Cheryl Pruitt is an American educator and advocate for alternative education. She was Superintendent of the Gary Community School Corporation from 2012 to 2018, and she has served in executive roles for several other organizations that seek to improve inequalities in traditional public education settings.
Cheryl Pruitt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Cheryl Pruitt |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Education Administrator |
Career
editPruitt was born in Gary, Indiana. Pruitt graduated from Rust College with a B.S., and the University of Memphis with a EdD. She began her career as a scientific researcher for substance abuse, and children's health, before she joined Memphis City Schools as a science teacher. She continued her teaching career in Memphis, Tennessee and Gary Indiana, before she served in various administrator roles.
In 2012, Pruitt was hired as the superintendent of the Gary Community School Corporation,[1] after the school district sought to rectify years of financial imbalance. Given that the city of Gary, Indiana is known for having one of the country's highest rates of crime and debt since the 1990s,[2][3] Pruitt spent her tenure primarily focused on disrupting the district's school to prison pipeline and renegotiating its contracts to lessen the financial debt.[4][5] Under her leadership, the district's students achieved their highest literacy rates and lowest drop out rates in decades.
In 2015, state lawmakers forced the school administration to select an independent financial manager to oversee the district's finances and remove oversight from the board of trustees.[6][7][8] Moreover, in 2017, the governor of Indiana signed a law to replace the school board's decision-making powers with a state-appointed emergency management team, also as a result of the district's persistently high financial debt. The event marked one of the only state takeovers of a public school system in the state of Indiana.[9] Pruitt announced her resignation later in 2017.[10]
In 2018, the state-appointed emergency management team requested multiple financial audits of the school district. As part of the audits, Pruitt was asked to return a $30,000 bonus that was awarded in 2016, due to a disagreement by state officials with the process used to approve the bonus by the school district's board of education.[11] After Pruitt voluntarily agreed to return the bonus, she was also charged with theft and official misconduct, after allegedly submitting and receiving a reimbursement for a trip to an educational conference in 2016.[12] The charges were dropped by prosecutors in June 2020.[13][14]
Since resigning as Superintendent of Gary Community School Corp., Pruitt serves in several organizations that attempt to address inequities to improve the economic and social well-being of women and minorities in the United States.
References
edit- ^ McCollum, Carmen (1 June 2012). "Gary Community School Corp. names Cheryl Pruitt its new superintendent". Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Sloan, Paul (3 January 1994). "GARY TAKES OVER AS MURDER CAPITAL OF U.S." Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ "Gary Fights 'Murder Capital' Tag : Urban renewal: Indiana community once was a livable city; its people are struggling to make it so again". Los Angeles Times. 5 June 1994. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ Bierschenk, Ed (7 April 2015). "Local officials don't get pass from school superintendent". Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ McCollum, Carmen (13 April 2015). "Gary school leader touts district's successes, recognizes its challenges". Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ Devitt, Caitlin (12 May 2015). "Gary Schools on Track for Indiana's First Emergency Takeover". The Bond Buyer. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Carlson, Carole (14 July 2015). "Mired in debt, Gary schools to weigh fiscal managers". Post Tribune. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Carlson, Carole (29 July 2015). "Michigan firm to manage Gary schools' finances". Post Tribune. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Carlson, Carole (9 May 2017). "Legislators explain state takeover of Gary schools". Post Tribune. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Carlson, Carole (1 December 2017). "Embattled Gary Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt announces exit, effective in 2018". Post Tribune. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Colias-Pete, Meredith (3 April 2018). "Ex-Gary school superintendent to pay back $30,000 bonus". Post Tribune. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ Ryckaert, Vic (11 October 2018). "Indiana corruption probe snares former Greenwood Middle School aide". IndyStar. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Ortiz, Anna. "Theft charges against former Gary superintendent dismissed". NWITimes. Times Media Co. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Carlson, Carole. "Theft charges dropped against former Gary school chief". Post Tribune. Tribune Publishing Co. Retrieved 9 October 2020.