Sylvanie Williams
New Orleans College Prep embarks on national search for next CEO
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With a high-pressure school year coming to an end, the board of the New Orleans College Prep charter network is beginning a national search to find its next CEO. The network was founded by Ben Kleban, who resigned at the end of 2016 after his election to the Orleans Parish School Board. The College Prep board initially elevated Kleban’s two top deputies — Natalie Kaharick, who oversaw operations, and Andy Parker, who led academics — to an unusual co-CEO leadership structure, but by February, Parker had resigned as well and left the organization. Parker’s departure was due in part to the pressure around the below-expectations performance of Sylvanie Williams Elementary, which had been the first school that the College Prep network was awarded by the state to operate. After several years of academic growth, scores at Sylvanie Williams began to fall — and state charter-school regulations dictate that if Sylvanie Williams does not rise above its D grade this year, College Prep will lose the charter.