BALTIMORE, Md. — With more than 76,000 students and 160 schools and programs, the person in charge of the Baltimore City Public School System has a big responsibility—and finding the person to take it on is a tall order itself.
WATCH: Where the search for the next Baltimore City Public Schools CEO stands now
"Just being a CEO, you need a large number of skill sets, but I think someone who is committed to Baltimore, someone who is committed to our unique challenges and our unique gifts, and someone who is willing to learn the children and the families that are here," Ashiah Parker, vice chair of the Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) Board of School Commissioners, told WMAR-2 News in a recent interview.
After 10 years on the job, Dr. Sonja Santelises will leave the school system on June 30th, 2026. The Board of School Commissioners is on the hunt for her replacement.
"It's 10 years later, and 10 years later means that our needs of our learners, our community has changed, it's shifted," Chair Robert Salley said.
The first phase of the search includes developing a candidate profile—identifying the skills and characteristics the board wants to see in the next CEO.
To assist, the board tapped Alma Advisory Group, a Chicago-based consulting firm with experience in recruiting for urban school systems.
"So the board is working hand in hand with the search firm," Parker said. "The board is designing and actually running the search. The firm is the professional arm, so the search firm knows policy standards, industry standards and can guide us on what we should be looking for."
"We care about objectivity; we care about ensuring that we have comparative best practice out there, industry best practice, so working with professionals who have the expertise that's different from ours," Salley told WMAR-2 News.
Over the next few months, the board will collect feedback from the community—families, teachers, even the students themselves—on what's most important to them in a leader. Once the board and the search firm know what they're looking for, they can actually post the position and start recruiting.
"And then as we get going into the fall and into early spring, we'll be conducting interviews with potential candidates who come through the pipeline," Salley said.
It's a nationwide search, so the candidates may not necessarily be local.
"We are open to the best candidate. So obviously we would love if it's a person from Baltimore, but we are open to the person that fills all the needs of the community," Parker said.
The goal is to have a CEO ready to take the helm on July 1, 2026. That's the day after Dr. Santelises' contract ends.
When asked what she would say to encourage people to apply, Parker said, "I would say, 'Hey, come over to Baltimore City schools." Baltimore is a beautiful city. I'm selling the city as well, but also our children and our families are great, and this is the opportunity—what I have been saying—to make a generational change here in Baltimore with our families."
You can find more information about the search and the timeline here. If you have any questions about the process, the board has set up a specific email specifically for the CEO search: ceosearch@bcps.k12.md.us.