Metro Schools Superintendent Search, Round 2: Here Are The Finalists

On Tuesday, the Metro Nashville Public School Board will announce finalists for its top job. We got an advance look at the list and did a little bit of research on the candidates.

The public interview process comes after a nationwide search, undertaken for the second year running. Last year, Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney turned down a job offer, leaving the post vacant for the current school year.

Notably absent from the list is Angela Huff, a finalist in last year’s search who received the public backing of school board member Tyese Hunter. In fact, there are no women among the six finalists, though the list reflects geographic and racial diversity. The candidates have 

worked in cities like Orlando, Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Oakland and Santa Fe. Three of the six are
 African-American or Latino.

For the past year, 
Kenneth Zeff
 has been the Interim Superintendent of Schools in Fulton County, Georgia, which includes most of Atlanta and several surrounding suburbs. Before taking his current position, Zeff

managed Fulton County’s strategic planning and its charter school governance. In addition to degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania, Zeff’s

experience includes an appointment as a White House Fellow and work with a charter management group in LA.

Jesus Jara is the Deputy Superintendent of Schools in Orange County, Florida–the area around Orlando. He was Superintendent for the Monroe County School District in Key West from 2011 to 2012, but local publications

reported that he was passed over for reappointment. Jara, who was born in Venezuela but grew up in Key West, has worked with the College Board on an initiative to improve the academic experience for Latino students.

From 2002 to 2013, 

Brad Leon rose steadily through the ranks at Teach For America. He spent several years coordinating the organization’s efforts in Tennessee, helping launch TFA in both Nashville and Memphis. He now works for Shelby County Schools, overseeing “strategy and innovation” across Memphis. Leon has lived in Memphis since

2006.

H. Allen Smith is the current Chief of Schools for the Oakland Unified School District, where he has worked for two years. After working in Denver from 2003 to 2013, Smith has relocated twice in the past three years–first to Charlotte and then to Oakland. His wife Yana has

worked with him in school systems in both Denver and Oakland. Although she worked for Teach For America during the couple’s brief stay in Charlotte, she would likely look to relocate with her husband.

In 2012, 
Joel Boyd
 beat out other candidates to lead a major urban school district in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Those candidates included Jesus Jara

, who’s also up for the Nashville job. Before his move to New Mexico, Boyd worked in Miami and Philadelphia, where he also spent time as the principal of Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Boyd’s education includes a doctorate from Harvard University’s Urban Superintendents Program. Last year, he was named as the
lone finalist
 for a position in Fort Worth. Much like Williamson County Superintendent Mike Looney

, who rejected a 2015 offer to lead Nashville’s school system, Boyd chose to keep his current position. 

Shawn Joseph
 is the Deputy Superintendent of Schools for Prince George’s County, Maryland, just to the east of Washington, D.C. He has worked in other populous counties near D.C., but he also served as Superintendent in Seaford

, Delaware, a town with a total population of approximately 7,000.