What follows are thumbnail sketches of the 20 applicants who want to be the next Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools. Before beginning, I want to thank the comms specialist who promptly responded to my request and sent me the 20 applications via email.

The applications consisted of a cover letter, a CV or resume, often pages long, reference letters (‘To Whom It May Concern’,) and transcripts. A few had a glossy brochure touting the candidate as well. I skimmed rapidly the cover (brag) letters, focused on the resumes, and ignored the references and transcripts. No one includes a bad reference letter in their app. We can do a deeper dive once the School Board winnows the list to semi-finalists.

I’m going to work in reverse alphabetical order. I did this occasionally as a teacher because, if your father’s name was Zyxby, why should you always be the last? It’s good to mix up the order.

Wilson, Roy (Dr.). His cover letter says he’s enthusiastic. I only mention this because many used the same word to describe themselves. His resume did not follow the usual convention of listing experience in descending chronological order. First, he lists his experience with public schools as a principal. There are gaps. As we scroll down to see what those are, he lists being CEO of a charter school and assistant superintendent for Newark (NJ) schools. Seems like he has a career of promotions and then demotions. Given that the Board wants candidates with experience of being superintendent of medium to large-sized school districts, I’m not sure he’ll make the cut.

Taylor, Adam. One of the few whose cover letters don’t focus on what makes them great, but talks about the needs of public schools and then why he makes a good fit. He spends more than a page listing accomplishments under the heading ‘experience’ on his resume. He’s currently a consultant (since 2020) to help school use data to make students college and career ready, yada, yada, yada. Before that, he was superintendent for a system with ‘2500 scholars.‘ Emphasis mine; that’s charter school talk.

Stenwall, Andrew. A Pointe Vedra resident, he begins his cover letter by confessing that he’s never been a teacher or a school administrator. But! he’s qualified. Because reasons like he’s worked for asset management and capital management firms. Wow, do we really want the equivalent of a hedge fund manager in charge of our schools? Let’s give him the Chutzpah Award and move on.

Stalliard, George (Dr.) The last page of his app is the most intriguing as it documents a court’s approval of his name change from Stollard to Stalliard. There’s no explanation and he owes us none except that he thought it was important to include in his app. Another person with enthusiasm, he writes that he is an emiritus VP with a college, which matches his resume that he held the position until 2023. No idea what he’s been up to since then. There are other gaps in his work experience. Perhaps the military? There’s something in the packet that says he served. Resume writing tip: don’t leave gaps. It only raises questions about what the candidate doesn’t want us to know.

Solano, Luis (Anticipated completion of doctorate this June). Plucked from Collier County in 2017, he has been working for the Detroit Community Public School District ever since. Yes, he’s the VITTI candidate. Previous to joining Collier in 2012, he worked for Miami-Dade citing his work with a large turn-around high school. That’s not a disqualifier, but it will be interesting to see how seriously the Board takes his candidacy. Is he a Nikolai clone? We know how turbulent the Vitti era was. Do we take a chance on bringing that back?

Smith, Daniel (Dr.) He has sincere interest in the position–as opposed to an insincere interest? Let’s have a writing class on how the use of adjectives often weakens the prose. Also, he makes the classic mistake of putting his education first on his resume. Five years or so after college, it’s not as important as experience and accomplishments, but let’s plow on. He’s never been a superintendent (although he was acting superintendent last year while his board searched), but he has experience with large public school districts in Virginia. He’s worth a second look.

Robinson, Donise (Dr.) She submitted professionally produced materials and it makes a favorable impression. She is in charge of curriculum for a district of 11,500 students. She has 20 years of experience working as a teacher, which I like very much as opposed to those who ran through the classroom to climb the ladder. However, she is not likely to make the cut due to a lack of leadership at higher levels.

Robinson, Corwin (Dr.) His cover letter is addressed generically and rather oddly: ‘Dear Human Resources Director.’ He continues by citing his expertise as a ‘C-suite professional’ and award-winning army colonel. He gives a list of his education positions and the last mention is being superintendent. Where? St. Tammany Parrish (LA) and Lake County and Clarksville (Montgomery County, TN.) Hmm, let’s see what Mercedes Schneider and TC Weber have to say about him. He says he was in charge of discipline for the Metropolitan Nashville (TN) school system. Name recognition echoes in my mind.

