Like his predecessor Janice Jackson, the next CEO of Chicago Public Schools is a product of the district. But as Pedro Martinez returns to his hometown, he takes the helm of a district many times larger than the one he led in San Antonio during a trying time for Chicago families and teachers navigating an ongoing pandemic.
San Antonio schools Superintendent Pedro Martinez, selected by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to be the next CEO of Chicago Public Schools, talks to reporters outside his former high school, Benito Juarez Academy, in Chicago on Sept. 15, 2021. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
When he starts in late September, Martinez will bring with him a resume that has landed him national recognition but also scrutiny from some in the education community. Here are six things to know about CPS’ first Latino permanent CEO.
1. Martinez defied the Texas governor over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban, sparking a struggle in the courts that continues today.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, this summer banned public schools and other government units from requiring employees get vaccinated against the coronavirus. But Martinez upheld his decision to require vaccines for his staff in San Antonio Independent School District, drawing a lawsuit from the Texas attorney general. That legal challenge was tossed because the federal government gave full approval for the Pfizer vaccine at the end of August, but the attorney general has again sued Martinez after Abbott’s newest executive order banned mandates against even fully authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
2. Martinez has never been a classroom teacher or school principal.
Martinez has a nontraditional background as an educator: He majored in accounting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before getting an MBA at DePaul University. After that, he worked in the private sector and for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. When he joined CPS under former CEO Arne Duncan, Martinez was chief financial officer. Though he has never been a teacher or principal, he has served superintendent roles at school districts afterward in Nevada and San Antonio.
3. He took heat in Texas for partnerships with charter schools.
During Martinez’s tenure in San Antonio, charters were granted to nonprofits to take over underperforming schools. The partnerships took place because of a new Texas law that offered incentives to school districts of increased funding and less penalties if they invited a charter school or nonprofit to operate certain campuses.
That led to immense blowback from Texas teachers’ unions, which have battled Martinez in the courts to void a New York charter school company’s control of an elementary school. But Martinez said Wednesday he is neither for nor against charter schools and simply wants to focus on the best results. In CPS, tens of thousands of students attend charter, contract or other schools that are privately managed and operated.
4. He stressed the need for schools to be open, safely
Martinez said he is committed to in-person learning during the pandemic and brought back close to 70% of elementary school students to classrooms in San Antonio.
In his Wednesday remarks, Martinez gave a fiery defense of reopening schools as both a salve for mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic and to reach the most underserved students. He argued there will be “decades” of research on lost academic gains during COVID-19 and that CPS’ greatest challenge when he assumes his role will be staying ahead of the pandemic.
5. In Texas, he focused on turning around school performance.
Martinez saw the state ratings for the San Antonio district rise from an F grade to a B. Before the pandemic, Martinez said, his students were graduating at increasingly higher rates and dropping out less. He said the number of schools classified as low-performing were reduced by more than 70%, though the pandemic reversed some gains.
6. Martinez immigrated to Chicago from Mexico as a boy.
Martinez said his family, which grew to include 11 younger siblings, settled in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. He credited local churches with helping his family early on and several of his CPS teachers for helping him become the first in his family to graduate college. He attended Benito Juarez Community Academy, where he returned Wednesday for the announcement that he would become CPS’ new CEO.
ayin@chicagotribune.com
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