This article first appeared in the St. Beacon, Sept. 30, 2011 - The new superintendent of East St. Louis School District 189 is no stranger to troubled schools -- or controversy.
Arthur Ray Culver, hired to lead a district now under supervision by the state of Illinois, left his position as superintendent of schools in Champaign, Ill. earlier this year after unsuccessfully seeking the same job in Atlanta, Ga.
Culver succeeds Jed Deets, a longtime school administrator in Metro East who became interim superintendent July 1; state officials said he will remain a part of the new administration in East St. Louis.
Culver talks about the job
In an interview with the Beacon, Culver said Friday afternoon that he had been approached by Illinois education officials about becoming the liaison between the state and District 189. He had been considering other offers, he said, but decided to come to East St. louis to check out the situation, "and I fell in love with this challenge.
"I'm motivated by challenges and by things that other people either can't do or don't want to do. The longer I was here, the more I was reminded of why I went into education: to make a positive difference in the lives of students who are from high-poverty backgrounds and are not being successful in school."
The excitement continues, he said as he ended his first day as superintendent.
"It just energized me," Culver said. "I've been on fire since I've been here. The longer I'm here, the more passionate and excited I get about this opportunity."
Not that he is blind to the big job ahead, he added.
"The challenges here are well known, locally and nationwide," he said. "But they're not unlike the challenges that plague other urban school districts around the country. With the right systems, programs, people, policies and practices, those barriers can be overcome.
"This is not my first rodeo. I'm going into this thing with my eyes wide open."
Culver is also beginning the job with a five-year contract and with the state looking over his shoulder -- a situation that he said he welcomes.
"I see it as a huge plus," he said of the oversight from Springfield. "The state has taken the district over, and they want the district to be a success as much as I do. They assured me they are going to give me full support each step of the way on this journey. It's nice to have a state board that is aware of the challenges and committed to help overcome those challenges.
"It's going to take at least five years, but I'm going to predict that East St. Louis is going to become one of the premier districts in the state. That's the vision I have for the district, and there's no doubt in my mind that it's going to occur."
Culver will be making $225,000 a year on his five-year contract, which was approved by a unanimous vote of the District 189 board Thursday night. He will receive personal health-care benefits but no family benefits.
In May, District 189 agreed to let the state take over the district for at least three years to improve academic achievement and help the schools become more financially stable. The takeover was prompted by the failure for nine years to reach standards established by the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Under that arrangement, Illinois education officials will have the authority to review and approve -- or disapprove -- personnel decisions, contracts and budgetary decisions.
Announcing the appointment of Culver, Christopher A. Koch, Illinois superintendent of education, said in a statement:
"Art Culver's willingness to embrace a challenge, his leadership and experience implementing systematic change in the Champaign district will be a great asset to the East St. Louis district. Art has the experience and desire necessary to work with all partners in East St. Louis and put the district on a new path so that students can succeed."
District 189 board president Alonzo Greenwood said of the new superintendent:
"We are very pleased to find a candidate with Superintendent Culver's credentials and experience. He has a proven track record that he can raise achievement while successfully managing the budget and operations of a large district. We feel fortunate to hire someone with Arthur's experience and reputation, and he has already shown us that he is committed to improving outcomes for our children."
Culver's record in Champaign
When he left Champaign, he received a $75,000 buyout and continuation of his district-paid health insurance through Friday, unless he got another job. When he left his job at Champaign, he was making $246,851, according to a story in the Champaign News-Gazette, which obtained the terms of his separation agreement.
According to those terms, Culver and his former employer agreed "not to make derogatory or disparaging comments, or negative references, with respect to the other party." The story also said that "any inquiries from prospective employers will be answered consistent with the terms of a mutually agreed-upon letter of reference."
Culver had been the last of three candidates to remain in the search for a new school superintendent in DeKalb County, Ga., this past spring, but he withdrew his name from consideration. According to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the move threw into further disarray a district that already had been reeling from earlier developments, including the indictment of a former school chief and intense scrutiny from a regional accrediting agency, which has instructed the district to meet a series of directives or face sanctions.
Culver came to Champaign in 2002 with a mandate to close the achievement gap between white and black students. He pledged to remain while a federal consent decree aimed at eliminating those disparities was in place; it ended in 2009.
State officials said that during his tenure in Champaign, elementary math scores by African-American students rose by 30 percent and reading scores went up by 26 percent. In middle school, corresponding scores rose by more than 50 percent and 20 percent, and enrollment of African-American students in honors and Advanced Placement courses tripled during this same time period.
Further, according to the state, the graduation rate for all students during Culver's tenure in Champaign increased to 95.7 percent from 89.6 percent; during the same period, the Illinois state average has moved only to 87.8 percent from 86 percent. In 2010, when the state average graduation rate for black students was 78 percent, in Champaign it was 93.9 percent.
Financially, Culver helped stabilize Champaign schools by increasing the number of competitive grants earned from approximately $350,000 to more than $1 million last year. He also helped lead a campaign to pass the largest referendum in the district's history for funding school facilities.
But those successes were balanced by other controversies around Culver, including complaints that he was not actively engaged in the community and that his contract allowed him to work fewer days than superintendents of other districts in the area.
When the superintendent's departure was announced, School board President Dave Tomlinson summed up the situation this way to the News-Gazette:
"There are people that like Arthur. There are people that don't like Arthur. We can't ignore the fact that our schools are in a much different place than they were. And that a lot of the community believes it's time to move on."
In one more echo between Champaign and the St. Louis area, the school board there chose an interim superintendent in June after Culver's departure -- Robert Malito, who had served as superintendent in Parkway from 2004 to 2009.