Proctor, Cheryl (Dr.) She worked her way up through the Broward School system until 2015 when she bolted for Philadelphia. Although never having been a superintendent, she has held key positions as a Chief Academic Officer and (currently) Deputy Superintendent for a 49,000+ student school system.

Phillips, Josiah (Dr.) He addresses his cover letter as thus, “Dear Board Members, Students, Teachers, Support Staff, Leaders, Parents/Guardians, and Community Members of Duval County Public Schools”. Another retired Army officer, his experience in education is being Chief Information Officer for several school systems, the latest being Broward County. So strong in comms, but how about the rest? He’s an adjunct professor for Liberty University and has a connection to the Council of Great City Schools. Those are red flags for some of us.

Perez, Carlos (Dr.) Currently working for the Education Reform Project located in Miami Beach, he last worked as Chief Human Resources Officer for Martin County (2019-2022.) Most of his education background is in human resources.

Nixon, Michelle (Dr.) ‘Jaksonville’ is her home and Duval County is her heart. I’m not one for nitpicking spelling and grammar errors as even the best of us struggle with it when we work on screens, but as it appears in her opening pitch …. 12 years of experience, she’s done it all–in charter schools. She currently works as an ELA teacher in a local charter school.

Narcisse, Sito (Dr.) The one that got away in 2018 when the district hired Diana Greene. His resume has only grown stronger although, as the county of my boyhood, I have to take exception to Prince George’s County, Md. in his resume. There is no apostrophe, dude! It’s Prince Georges. But yeah, if I was an oddsmaker, I would make him the favorite.

Mitchell, Sylvia (Dr.) With ‘enthusiastic interest,’ she addresses her cover letter to the Hiring Committee. It doesn’t seem she’s so enthusiastic to do the basic research as to find out who’s on the School Board. Another candidate whose experience lies in charter schools: Promise Community and IDEA (Tampa Bay!) She now works for something called Region 4 Education Service Center. What is that, you say? I googled it: Region 4 Education Service Center (Region 4) is one of 20 regional education service centers established by the Texas Legislature in 1967 to assist school districts and charter schools in improving efficiencies and student performance.

Macaluso, Christopher (Dr.) He works in New York. Another candidate with professionally produced materials, he emphasizes his ability to manage budgets. He’s currently an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Personnel.

Greenley, Jeffrey (Esq.) Placing esquire in one’s signature designates that one is an attorney. He has worked in Ohio’s Attorney General Office on education issues. He plans on completing his educational doctorate in the fall. Oh, and he was a cast member at Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. During those years he also worked as a teacher in Provo, Utah. That doesn’t make him a good candidate for Superintendent, but it does make him a good poster boy for the scandal of teachers needing a second job to make ends meet.

Dotson, Ronnie (Dr.) I’ve never seen it before, but there they are–blurbs in the left column of his resume. He lives in Hilton Head, SC, but works as an adjunct professor in Kentucky. There are many overlaps in his resume between his one superintendency and his professorial career. If the School Board gives this a second look, the first question they need to ask is if he will move to Jacksonville and give up all the side hustles.

Boyd, Shahnazz She’s passionate, she’s interested, but she has no experience in education. She makes a good community partner, but damn, how long has she lived in Jacksonville and not understood the snake pit for what it is.

Bernier, Christopher (Dr.) Superintendent of Lee County, Chief of Staff for Clark County, NV (Las Vegas) and I’m not going to make any gambling jokes, and Associate Superintendent for Orange County (FL), he will get a second look. The cover letter is a little cocky: “My resume will verify that I meet the necessary experience, education, and professional requirements for the position of superintendent.”

Barrow, Melissa “Is it good for kids?” is the question she always asks according to her cover letter. Assistant Superintendent for the East Ramapo School District (NY) for 10 years, she moved on to be Superintendent for the Catskill Central School District for 3 months in 2023. No mention of what she’s been doing since. But what she wants you to know is that her big accomplishment was developing the school calendar for the next year.

And there you have it. Cuts to be made at the next school board meeting, Tuesday, April 23.