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Monday, December 2, 2013

Superintendent Joshua Starr's Resume

The Parents' Coalition has obtained Superintendent Joshua Starr's employment history from the New York City Department of Education.  The record shows that Superintendent Starr began working in September of 1993 as a Substitute English teacher. After 18 months in that position he became a Substitute Special Educator (treated as per diem).  
See records below for the rest of his employment history as compiled from the NYC records and publicly available biographies. 
We look forward to Superintendent Starr publishing his official resume and filling in the gaps in this information. 

Education:
1991 University of Wisconsin, Bachelor of Arts, English and History

____Brooklyn College, Masters in Special Education


2001 Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Doctorate and masters in Administration, Planning and Social Policy. 
The title of his dissertation was Leadership and Local Context: A Qualitative Case Study of the Interagency Collaboration in a New Jersey CommunityAdvisor: Robert Peterkin8th Cohort Urban Superintendents Program
Service:
1991 6 months on a kibbutz

Employment:

1991 San Francisco, CA Residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children (18 months)

September 1993 - March 1995  Teacher Reg Sub Assignment English
March 1995 - September 1995  Teach Spec Reg Sub Treated As Per Diem
                                     Special Educator
September 1995 - September 1997 Teach Spec Reg Sub Assignment Special Educator
This school has been referenced as one of Starr's assignments while in NYC:  http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/13/K753/AJustin2.htm
1997 - 1998 Unknown
                                   
1998    Plainfield Public Schools, New Jersey      
Director of Accountability and Information Management.  (Joshua Starr also spent his Urban Superintendents Program internship in the Plainfield Public Schools.) 
February 2003  Freeport, NY   Executive Director for Operations

October 2003 - April 2005   New York Dept of Education  ADMIN ASST


Director for School Performance and Accountability and as the Deputy Senior Instructional Manager for the New York City Department of Education (MCPS Press Release)

July 2005 - June 2011     Stamford Public Schools, CT        Superintendent

July 1, 2011 - Present     Montgomery County Public Schools, MD Superintendent



15 comments:

  1. So in NYC being an admin assistant counts as a "top official?" Good to know. This is from Capital, at http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2013/11/8535460/de-blasios-chancellor-many-names-specific-description: "Starr, a former New York special education teacher who served as a top official under Bloomberg before becoming superintendent of Stamford, Conn. school system and now the Montgomery county, Maryland public schools, has taken a very different stance toward education reform than his peers in New York."

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  2. Wait.... no actual classroom teaching experience aside from the subbing? And I reading that right?

    On the other hand, at least he HAS an education degree. :P

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  3. Wow. The man had 3 substitute positions in 4 years and then is Director of Accountability and Information Management, a year after that. Perhaps Mommy and Daddy knew someone.

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  4. Ooh, I've been a substitute, AND I have classroom experience preK-12! Surely that should count toward a 6-digit salary, no? Sign me up!

    Oh, wait.... I also don't toe the line terribly well. *ahem* :-)

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  5. Are you certain that "sub" refers to substitute? Does it refer to "subject" or some other word?

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    Replies
    1. Read the document. See "per diem". Is there an alternate definition for per diem?

      Delete
  6. I do see "per diem." That's not what I asked, though. I asked if you were certain that "sub" refers to substitute. "Per diem" basically translates to "per day." I'm not following your logic as to how seeing "per diem" in one section of the employment history means that "sub" must stand for substitute, especially since it appears many more time on the document than just with "per diem." You obviously have contacts in the NYC DOE, since you were able to obtain this information. Have you followed up with those contacts to ensure that "sub" stands for "substitute?" Since you are claiming that Josh Starr was a substitute teacher, and he and Dana Tofig both claim that he was not, a simple email or phone call to your contacts in NYC to clarify would probably be prudent.

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    Replies
    1. Dana Tofig also claims that Joshua Starr was a special education teacher for 4 years in NYC. Yet, the employment record clearly shows English as Starr's first sub position.

      Delete
  7. Again, you're not answering my question. Have you confirmed with the NYC DOE that "sub" is short for substitute on this document? I would really appreciate an answer to this question.

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    Replies
    1. Call them yourself. That way you will get your answer straight from the source.

      Delete
  8. Right now you're my source, Janis. You're the one posting this information and making a big deal out of it. I'm not the one making a potentially libelous claim. It's funny how you have the time to get this info, post it on your website, and allege that a major county official is lying about his career history. But when you are asked to provide clarification about one piece of information that may prove your whole argument invalid you try to deflect and avoid answering the question.

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    Replies
    1. What's wrong with being a sub?

      Superintendent Starr has had over a month to provide an official resume and clear up any confusion. The NYC DOE document was only posted this week after there was no response from Superintendent Starr.

      Delete
  9. I didn't say anything was wrong with being a sub. The Parents Coalition was the one to bring it up to Kojo Nnamdi when he tweeted about Josh Starr being on his program. Why did you feel the need to bring it up in the first place?

    Once again, now for the fifth time. Could you please just answer my original question. Are you certain that "sub" refers to substitute? Does it refer to "subject" or some other word?

    I don't think this is his responsibility (or mine) to clear up. You are the ones publicizing the info. Therefore I think you have an obligation, as an information source on which people have come to rely, that you ensure your information is accurate before posting it.

    If you choose not to answer my question and get clarification, then that's your choice. However, you lose a lot credibility, at least in my eyes, when you complain about others (like Josh Starr and MCPS) not providing information that you ask for.

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    Replies
    1. These documents were obtained from NYC and abbreviations were confirmed. But, it makes no difference what is said here if the union does not want facts.

      Delete

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