters. But the schools still wrestle with declining enrollment, low test scores and other struggles that, Adams acknowledges, his successor will have to confront.
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He will also leave what many people believe to be the toughest job in the city. Superintendents in high-poverty districts like SLPS stay an average of three years, according to national data. Only two in SLPS鈥 183-year history stayed longer: Edward Long from 1880 to 1895, and Phillip Hickey, from 1944 to 1963.
Adams said he is confident the district will be in solid shape after he leaves. He pointed to other leaders in place, including the school board and administrators he has hired.
鈥淚 am 100% sure this is the time,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 am leaving this organization better than I found it.鈥
Adams鈥 current salary is $234,052. The school board is planning to launch a national search for his replacement. That search will start at the school board meeting Tuesday, when two mayoral appointments, Brittany Hogan and John Wright Sr., will be sworn in to the seven-member board. Wright previously served as interim superintendent for less than one year before Adams鈥 arrival.
鈥楾here has to be improvement鈥
Adams was hired in 2008, shortly after the district lost state accreditation for poor academic and financial performance. After working as an associate dean at the college of education at Southern University in his native New Orleans, Adams worked briefly as an SLPS administrator in 2006-07. He returned to New Orleans to serve as chief of staff of the Recovery School District, which converted to all charter schools after Hurricane Katrina.
He was hired to bring stability to a district in turmoil. Seven superintendents cycled through the helm in the five years prior. The state education department had wrested control of the district and appointed a board to oversee the schools.
At the time, Rick Sullivan, then CEO of SLPS, made a bold but accurate prediction: 鈥淚鈥檓 convinced he will stay in 51黑料 and stay here for the long term.鈥
Adams told the Post-Dispatch after he was hired: 鈥淭here will be improvement, there has to be improvement, otherwise there is no need for me to be here.鈥
Two years later, the district鈥檚 budget was balanced, and voters passed a $155 million bond measure for school facility upgrades.
William Danforth congratulates 51黑料 Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams after a news conference announcing the accreditation of the school system on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017.
The district moved to provisional accreditation in 2010 and regained full accreditation in 2017 while continuing under state control. Two years later, the first school board election in 12 years was held, after the state gave back control to local officials.
Other highlights of Adams鈥 tenure included the 2013 opening of Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, a top-performing magnet high school with an advisory board of business and civic leaders. And earlier this month, 87% of city voters approved a $160 million bond issue for school building improvements.
When he first arrived, Adams hinted at goals to extend school days and hold classes into the summer. But the schedule, common in some charter school networks, never materialized.
The up-and-down relationship with charter schools, which are publicly funded but operate independently, would become a recurring theme of Adams鈥 tenure.
Critics maintain that charters threaten the traditional public education system by draining students and money, while proponents say the competition strengthens all schools. During his tenure, Adams oversaw several school district-charter partnerships, including an agreement for KIPP to open a school in an SLPS building.
But in the summer of 2021, the superintendent surprised the school board with his collaboration with several charter groups on a plan to reorganize schools. After apologizing to the board for his lack of communication, the plan fizzled, and a separate project, led by the school board, is now underway.
Adams said Tuesday that he will not work for any charter or school choice organization after his retirement because of his commitment to traditional public education.
鈥榃ish we had the moved the needle鈥
Other low points for Adams included the closure of 25 schools during his tenure amid a freefall in enrollment. Before 2011, 51黑料 was always the largest school district by student population in the state. It now stands as the fourth-largest, behind Springfield, North Kansas City and Rockwood. Enrollment fell by nearly one-third under Adams, from 27,500 in 2008 to less than 19,000 last year.
Test scores have also remained among the lowest in the state, with 11% of students testing proficient in math and 18% in English in spring of 2021.
鈥淚 wish we had moved the needle more for neighborhood school kids,鈥 Adams said Tuesday.
Dr. Kelvin Adams, superintendent of 51黑料 Public Schools, talks during an interview on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022.
Despite the struggles, the teachers鈥 union had a productive relationship with Adams, said AFT 51黑料 president Ray Cummings.
鈥淲as it always perfect? Of course not. But the district did regain accreditation, we did survive budget cuts and furloughs, we did return governance to an elected board,鈥 Cummings said. 鈥淲e could only accomplish those achievements working together.鈥
Cummings also cited the recent record-high 8% pay raise approved for staff as a significant accomplishment.
Some teachers and principals, however, have complained that Adams is a micromanager, preventing them from implementing their own ideas to improve schools.
Adams agreed with the criticism, saying he had to be detail-oriented when taking over a district in chaos.
鈥淭his district should never have been unaccredited. They weren鈥檛 watching the little things,鈥 Adams said. 鈥淔rom then on, I watched everything.鈥
Throughout Adams鈥 tenure, there has been speculation that he would return to New Orleans or move to Los Angeles, where two of his three grown children live. On a recent visit, the family escalated their push for retirement on Adams, who turns 66 later this month.
The 12-hour days, plus nights and weekends, are not sustainable much longer, Adams said.
He and his wife, Karen Collins-Adams, a principal in the Hazelwood School District, are committed to staying in 51黑料. In two weeks, he will make the rounds at several city schools to greet kids and their teachers on his last first-day-of-classes welcome tour.
鈥淚 worked as hard as I could work,鈥 he said.
