A big vote of confidence for Kansas City schools’ new leader — and big shoes to fill | Opinion

It isn’t every day that teachers, parents, community and faith leaders and school board members speak as one. But Wednesday night’s unanimous vote to hire Dr. Jennifer Collier as the first woman to serve as Kansas City Public Schools superintendent was a resounding “yes.”

Collier has been leading the district on an interim basis since Mark Bedell left the position last summer. She has a wealth of experience that made her uniquely qualified: Starting out as a substitute teacher with the district, she worked as a a teacher, principal and human resources director before rising to the deputy superintendent role.

“I’m very excited that Dr. Collier has received the position,” Jason Roberts, president of the Kansas City Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel, said Thursday morning. “This is a significant moment for KCPS that we have finally made a promotion from within the district.”

Her 23 years of experience with the district means there’s no learning curve with this hire, Roberts said. “She knows the systems’ strengths and she knows the systems’ weaknesses. … We can hit the ground running.”

Bedell left some big racing shoes to fill. During his record six years as superintendent, the district finally regained state accreditation, more than a decade after losing it to sliding student achievement. Graduation rates and test scores ticked up during his tenure — and Collier was at his side through those improvements.

While we have no doubts about Collier’s ability to lead, we can’t help but wish stakeholders had at least gotten to meet the other finalist for the job — a candidate whose identity the board hasn’t disclosed.

But we can’t argue with the clear consensus. As the very concept of public education is under partisan attack from radical lawmakers with a ferocity we haven’t seen in decades, we wish Dr. Collier nothing but the best. May the fever line on the district’s chart of educational performance continue to rise under her leadership.