Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/133552
Schools may be closing for the summer, but when you're Jennifer Cheatham, the incoming superintendent to Madison schools, there's not much of a vacation in sight. Her long days are packed by meetings with officials, trips to schools (she plans to visit every one in the district during her first months on the job), meet-and-greets with parents, budget negotiations and more. The challenges she faces are hefty: From a stubborn achievement gap to tight budgets and a crippled morale among teachers—it's all waiting for Cheatham in a hyper-politicized climate where attempts to create policy often prompt more fiery debate than actual change. Yet so far, Cheatham, with her steady smile and firm handshake, appears cool under the pressure. Proclaimed a rock star by exMayor David Cieslewicz, others are taking a wait-and-see posture. Some have asked whether Cheatham's history of serving in four school districts over fewer than a dozen years is a prediction of a brief stay in Madison. At a recent meet-and-greet she responded to that concern: "People are worrying that I will come here and leave. That is absolutely not what I'm about." While Cheatham, 41, has years of administrative experience, this is her first time in a school district's top job. Her most recent gig, chief of instruction for Chicago Public Schools, put her in the spotlight nationally, and she took much of the flack—as well as some kudos—for a proposal to lengthen the school day to 7.5 hours. She stands by that controversial proposal. Will she follow the same tactic in Madison? Read her response below. Meanwhile, Cheatham juggles her formidable position with life at home as a wife and mother of a toddler son. A man in the same position probably wouldn't be asked about balancing work and such a high-level post, but without pause, Cheatham candidly acknowledges that she relies on her husband, Reginald, a stay-athome dad. Just as she's done in public when facing the complicated and sometimes touchy questions being hurled her way, in a recent interview with BRAVA, Cheatham was confident and open about her new role—discussing the challenges ahead, her plans for tackling them, and what she's looking forward to most in Madison. June 2013 bravamagazine.com 35