Philly superintendent names a new deputy and picks a curriculum chief

Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. made two key appointments this week, choosing a former Houston administrator as deputy superintendent and a home-grown educator to lead curriculum efforts.

Jeremy Grant-Skinner is the new deputy superintendent of talent, strategy and culture. Nyshawana Francis-Thompson was named chief of curriculum and instruction.

Grant-Skinner comes to Philadelphia from Houston, Texas’ largest school system, which will be taken over by the state in June. Francis-Thompson, a former district special education teacher, most recently served as interim curriculum chief.

Watlington, in a statement, said both “bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the district. They are battle-tested leaders, who have a demonstrated a track record of creating collaborative and results-oriented work cultures.”

Grant-Skinner will oversee the offices of talent, professional learning, equity, information technology, and strategic planning.

His job responsibilities are vast. Grant-Skinner will, the district said in a statement, “be charged with overhauling the recruiting strategy, reducing onboarding time for new hires, implementing a plan to train and develop staff across all job roles, develop an evaluation system for all central office departments, and assist the superintendent in transforming the district into a more collaborative, trusted and results-oriented culture that recognizes and better supports school leadership teams as the unit of change.”

He’ll also oversee implementation of the district’s five-year strategic plan, which will be released Thursday.

Grant-Skinner, a former first grade teacher, worked for a year as the human-resources chief in Houston. Prior to Houston, Grant-Skinner spent four years in a similar role in Baltimore, where he was credited with strong retention rates, low vacancy rates, and robust recruiting of Black and Latinx teachers.

Grant-Skinner also worked in human resources for the New Teacher Project and Teach for America, where he worked on “innovative compensation models and an equity-focused principal preparation program,” the district’s statement said.

Francis-Thomas is already the district’s point person for selecting and adopting new curricula system-wide. She’s working in a rebranded role, assuming duties that used to be performed by Malika Savoy-Brooks, who’s now an assistant superintendent for special projects.

The appointments of Francis-Thomas and Grant-Skinner are revenue-neutral, officials said, because Watlington eliminated or repurposed other vacant positions.

Uri Monson had been deputy superintendent of operations; he left the district earlier this year to become Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget secretary. Larisa Shambaugh recently resigned as Philadelphia’s chief talent officer.

The deputy superintendent for academics job is still open. ShaVon Savage, whom Watlington named to that job last fall, abruptly resigned this spring. A national search is underway for her replacement.