A Palm Beach, Fla., administrator who oversees the system’s struggling schools has been chosen as the new superintendent of Pittsburgh school district.
Anthony Hamlet is the director of school transformation in Palm Beach and oversees a set of schools with an enrollment larger than the entire 25,000-student Pittsburgh district, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The Pittsburgh school board unanimously approved Hamlet’s five-year contract, scheduled to end on June 30, 2021, on Wednesday. He will be paid as a consultant from June 1 to June 30, but officially begin his superintendent duties on July 1. His annual salary will start at $210,000.
Hamlet replaces Linda Lane, who has been superintendent since 2010 and is retiring on June 30.
The district’s search drew wide interest: 21 men and three women from 14 states applied, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Hamlet has been with the Palm Beach district since 2014. He had a brief career in the National Football League, from 1992 to 1993, playing for the Seattle Seahawks and the Indianapolis Colts, the paper said. He also played for a Canadian football team.
He started his education career as a case manager and behavioral specialist with Palm Beach county’s mental health department, according to the Pittsburgh school district. He has also worked an assistant principal, a principal, a high school psychology, and a multi-cultural studies teacher, the paper said.
His career spans a variety of educational settings—urban and suburban, high-poverty and affluent districts, and high-achieving and low-performing schools, according to the Pittsburgh district. He was also the Florida State Department of Education Principal of the Year.
The local teachers’ union president told the Post-Gazette that the union liked Hamlet’s varied background.
“It was wonderful to hear him speak to the primary importance of a positive and supportive school culture, and we look forward to working with him, and introducing him to the great work of our teachers, our students and our union,” the paper quoted the union president, Nina Esposito-Visigitis, as saying.
Hamlet has a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and is part of the first cohort of school administrators in the AASA-Howard University Urban Superintendent Academy program, which started last year.
AASA ‘s executive director Dan Domenech said that Hamlet has made “a steadfast commitment to become a champion for children in public education.”
Photo caption: Anthony Hamlet was chosen as the new superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools. Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh school district.