Who is Dr Sonja Santelises? Outrage as all students fail in math exam at 13 Baltimore state schools
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: Dr Sonja Santelises, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, has reportedly been facing calls for resignation due to the city's apparently failing education system, as per Daily Mail.
More recently, a string of Baltimore schools sparked outrage after no student managed to pass their state math exams. According to the publication, nearly 75 percent of students supposedly got the lowest possible score.
The results came as part of the latest round of Maryland's state testing, where a total of 13 Baltimore high schools failed to present a single student with a "proficient" math score.
Dr Sonja Santelises has served as the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools since 2016
Dr Sonja Santelises served as an administrator and educator for urban school systems for 25 years before she took up the position of Baltimore City Public Schools CEO in 2016, replacing Gregory Thornton after he was ousted by the school board.
She was raised in Peabody, Massachusetts, by her father, Jackson Andrew Brookins, and mother, Verna.
Brookins was reportedly a chemist from Mississippi who also served as an industrial relations executive for Eastman Kodak, while Verna was a former social worker who looked after the community relations at Polaroid and worked as the district minister for the Pentecostal church.
Sonja also has a younger sister, Shahara, who is reportedly a college professor. While her family were Protestants, she attended Bishop Fenwick High School, a private Catholic high school.
Sonja earned her Bachelor's degree in English literature and International Relations, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University before getting a Master's degree in Education Administration from Columbia University.
She also received a doctorate in Education Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University.
The CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools was the chief academic officer in Baltimore between 2010 and 2013 before becoming the Vice President for The Education Trust, where she worked on K-12 policy and practice.
Sonja is married to hedge fund and private equity fund manager, Lew Santelises, who is also the founder of Santelises Fund Management. The couple share three daughters, including two fraternal twins.
Past controversies surrounding Dr Sonja Santelises
In 2017, Dr Sonja Santelises was questioned about the district's $130 million budget deficit, which she inherited from the previous administration, and had to explain why she was not expecting such a large gap, as reported by Fox Baltimore.
She was also subject to criticism in January 2018 when several Baltimore schools remained closed for days due to disruption in heating systems leading to near-freezing temperatures in classrooms, which Santelises said was the result of long-term underfunding of the school district, as per PBS NewsHour.
Activist Jason Rodriguez criticizes Baltimore schools after students fail to achieve proficient math scores
In the wake of the math exam results, Jason Rodriguez, Deputy Director of Baltimore-based nonprofit People Empowered by the Struggle, called out Baltimore school systems.
"This is educational homicide," stated Rodriguez to Fox Baltimore. He mentioned there is "no excuse" for the latest failure, which came after several warnings about the city's poor education standards over the years.
The shocking results came after a new study found that schooling across the US hit significant lows during the pandemic and concluded that one-third of fourth and eighth-grade students can't even read at a "basic" level, as per Daily Mail.
Moreover, 74.5 percent of students in the 13 failing Baltimore schools scored just one out of four on their test, the lowest score that can be earned by a child, as per the results, which were first brought to light by Project Baltimore.
The report also revealed that some of the city's best-known schools, including Patterson High School, Frederick Douglass, and Reginald F. Lewis, were also mentioned in the concerning list.
Notably, the Baltimore City Schools reportedly received $1.6 billion from taxpayers in 2022, becoming the largest funding the educational authority has ever received. Naturally, people questioned how the money was spent.
"So, it's not a funding issue. We're getting plenty of funding," said Rodriguez, adding, "I don't think money is the issue. I think accountability is the issue."
In addition to the massive investment from the taxpayers, the school district also received $799 million in Covid relief funding from the federal government.
Rodriguez's group has long been holding rallies to call out the rising educational crisis in the city and even called for Sonja's resignation over low test scores and falling graduation rates in 2021.
"We're still dealing with these same issues year after year," mentioned Rodriguez, along with, "It's just scary to me and alarming to me because we know that what's happening now, you know, it's just opening up the floodgates to the school-to-prison pipeline."
He continued, "I'm beyond angry... This is why we've been calling for the resignation of the school CEO."
Another study published this month by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) reportedly found that 16 million students were chronically absent from schools during the pandemic, according to Daily Mail.
Millions of students missed more than 10 percent of school days during the 2021-22 year, double the number seen in previous years.
As per a May survey cited in the report, more than eight in 10 public schools reported stunted behavioral and social-emotional development in their students due to the pandemic.
Netizens call out Baltimore schools after concerning math test results
In the wake of the disappointing math test results, several people took to Facebook to call out Baltimore schools and Sonja Santelises.
One user wrote, "@Sonja B. Santelises NEEDS TO RESIGN! NOT ONE child passed the Math Proficiency tests in the State Of Maryland Public Schools."
They continued, "I don’t even live in the city and I’m outraged because I grew up in the city. Parents should call for her resignation. Ppl are not doing their jobs and she’s the top boss."
"#sonjasantelises And she gets paid $445,000 a year? I think we need to reelect Sheila Dixon for Baltimore," added the person.
"Congrats Baltimore! Education or lack there of is the problem everywhere. People graduating high school believing the world owes them," posted another user.
They added, "Schools indoctrinate youth instead of educating and teaching them important things. Stats don’t lie. Interesting statistics here."
One more said, "A Baltimore School district consisting of 13 schools right.. took the standardized math test and in all 13 schools nobody passed.... Not one kid. This is absolutely heartbreaking and saddening. It's time they start teaching again and stop all the nonsense that they've been doing."
A person pointed out, "Baltimore's School Superintendent has a salary paid by the citizens of Baltimore and this is what they get for their money...I don't agree that it is primarily the fault of the teachers."
"I say the blame lies squarely at the doorstep of the Superintendent and the School Board who have abandoned necessary real world EDUCATION for left wing radical INDOCTRINATION and a race to mediocrity," continued the user.
They added, "A good portion of the blame also falls on the parents of these students who, despite dismal performance, continue to elect and reelect these crazies out of some misguided sense of loyalty to the Democratic party and their racial divisiveness."
Another concerned person expressed, "This is deeply sad. Now, what if they checked Christian schools, home-schooled kids, and charter school kids in Baltimore (if there are any)? I'd like to see those numbers...out of curiosity, more than anything."
What did the Baltimore City School District say about the poor math scores?
The Baltimore City School District issued a statement following the concerning test results, saying, "Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) appreciates recent one-time and ongoing increases in funding from our community," as per Daily Mail.
"City Schools uses the funding to increase student achievement. Our complete 2023 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) math data paints a genuine picture of our progress," added the statement.
It continued, "But make no mistake: these recent increases do not diminish or patch over years of chronic underfunding that has directly contributed to our current outcomes. That recovery takes an equal or more significant amount of time to remediate."
"Right now, the facts are clear: City Schools' students have earned two consecutive years of improved scores on the math MCAP following national decreases during the COVID pandemic," mentioned the statement.
It further claimed, "Seven of eight grade levels experienced growth in math between SY2021-22 and SY2022-23, mirroring growth in Maryland overall."
"We acknowledge that some of our high school students continue to experience challenges in math following the pandemic, especially if they were struggling beforehand," clarified the statement.
The concluding line read, "The work is underway to improve outcomes for students. But treating student achievement as an 'if-then' proposition does a great disservice to our community."