Providence Mayor David Cicilline '83 announced Wednesday the appointment of Donnie Evans as superintendent of the Providence Public School District, ending a selection process that spanned several months. President Ruth Simmons led the 19-person search committee that worked throughout the summer to prepare a group of finalists from which Cicilline and the school board made their final choice.
Evans will begin work full time on Sept. 19, leaving his position as assistant superintendent of supportive services for the Hillsborough County School District in Tampa, Fla.
Cicilline called the selection process "outstanding," commending the committee's willingness to "put in long hours" and engage the broader Providence community through neighborhood forums.
"In particular, I want to thank Ruth Simmons," Cicilline said. "We would not have been able to do this without Brown's assistance."
Simmons provided similar praise for committee members, saying, "I don't think I've ever participated ... in a process as good as this."
Evans emerged out of 60 "highly qualified candidates" as "the best of the best" and the committee's unanimous selection, Cicilline said.
School Board President Mary McClure said Evans "was clearly the best fit for Providence at this time," citing his respect for the district's recent improvements and his eagerness to expand upon these gains.
Though he cited the "tremendous progress that has already been made," Evans said he will work to reduce the "achievement gap" that persists among racial and ethnic subgroups. When asked about the district's chronic budget woes, Evans said he will work "to ensure that we're offering a quality product" before soliciting additional funds.
Though the district has seen recent gains in standardized test results, Simmons acknowledged "there is so much left to do" and encouraged Evans to "continue the momentum" of recent efforts.
"I'm gratified that we have achieved our goal ... just in time for the opening of the school year," Simmons said.
When Cicilline approached Simmons to head the 19-member committee, "I was very daunted by the ambitious schedule," she said. "I was worried, but I was inspired."
Simmons called Evans "a man without affectation" and praised his down-to-earth leadership style. "He's not afraid to be a grown man and let people call him Donnie. I worked very hard to graduate from Ruthie," she joked.
After the press conference, Simmons told The Herald that Brown will continue its work to improve the Providence Public School District, though administrators will wait for Evans to provide direction for these efforts.
"The most important thing for Brown is not to impose its views" concerning potential improvements, Simmons said. "Our position should be to wait."
Cicilline told The Herald that Simmons and Evans have already met to discuss Brown's role in the improvement of the district.
"I hope Brown will continue to be a great partner," he said.
Simmons told The Herald she was impressed with Evans' experience in special education, his mathematics background and his former position as principal of a junior high school. "He had so many incredibly relevant experiences for this position," she said.
A native of rural North Carolina and the son of tobacco farmers, Evans earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1972 from North Carolina Central University, where he also received his master's degree in educational administration and supervision in 1976. Evans received a doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985, writing a dissertation titled "Professionalism and Bureaucracy in Educational Improvement."
Evans has worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and district-level administrator both in North Carolina and Florida. He worked as an associate professor at the University of South Florida beginning in 1990, conducting research on special education and school reform. He began over a decade of work with the Hillsborough County School District in 1993.
The Hillsborough County School District includes over 200 schools and serves over 190,000 students. During five years as assistant superintendent of supportive services, the district's number of "A" schools - a distinction based on standardized test performance - rose from seven to 87, a figure Cicilline cited in his remarks. Evans said the district and the Providence school district share similarly diverse demographics and somewhat similar poverty levels.
