Sonja Santelises
{{Infobox person
| name = Sonja Santelises
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| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1968}}
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| education = {{Unbulleted list|Brown University (BA),|Columbia University (MA),|Harvard University (PhD)}}
| occupation = CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS)
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Sonja Santelises has been the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools since May 2016.
Biography
Sonja Santelises (née Brookins) was raised in Peabody, Massachusetts, just north of Boston.{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci-sonja-santelises-20160508-story.html|title=Sonja Santelises, the next Baltimore schools CEO, says: 'It can be done'|last=Green|first=Erica L.|work=baltimoresun.com|access-date=2018-07-23|language=en-US}} Her father Jackson Andrew Brookins was a chemist from Mississippi who was also an industrial relations executive for Eastman Kodak, and her mother Verna was a former social worker who was in charge of community relations at Polaroid as well as a district minister for the Pentecostal church. Both of her parents grew up in the Jim Crow south. She has a younger sister, Shahara, who became a college professor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/educationfamily/sonja-santelises-ready-to-lead-baltimore-city-public-schools/|title=Head of the Class|date=2017-09-05|work=Baltimore magazine|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en-US}}
Her family were Protestants, but Santelises went to Bishop Fenwick High School, a private Catholic high school. She received a bachelor's degree in English literature and International Relations from Brown University, a Master's degree in Education Administration from Columbia University, and a doctorate in Education Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University.{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-schools-letter-20170315-story.html|title=It's 'Dr.' Sonja Santelises|last=Sun|first=Baltimore|work=baltimoresun.com|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en-US}} She worked for 25 years for urban school systems as an administrator and educator before heading BCPS.
She is married to Lew Santelises, who is an American hedge fund and private equity fund manager who founded Santelises Fund Management. They have three daughters, including two fraternal twins. She has given a TEDx talk.{{Cite web|url=http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/3350/32/|title=Brown Alumni Magazine - The Children's Crusader|website=www.brownalumnimagazine.com|access-date=2018-07-21}}
From 2010 to 2013, Santelises was the chief academic officer in Baltimore, then served as vice president for The Education Trust, where she worked on K-12 policy and practice.
In Baltimore City
Santelises became the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools in July 2016, replacing Gregory Thornton, who was ousted by the school board.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afro.com/spotlight-black-educators-sonja-santelises-ceo-bcps/|title=Spotlight on Black Educators: Sonja Santelises, CEO, BCPS {{!}} Afro|website=www.afro.com|date=23 February 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-07-20}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bal-meet-incoming-baltimore-schools-ceo-sonja-santelises-20160504-premiumvideo.html|title=Meet incoming Baltimore schools CEO Sonja Santelises|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2018-07-21}} She has advocated for improving the curriculum as a way to help close the achievement gap, and has conducted audits to find out where students are receiving gaps in their education.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/07/17/the-importance-of-asking-hard-questions-about-what-students-learn-in-school/|title=Perspective {{!}} The importance of asking hard questions about what students learn in school|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=2018-07-20}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.academia.org/baltimore-public-school-curricula-comes-up-short/|title=Baltimore Public School Curricula Comes Up Short|date=2018-07-16|work=Accuracy In Academia|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en-US}} She has advocated for literacy programs and stopping teacher layoffs.{{Cite news|url=http://wypr.org/post/dr-sonja-santelises-funding-future-baltimore-city-schools|title=Dr. Sonja Santelises on Funding the Future of Baltimore City Schools|last=Greaves|first=Tom Hall, Cianna B.|work=WYPR 88.1FM|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci-school-budget-20180423-story.html|title=Baltimore schools budget: Literacy coaches for high need schools, no layoffs|last=Richman|first=Talia|work=baltimoresun.com|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en-US}}
= Criticism =
In 2017, Santelises had to defend and explain how she would fix the district's $130 million budget deficit, which she inherited from the previous administration.{{Cite news|url=http://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/raw-interview-baltimore-city-schools-ceo-dr-sonja-santelises|title=RAW INTERVIEW: Baltimore City Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises|last=WBFF|work=WBFF|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en-US}} She received national criticism in January 2018 when several Baltimore schools had to close for days due to heating systems going down, causing near freezing temperatures in classrooms, which she said was the result of systemic and long term underfunding of the school district.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/01/08/beleaguered-baltimore-reopens-all-but-four-schools/1012216001/|title=Beleaguered Baltimore reopens most schools minus icicles|website=amp.usatoday.com|language=en|access-date=2018-07-21}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2018/01/11/fiery-scorn-for-baltimore-officials-after-cold-school-crisis/|title=Fiery scorn for Baltimore officials after cold school crisis {{!}} Baltimore Brew|work=Baltimore Brew|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/01/18/578731411/baltimore-schools-heating-crisis-a-day-of-reckoning-for-the-city-and-state|title=Baltimore Schools' Heating Crisis A 'Day Of Reckoning' For The City And State|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-07-21|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/opinion/sunday/americas-deathtrap-schools.html|title=Opinion {{!}} America's Deathtrap Schools|work=The New York Times |date=7 April 2018 |access-date=2018-07-21|language=en|last1=Peek |first1=Lori }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/freezing-classrooms-spark-heated-debate-over-baltimores-school-infrastructure|title=Freezing classrooms spark heated debate over Baltimore's school infrastructure|website=PBS NewsHour|date=13 February 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-07-21}}
References
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Category:Brown University alumni
Category:Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
Category:Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni
Category:American women chief executives
Category:American chief executives of education-related organizations
Category:Bishop Fenwick High School (Peabody, Massachusetts) alumni