Philly’s superintendent has hired a new chief and promoted 3 principals

Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has hired a special education chief from outside the district and promoted several principals to top leadership positions.

Watlington chose Nathalie Nérée as chief of special education and diverse learners. Nérée comes to the Philadelphia School District from Chicago, where she was executive director of instructional quality. She also worked as director of special education in Broward County, Fla., and as a special education teacher and principal in Florida and Wisconsin.

Watlington also named three new assistant superintendents, promoting well-regarded district principals to fill those roles.

Anh Nguyen will lead the district’s Innovation and Opportunity Networks, which encompass both alternative and disciplinary schools and schools charged with cutting-edge educational practices, such as Science Leadership Academy, nationally recognized for its project-based learning model, and Vaux Big Picture High School, which operates with a unique funding model and emphasizes real-world experiences.

Nguyen started in the district as a teacher in 2002; she’s worked as principal of Nebinger Elementary in South Philadelphia and, most recently, as principal of Parkway Center City Middle College, the first Pennsylvania high school that allows students to earn high school degrees and college associate’s degrees simultaneously. The school’s graduation rate is 100%, and 99% of its 2023 graduates earned associate’s degrees.

Laureal Robinson will become assistant superintendent for Learning Network 3, with schools in Center City and North and South Philadelphia. Robinson is the longtime principal of Spring Garden Elementary, a school where every student comes from an economically disadvantaged home and half of all children are English-language learners. Under her leadership, Spring Garden demonstrated significant growth in state test scores and student progress.

Kahlila Johnson is the new deputy chief of talent management. Johnson had been principal of Overbrook High School, where graduation rates rose, dropouts decreased, and student and teacher attendance jumped during her tenure, which began in 2019. Johnson, an Overbrook graduate, has also worked as Philadelphia’s deputy chief for high schools.

Nguyen, Robinson, and Johnson will remain at their current schools until their replacements are identified, Watlington said.

The superintendent also announced the departure of Malika Savoy, who had been chief academic officer and most recently worked as assistant superintendent for special projects. Savoy has accepted a job as deputy superintendent and chief academic officer of the Allentown public school system.

Watlington hailed Savoy as a “valued asset to the district,” and said Nérée, Nguyen, Robinson, and Johnson would help the district “prepare students to imagine and realize any future they desire, in our continued pursuit of becoming the fastest-improving large, urban school district in the country.”