Principal for new Dyett High School reprimanded in previous job
Hunger striker Jitu Brown, shown Sept. 4, 2015, says Chicago Public Schools’ proposal for reopening Dyett High School shows the district doesn’t respect the community’s voice. “Bronzeville is not satisfied,” he said. “We did not ask for an arts center.” (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Public Schools on Thursday named a principal for the new Dyett High School, selecting an administrator who was reprimanded last year during an investigation into the theft of more than $870,000 from two city high schools.
Under pressure from residents who staged a weekslong hunger strike, the district decided to reopen Dyett as an arts-focused school next fall. The principal named Thursday, Beulah McLoyd, has been the principal at Clark High School in the South Austin neighborhood since 2010, and before that was an assistant principal at Gage Park High School.
Earlier this year, five men were charged with felony theft for alleged fraudulent billing for goods and services that were never delivered to Clark and Gage Park high schools. McLoyd was issued a "warning resolution" in August 2014, and the district said its investigation found she improperly handled her password.
CPS acknowledged the issue in its news release on McLoyd's appointment to Dyett, noting the investigation "did not conclude she committed any intentional wrongdoing."
"I know the inquiry was an important learning experience for Beulah that has made her a stronger and wiser leader, and that she has taken to heart the old saying: 'Trust, but verify,'" CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said in a statement.
Protesters who wanted to reopen Dyett as a green-technology school remain unhappy with the district's plans for Dyett. The district was prepared to close Dyett, on the northern edge of Washington Park, after years of declining enrollment and poor performance.
McLoyd, in a statement, said she was "fully committed to ensuring (Dyett) is the world-class success that the community deserves."
