Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, a network of public charter schools in Milwaukee serving 2,200 students, announced Wednesday that
Jennifer Lopez, chief executive officer, will resign at the end of January 2024 in order to spend time with her family.
A national search will begin this week to identify the charter school network’s next CEO, the organization said.
The charter schools’ board of directors has hired national search firm K12 Search Group, which focuses on executive level recruitment for schools across the country. In addition to appointing a search committee composed of board members and leaders, staff, parents, and students will be asked to share their feedback regarding the desired qualities in the next school leader.
Lopez will leave a strong legacy after serving as the CEO of Carmen for the past four years, organization leaders said.
"I am incredibly proud of the work we have accomplished as a Carmen community over the last four years,” Lopez said. “When I walk through our schools, I see Carmen's mission and vision being lived out daily through the hard work of our teachers and students. I'm so appreciative of our staff, students, families, and our board of directors and will forever be grateful for the opportunity to have served as Carmen's CEO during these transformative years. As I shared with the board and team, I believe it is time to transition to new leadership in order to advance Carmen to new levels of impact.”
During her tenure, Lopez led the successful transition to virtual learning during the pandemic, the return of students to in person learning, campus growth and expansion, improved staff retention and satisfaction, increased diversity among teachers and staff, and led the network’s six schools in implementing more rigorous curriculum, they said.
"On behalf of Carmen Schools' board of directors, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Jennifer for her outstanding leadership and dedication to our mission,” said Ivan Gamboa, Carmen Schools board chair. “Her contributions have been transformative, and we are committed to ensuring that Carmen continues to move forward, building upon the strong foundation that Jennifer helped us establish."
Carmen is the largest public charter network in Wisconsin operating five campuses on the north and south side of Milwaukee. Carmen South High School of Science and Technology, its flagship school, has consistently been recognized as the highest-performing school in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Carmen students across the network consistently perform in the top quartile of public high schools in Milwaukee across all performance measures, and last year’s graduating class earned nearly $36 million in scholarships, with 93% of graduating seniors accepted to college.
