Ackerman known as a tough innovator

Arlene Ackerman has taken on tough school systems, has butted heads with school board members and city officials, and has departed with mixed feelings.

She has won national acclaim for attacking tough problems, such as cutting budgets and raising test scores in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. But critics say she often lacks diplomacy, according to news reports.

Ackerman, raised in St. Louis when schools were desegregating, was a deputy superintendent of Seattle schools before taking a similar job in Washington, D.C. Within a year, in 1998, she was named superintendent, and for the next two years, she slashed district spending, raised test scores, and dangled cash incentives for schools to improve.

But in 2000, she left for San Francisco, becoming the first woman and the first African-American to lead the 56,000-student school system.

Described as fiercely determined and tireless, she won praise for trying innovative ways to fix failing schools. During her tenure, she extended the school day at some low-performing schools and held classes on Saturdays.

Ackerman, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, also battled with some members of the elected School Committee who criticized her spending. This school year, some of themchastised her for accepting a $375,000 severance package and for spending more than $45,600 . Ackerman said the costs were justified .

Last year, she told the Globe she would apply for the Boston job if she weren't retiring. Shortly afterward, she said she would resign at the end of this school year. This fall, she plans to become a professor at Teachers College in New York.

Before she left San Francisco, she told the San Francisco Chronicle: ``I'm going back to the East Coast, where they treat me better, where they love me. And there will be no late school board meetings!"

MARIA SACCHETTI