NEWS | COVER STORY

New district hires bring charter insight

BY SOLOMON LEACH
Daily News Staff Writer
leachs@phillynews.com, 215-854-5903

N ADDITION TO Eric Becoats, several of the districts

recent hires for senior positions come from the growing
charter-school sector:
iJeff Rhodes, assistant superintendent of Learning Network 9,
spent two years as director of
school quality at Michigan-based
National Heritage Academies, a
charter-management operator

with about 51,000 students.

iChristina Grant, assistant superintendent of the Opportunity
Network for district-run and contracted alternative education programs, worked for 2 years at
the Great Oaks Foundation, a
charter-management organization with five schools, where she
was superintendent. Prior to
that, she was founding executive
director of the New York Campaign for Achievement Now, a
pro-charter education advocacy
group, which is part of a national
network.

COURTESY OF BERNARD THOMAS / THE HERALD-SUN

Becoats: Resigned from two previous jobs after reports surfaced.

Page 4*

iJack Perry, deputy chief of Academic Enrichment, was previously founder and executive director
of Prestige Academy Charter
School in Wilmington, Del.,
which opened in 2008.
iJames Harris, executive director of operations, spent a year as
director of operations at Project
GRAD USA, a nonprofit collegeaccess program. Prior to that, he
worked as associate head of
school for one year at Citizens
Leadership Academy, a part of
Citizens
Academy
Schools,
which runs K-5 charters in Cleve-

land.
The district has also hired two
more executives, according to a
copy of an internal email obtained yesterday by the Daily
News. Zachary Epps has been
named director of advocacy and
external engagement and DawnLynne Kacer has been appointed
executive director of the Charter
School Office.
A school representative could
not be reached for comment.
Epps previously worked as
scorecard consultant for Results
Leadership Group, a consulting

SCHOOLS
Continued from Preceding Page

skill set and experience to his role

and we are excited to have Eric
join the team.

tant superintendent for Planning

and
Development
earning
$91,800 a year.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
officials reprimanded Becoats for violating district policies regarding
his personal business, Queen Educational Planning, according to
several media reports.
An internal investigation found
that Becoats used CharlotteMecklenburg phones, computers, email and documents, the
Charlotte Observer reported July
2003. Officials suspended him
one day without pay, docked him
a day of leave and told him to repay $3,625, the paper reported.
Newspaper editorials in the
Durham area called for his resignation and by Dec. 31, Becoats
was out.
In an email to the Daily News,
Chanice Savage, a spokeswoman
for the Philadelphia school district, said, We made the decision
to hire Eric after fully vetting his
candidacy, which we do with all
executive hires.
Our vetting process includes
reviewing candidates background and work history information, conducting interviews, and
contacting references, the statement read. Eric brings a deep

Repercussions
After a review by Durham lawyers regarding the bus outing in
June 2013, the board issued a public statement a month later calling it an inappropriate action,
but stated that Becoats had not
intended to violate school policy.
Becoats had asked to be billed
for the bus use and did pay it, but
the investigation found his payment didnt cover the full invoice
amount, the statement said. He
later paid the full amount.
The statement also included Becoats comments: After the use
of the activity bus on the contracted dates, I was informed of the local and state policy. I apologize
for my mistake.
He was issued a letter of reprimand by the board.
The media reported in late August, however, that Becoats had
been made aware of the bus usage policy by a district lawyer in
2011. At the time, the lawyer had
been advising the board about
bus usage in another matter, The

P H I L A D E L P H I A D A I LY N E WS P h i l l y. c o m

firm, and held roles in local, state

and federal government.
Kacer comes from the New
York City Department of Education, where she was executive director of Charter Evaluation and
Policy.

Staff Writer Regina Medina

contributed to this report.

" @ChroniclesofSol

Herald-Sun in Durham reported.

The credit-card bills tally was
uncovered by a local TV station.
Becoats was authorized to use
the school-issued credit card for
professional conferences but
with the prior approval of the
school board chair. He reimbursed the district for about $580
to cover some of the expenses.
Becoats appeared to have lofty
tastes and bought from minibars,
purchased flowers for employees,
and took limousines from the airport, according to receipts provided by Durham schools.
Becoats report to the board
claiming the rainy day fund had
only $4 million appeared to anger
and embarrass the members.
The Board of Education depends on the superintendent to
present an accurate accounting
of what our true financial status
is, board chairwoman Heidi Carter said in 2013, according to a report in The News & Observer of Raleigh. I feel foolish having gone in
front of the county and pleaded
poverty, when that doesnt appear to be the actual case now.
" @ReginaMedina
Online: ph.ly/DNEducation

PAIR OF EDUCATORS IN HOT WATER | Page 13

Friday, July 24, 2015
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