It's official. The Interim Deputy Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District is the preferred candidate to be the next Superintendent of Peoria Public Schools. District 150 school board president Debbie Wolfmeyer says Dr. Grenita Lathan is the choice of board members following the interview process completed last weekend. "She comes from a large district of over 180 schools," Wolfmeyer tells 1470 WMBD. "It seemed during the interview process every issue we brought up in District 150 she seems to have been a part of, in some way in that large school district."
Lathan was an elementary school principal in for Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, North Carolina before moving to San Deigo. Wolfmeyer says Lathan will be a good fit for Peoria. "She has a very strong background in curriculum and instruction which one of thing the board was looking for," Wolfmeyer says. "(Lathan) is very big on administrators being leaders, including principals. They should not be managers of buildings but they should be leaders of buildings, which it a totally different mindset."
Last month, a National Assessment of Education Progess measurement of math skills of 4th and 8th graders in 18 big city districts placed San Diego third behind Charlotte, North Carolina and Austin, Texas in 8th grade math proficiency.
Wolfmeyer says the board is completing its due diligence, including a background check, before Lathan is formally hired. Lathan is expected in Peoria soon for a formal introduction.
