St. Paul Academy Chairman of the Board David Kristal has emailed the announcement that head of school Dr. Luis Ottley (as he invariably refers to himself) is resigning “and will depart the school later this month.” If he means what it says, that would be this week. The announcement was just disseminated this afternoon.
Kristal’s announcment was accompanied by Dr. Ottley’s letter expressing pride in his accomplishments at the school. However, Ottley’s departure must be explained by the events we have documented in the series I have headlined “At SPA…,” as in “Ordeal by Ottley” June 25). These events reflect the school’s poor leadership from the board on down. It will take more than Ottley’s departure to achieve a turnaround, but it’s a beginning that shows awareness of a problem.
I should note that my daughter Eliana covered one aspect of the school’s poor leadership in her intensely reported June 2 Free Beacon story “An Elite St. Paul Private School Displayed an Antisemitic Poster to Middle Schoolers—Latest in a Series of Controversies to Roil School With ‘Best Academic Curriculum in Minnesota.’” There was more to come.
I waited for the June 21 Star Tribune page-one story by Eva Herscowitz on the Ottley regime at SPA to drop before I started reporting on events at the school myself. Herscowitz works on the story over a period of weeks during which I heard from parents that it was pending. In the event, her story shined a light where illumination was badly needed.
As I said several times on Power Line based on my own reporting, I thought Ottley ran the school like an abused familiy. Exposure was the prerequisite for movement in the right direction. Kristal’s message to the school community remains silent on the turmoil of the Ottley regime, but that’s what it’s all about.
