Hub officials confirm they have new school chief

Manuel J. Rivera will become Boston's superintendent of schools next July, city officials said yesterday, as community leaders reacted with cautious optimism at the selection of a popular leader they have never met.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced the appointment of Rivera -- the superintendent of Rochester, N.Y., schools, who will be Boston's first Hispanic superintendent -- at a press conference at City Hall.

``He embodies everything the community tells us they want in a superintendent," Menino said. ``Manny was by far the best match for the Boston public schools."

Rivera plans to come to Boston next week to start meeting with community leaders and will continue to do so over the next few months, said School Committee chairwoman Elizabeth Reilinger, who was cochairwoman of the search committee.

She and Menino said Rivera's name was the first mentioned by former superintendent Thomas W. Payzant when they asked for a recommendation. Payzant had mentored Rivera when he first became Rochester superintendent in 1991, when Payzant was superintendent of San Diego schools.

Menino and Reilinger praised what they described as Rivera's charismatic and inclusive leadership style and cited his record of boosting the achievement of black and Hispanic students, increasing high school graduation rates, and engaging Rochester parents and community members in school reform. His background -- growing up poor and winning a full scholarship to Brandeis University -- should help him inspire Boston students, they said.

``He is someone with star quality who isn't focused on being a star," Reilinger said.

Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union and a member of the search committee, said he believes Rivera will be ``a more open collaborator" than Payzant with the union, which is negotiating a new contract with the city.

``I think he will give us a place at the table," he said. ``He has done so in Rochester, which is what makes him so attractive to many teachers. He will also do a better job of engaging the community."

In an interview yesterday, Rivera said he has not been offered the job formally, but that in anticipation of taking it, he plans to leave his Rochester position on July 10, one day after his 55th birthday. Boston's School Committee plans to vote Oct. 4 to accept the search committee's recommendation and start contract negotiations.

Rivera said he did not decide he wanted the job until about two weeks ago.

``Then I started thinking about the possibilities of a Boston," he said in the interview in his office in Rochester. ``They've had a great superintendent. It's terrific. They just won the Broad Prize [the top award for urban education]. It's like joining a winning team."

As the search began, Menino and the School Committee had promised public meetings with a slate of finalists before making their choice, but four of the search committee's top five candidates, including Rivera, withdrew from consideration over the summer, after their names were published in the Globe before an official announcement. The final candidate, a Charleston County, S.C., school official, dropped out Thursday.

John Mudd, senior project director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children, said it's crucial that the community have a chance to meet Rivera and press him on how he will reform underperforming schools, raise the achievement of black and Hispanic students, and include parents and the community in the process.

Rivera said he's anxious to begin public meetings, because he wants to ask the community about pressing issues and delve into data to see where Boston schools' strengths and weaknesses lie. He said one goal will be to improve the achievement of Boston's black and Hispanic students, whose test scores lag behind their white and Asian peers and whose dropout rates are higher.

While community leaders in Boston said they were aware of Rivera's sterling reputation in Rochester, they want to know more about him.

``I feel optimistic that we have the superintendent and for him to be Latino," said Samuel Hurtado, coordinator of the Latino Education Action Network. ``But just because he has a Latino name doesn't mean he has an understanding of our needs."

Hurtado said yesterday he wants to know how Rivera will improve education for immigrant students whose native language is not English. The school system's jumble of programs for nonnative English speakers confuses parents, who want to help their children in school, but often feel inferior and unwelcome, he said.

Yvette Rodriguez, chief operating officer of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, which represents early education, Latinos, and minority groups, served on the search committee and said she was impressed with Rivera's track record and is confident he will push Boston's Latino students forward.

``I don't want to see our kids continue to be behind," she said. ``He is someone who is bilingual, who represents the people of color."

In the interview, Rivera said he admires Payzant, but has his own style. Payzant was known as an understated leader who never fully connected with some community members.

``I say what I need to say," said Rivera, the 2006 national Superintendent of the Year.

While Menino said the recommendation to select Rivera was made unanimously by the search committee, three committee members said privately that they learned of the decision in a conference call about an hour before Menino's press conference. Until yesterday, many had expected to recommend three finalists to the School Committee who would go through public interviews before a final selection.

``We're all thrilled about Manny, but this process makes you feel a little bit used," said one member, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the search.

The Rev. Gregory S. Groover Sr., pastor of the Charles Street AME Church and former education chairman of the Black Ministerial Alliance, who also served on the search committee, said announcing just one finalist was the best approach, given the circumstances.

``We got to the finish line," he said. ``I think the community, once they get the opportunity to meet with him, will stand solidly in support of the decision."

Rivera said his decision to leave Rochester was agonizing because he believes he has a strong relationship with a variety of groups: the unions, the School Committee, the mayor, business leaders, parents, and students.

Yesterday morning, Rivera called a special meeting of all school principals to inform them of his departure.

``There was a stunned silence, and then a standing ovation," said Barbara Hasler, lead principal at the Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School, a high-performing school that Rivera combined last year with a low-performing school.

It went like that much of the day, with hugs, tears, and letters sent home to parents informing them of the decision. Rivera's cellphone rang constantly. A local radio station asked listeners to call the school system and urge Rivera to stay.

Even those who have criticized the school system said they respect Rivera's leadership.

John ``Dutch" Summers -- the chief executive officer of Jasco Tools in Rochester who led a consortium of local business executives -- said his group issued a report in 2004 criticizing the school system for flagging academic achievement and for failing to act fast enough to fix aging buildings. Rivera, Summers said, was initially unhappy with parts of the report, but ultimately addressed their concerns.

``Instead of just being angry, he reached out and said, `How do we make it better?' " Summers said.

Together, Rivera and business leaders set a goal to triple the number of students in a scholarship program, largely financed by business, to 3,000 students, Summers said. Rivera saw to it that the district applied for millions in state aid to improve school facilities.

While Rochester students have improved test scores during Rivera's tenure, their achievement falls below the New York state average on some tests. Test scores in English for grades 3 through 8, released Thursday, show that about 47 percent of third-graders met state standards, compared to 69 percent statewide. About 26 percent of Rochester eighth-graders met state standards, compared to 49 percent of statewide.

The Rev. Marlowe V.N. Washington, pastor of Baber African Methodist Episcopal Church in Rochester, said that when he raised concerns that black teachers and other staff had been dismissed or demoted because of racial discrimination, Rivera responded quickly.

Rivera pledged to investigate and attended a meeting with 50 community members Tuesday. ``It's all about relationships and collaboration and being open and being transparent in what we do," he said. ``People respond to that."

Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com; Sacchetti at msacchetti@globe.com.

(Correction: Because of a reporting error, a front-page story Saturday about the selection of a new Boston school superintendent gave an incorrect title and middle initial for a member of the search committee. The Rev. Gregory G. Groover Sr. is the chairman of the education committee of the Black Ministerial Alliance.)