DELAVERN STANISLAUS NAMED BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS' FIRST-EVER CHIEF OF CAPITAL PLANNING

Del to Spearhead the Green New Deal for BPS; Dan Rosengard to Lead BPS’ Department of Transportation

Boston, MA - Tuesday, January 31, 2023 - Today, Boston Public Schools (BPS) Superintendent Mary Skipper appointed Delavern Stanislaus, previously the Department of Transportation Executive Director, as the District's first-ever Chief of Capital Planning. This change is part of a reorganization of the BPS Operations Department to better support BPS in this new era of school construction, positioning the Capital Planning team to lead the cross-functional, cross-departmental work of developing and executing BPS' annual capital plan.

"Del's strategic leadership will be instrumental in shifting our District’s physical footprint to better serve our students, families and staff," said Superintendent Mary Skipper. "Throughout her tenure, and particularly throughout the pandemic, Del has relentlessly pushed forward transformational work, setting the department up for sustained long-term improvement. She brings a wealth of experience to this new role, and we are excited to continue to benefit from her leadership as Chief of Capital Planning. We look forward to her continued success leading BPS' capital planning, and we thank her for her years of service."

A recipient of the 2021 Henry L. Shattuck Public Service Award and named a 2023 Civic Hero, Del has been an integral member of our Transportation Department for more than a decade. Del migrated to Boston with her family from Trinidad in 2001 and graduated from Jeremiah E. Burke High School. After first joining BPS DOT in 2012, Del was appointed Executive Director in 2018 -- the first person of color and woman to hold that role. 

"Del's leadership has helped our district bring creative and effective approaches to longstanding challenges, and her visionary management is only surpassed by her love for our city," said Mayor Michelle Wu. 'I'm thrilled Del has agreed to step up and take on this new role, and excited to partner with her to accelerate our school facilities work to nurture and inspire generations of BPS students to come."

She has worked in the public sector for over 10 years, with experience in project management, strategic planning, and team leadership. As Chief of Capital Planning, Del will be responsible for developing and implementing capital plans that advance the Green New Deal for BPS, the shared commitment and partnership with the City of Boston to expand access to safe, healthy, energy-efficient, and inspiring learning spaces.

"BPS and the Capital Planning team are committed to modernizing and improving the spaces in which students learn and our communities gather," said Stanislaus. "I'm delighted to take on this challenge of leading BPS into a new era, and look forward to doing the work and building the high-quality school environments our students deserve."

She will hit the ground running by overseeing the development of the District’s long-term facilities plan by the end of 2023, managing BPS' FY24 capital budget proposal, and supporting the numerous capital projects already underway, from the Irving renovation to the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School programming study. In her current role, Del has demonstrated an ability to drive forward complex, systemic change with transparency, urgency, and a deep connection to the needs of Boston residents. Del will start in her new role on February 10.

In Del's stead, Dan Rosengard will be taking over as Director of Transportation. Dan grew up in Massachusetts and has been in Boston for nearly a decade. Dan will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of transportation, including bus routing and scheduling, our bus monitors, and management of our bus vendor contract. 

"Dan has been with BPS for several years and has demonstrated his expertise in operations management, logistics and transportation," continued Superintendent Skipper. "He is well-versed in BPS' latest efforts to improve bus on-time-performance and implement the recommendations of the Council of Great City Schools report, and is committed to providing the highest level of service to our students and families. We are confident that Dan will be a great leader to our transportation team and we look forward to working with him in this new capacity."

Stemming from the Council of Great City Schools report, which highlights that BPS Transportation has one of the highest transportation costs in the nation, and provides several recommendations for better tracking, controlling, and reducing costs, Dan will be focused on implementing various recommendations to increase cost-efficiency while improving service for students and families. Under Dan’s leadership, the district will continue to closely review the recommendations in this report and take steps to implement the recommendations that will have the greatest impact.

"Safe, reliable, on-time transportation is critical in ensuring equitable access to education for Boston students," said Rosengard. "While we have made significant strides in recent years, we know we have a lot of work ahead of us. I look forward to working alongside the entire transportation team and with our many stakeholders to build on the progress made under Del's leadership. We are committed to continuing this important work to provide our students with the transportation they deserve."

Additionally, he will manage the creation of the Transportation Advisory Council, which will be appointed by Superintendent Skipper and include students, families, and members of BPS staff who represent the diversity of BPS including dimensions of race/ethnicity, gender, region/neighborhood, school type, socioeconomic status, disability status, connection to transportation work, and age. This group will play a key role in informing our response to the recommendations from the Council of Great City Schools. It will be a space to discuss important transportation issues, engage in collaborative problem-solving, share recommendations with the district, monitor progress, and advocate for systemic improvements to the district’s transportation. 

He has a Bachelor's Degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

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