CHICAGO — A sister of an alderman will be allowed to serve as principal of a Far Northwest Side school even though she failed the principal selection test twice and was not eligible for the position, the district says.
Catherine Sugrue, a sister of Ald. Pat O'Connor (40th), will be allowed to take the position under a new policy approved in a little-noticed move by the Chicago Public Schools board last month.
Sugrue, the former assistant principal at Gray Elementary School and the Local School Council's preferred choice to replace its outgoing principal, will take the reins of the Portage Park school.
"With the recommendation of the outgoing principal at Gray Elementary, I appointed Catherine Sugrue as interim principal to maintain continuity and ensure that students begin the new school year without disruption," CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said in a statement issued Friday.
"Students will continue to succeed under her leadership based on the knowledge she gained as an assistant principal, as well as her extensive career in education,” Byrd-Bennett said.
Principal Sandra Carlson announced her retirement in May, and the LSC picked three finalists after interviewing 12 candidates. Sugrue, who had served as Gray's assistant principal for a year, was the most qualified, LSC members determined.
In 2013, Sugrue served as the district's director of school transition and oversaw 30,000 students displaced by the closure of 54 public schools in 2013, most on the South and West sides. Sugrue also served as the No. 2 official in the district's Office of New Schools, overseeing charters.
But Sugrue, whose brother is Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Council floor leader, wasn't eligible for the job due to poor scores on the district's principal selection test, and CPS blocked her nomination.
However, last month the Board of Education revised the policy, allowing Byrd-Bennett to appoint principals on an interim basis, said CPS spokesman Joel Hood.
The old policy said a candidate who failed the principal test twice in a 12-month period could not retake it for three years. The new policy allows candidates to be appointed for a three-year period, Hood said.
"[Sugrue] was the preferred candidate of the outgoing principal and the LSC. It just seemed like there was a lot of support in the school and community for her," Hood said. "[Byrd-Bennett] thought the continuity was an important factor in this."
Hood said the revision stems from Byrd-Bennett's desire to have more flexibility in appointing principals, and said there are likely to be several more similar hires. The new policy means principals appointed by the CEO may not take a traditional route to school leadership.
"We felt like we were needlessly weeding out" good candidates, Hood said. "People who don't have traditional school backgrounds, but could be great leaders."
Such candidates could include people who left the classroom and wanted to return, and those with "broad experience beyond a school setting," Hood said, adding that the traditional route to school leadership will remain the most common.
He said O'Connor had no hand in the revised policy. O'Connor's office had no comment. Jodie Schaefer, Gray's LSC chairperson, said the LSC unanimously voted for Sugrue.
"We’re happy because she's the candidate we selected in the first place," she said. She said she had no contact with CPS regarding the policy change.
"[Sugrue] has had an amazing career," the former LSC community representative Liz Miller said in May. "We didn't come up with anyone close to her during the selection process."
Hood said the LSC would still need to approve Sugrue's appointment, but did not know when that would happen.
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