Cincinnati Public Schools welcomes news superintendent

CINCINNATI —  On Friday, Cincinnati Public Schools welcomed its new superintendent with a special presentation.

Students played music and presented gifts to Cincinnati’s incoming superintendent, Iranetta Wright, who comes to Cincinnati from Michigan, where she currently serves as the Detroit Public Schools deputy superintendent.

As she transitions into her new role in May, she said one of the things she wants to tackle is the learning loss that happened during the pandemic. 

“Now we really need to clearly assess what’s happened as a result of the pandemic so that we’re then able to tackle those individual needs,” said Wright. “Looking through foundation kills, where are the students in comprehension and how we’re really giving the necessary tools for the growth we know can happen.”

Teacher burnout is also on her list of priorities. A survey conducted by the U.S. Public Sector found that K-12 teachers reported higher levels of anxiety, stress and burnout during the pandemic.

Wright said she plans to engage the teachers more and find the support they need.

“I think it’s also important teachers know that they are valued and that they are in an environment that says, ‘this is where we want you to be, that you’re irreplaceable to our work and that we’re providing you the necessary support to do your job in the classroom,’” she said. 

Wright then turned her attention to an incident that happened earlier this week. CPS reported a third grade student brought a gun into a school. Wright clarified that the gun was owned by an older sibling and the student had no intent of harming the students. Still, it was an opportunity to remind parents to put away their guns and secure them.

“Make sure that backpacks are checked at night before we get to the next day so that we don’t have situations where we now have this happen,” she said. 

Overall, Wright said there’s a couple important things she wants to accomplish through her platform. She plans to lead with collaboration and provide excellence not only to the district as a whole, but to the students as well.

“Our children deserve excellence in all that they do,” she said. “They deserve academic excellence. They deserve experiences that focus on the whole child. They deserve an opportunity to engage in high quality education.”