Jean-Claude Brizard

Brizard began his career as an instructor at Rikers Island, later moving to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, where he taught physics and became principal in 1999. In 2003 he rose to the instructional superintendency of Region 8, New York City Department of Education.^[2] He attended the Superintendents’ Academy of the Broad Center for the Management of School Systems in 2007. In total, he had a 21-year career with the NYC Department of Education.^[2]

In 2008, he assumed the superintendency of the Rochester City School District.^[5] In Rochester, he promoted charter schools and merit pay, pushed for performance standards, and met with so much opposition from the teachers’ union that they gave him a vote of no confidence before he left for Chicago.^[6]

Brizard was nominated by Rahm Emanuel to be CEO of Chicago Public Schools on May 6, 2011.^[4] His appointment was approved by the Chicago Board of Education on May 25, and he took office on May 30.^[7] He stepped down after 17 months on October 11, 2012. In a written response Brizard stated he and the Mayor had come to a "mutual agreement" that he was a "distraction" to school reform.^[8] Rumors of Brizard's resignation were first reported by several news organizations on August 31, 2012, but were denied by Mayor Emanuel directly.^[9] The possibility of an impending resignation first surfaced in July 2012, when portions of Brizard's personnel evaluation were leaked to the press. The leaks raised concerns about his ability to manage such a large organization as CPS and turnover of his leadership team.^[10] In August 2012, the Chicago Teachers Union went on strike for the first time in more than 25 years. The policies of Brizard and Mayor Emanuel were cited as the impetus for the strike. As part of his resignation package, Brizard received a year's salary at $250,000 along with other undisclosed benefits.^[11]

In 2023, Banga was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Awards.^[2][12]

In 2024, he received the Aspen Institute's John P. McNulty Prize^[13] for his work with Anseye Pou Haiti.^[14]