Dr. Romules Durant

Superintendent, Toledo Public Schools

 

A native of East Toledo, Dr. Durant couldn’t be prouder of being a graduate of two Toledo institutions: Waite High School and the University of Toledo. He was an outstanding football player at both, attending the university on a football scholarship and earning four varsity letters. He twice received the Jon Binder Award at UT, given to a player who exemplifies “true heart and courage.”

Dr. Durant received three degrees from the University of Toledo: a Bachelor’s of Education degree in 1998, a Master’s of Education degree in 2002 and a Doctorate Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision in 2007. His doctoral dissertation, The Collective Factor of Social Oppression and Urban Poverty on the Achievement of Black Students, was considered for Dissertation of the Year.

In Dr. Durant’s tenure as superintendent, Toledo Public Schools has seen its ranking among Ohio’s largest urban districts jump from 4th to 1st on the state report card because of an A grade in the all-important Value Added category. The district In was the only large urban district to move from the highest state watch category to a middle level of oversight. In addition, Toledo Public Schools has seen its graduation rate jump 15 percentage points for all students and a 16 percentage point jump for both minority students and those at or below the poverty level.

Dr. Durant is particularly proud of using progressive measures such as pathways to college degree tracks and pipelines to various industries with the addition of 100 more industry partners. Those partnerships have led to increasing internships with industry partners from 75 to more than 500, adding Career Tech programs and increasing the funding to support those programs.