CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb introduced Warren Morgan as the new CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Tuesday.
Morgan will assume the role in June, when outgoing CEO Eric Gordon steps down after more than a decade.
“Dr. Morgan is the kind of leader that I know our children will look up to for the future,” Bibb said at Garrett Morgan High School, where he made the announcement and introduced Morgan to the crowd. Morgan has worked most recently for the Indianapolis City School District, where he served as the district’s chief academic officer.
Morgan also worked as a high school principal in Chicago, a science teacher in St. Louis and worked for Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump as a White House Fellow.
Cleveland is not new to Morgan, however. He worked in CMSD as a network leader nearly a decade ago, and said he was eager to return.
“I am so excited. Really, really excited. But, have a sense of humility with this weight. As you mentioned, it’s a great responsibility and with that I go into it really with a servant’s attitude of just really wanting to hear from our community because we lead together,” Morgan said.
He discussed some of his priorities, which included a focus on students’ mental health.
“Tapping into the resources that the district already has but also making sure that there is a firm social and emotional learning curriculum in the school. Our students talked about making sure that there are adults in the building that they feel connected with and so I want to make sure that is available in all of our schools,” he said.
Although, before he starts implementing any plans, he explained that he wants to hear from students and staff about what they need.
“Even though I have context in the district, so much has changed, it’s been nearly 10 years, so I really want to spend time getting a chance to learn the district, meet people, understand what’s been working and understand what people want to see in terms of change,” he sai
Unlike other districts, CMSD has a CEO and not a superintendent. The district has been under mayoral control since the late 1990s when state lawmakers passed a law reorganizing the school board.
