By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The Special Administrative Board of St. Louis Public Schools has picked Kelvin Adams to be the new superintendent of Missouri's largest public district.
Adams will be the seventh person to hold the post in the last five years.
Adams comes to St. Louis after working one year as the chief of staff for the New Orleans Recovery School District, which like St. Louis is a state run district.
The Special Administrative Board chose Adams from a pool of over 30 applicants.
SAB Executive Director Rick Sullivan says he is not concerned about Adams' lack of experience serving as superintendent of a district.
"No, because of the roles he's played, the jobs he's done. He has been the implementer of everything done in New Orleans," says Sullivan.
During an interview earlier this month Adams highlighted student achievement as the number-one problem confronting St. Louis.
To make headway on that issue he says he's not opposed to increasing the number of city charter schools.
"I view charters as an opportunity for choice and competition, and so I will be looking to do anything as it relates to improving student achievement for our kids, whether it would be charters or traditional schools," says Adams.
Adams was the Director of Human Resources for SLPS over eleven months in 2006.
The value of his contract is not public yet. He's expected to start the new position in October.