Crown, Prospect Heights' School Districts Get New Superintendents

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A citywide hiring blitz for superintendents will mean two new leaders in Crown and Prospect Heights' school districts, city officials announced Monday.

New superintendents were chosen in Prospect Heights' District 13 and District 16, which includes a small portion of Crown Heights and a section of Bed-Stuy.

District 17, which covers the majority of Crown Heights, will be led by existing superintendent Shenean Lindsay, who took over at the start of 2021.

Monday's announcement comes after a months-long hiring process that included both new candidates and existing superintendents, who were asked to reapply for their jobs as Schools Chancellor David Banks plans to expand the responsibilities of the position for the next school year.

"These leaders are ready to embrace the expanded role of superintendent," Banks said Monday. "With this team of leaders, our future is bright."

In District 13, newly-hired superintendent Robin Davson will replace Kamar Samuels, who will move to the Upper West Side's District 3 in the hiring shuffle.

Davson was most recently an acting superintendent in District 5 in Harlem, where she also served as a deputy superintendent in the Manhattan district. She was previously a principal at Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School in Bed-Stuy for nine years, according to her LinkedIn page.

District 13 covers Prospect Heights, a western portion of Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights.

In District 16, existing superintendent Yolanda Martin will be replaced by Brendan Mims, a founding principal at M.S. 358 Magnet School for STEAM Exploration and Experiential Learning in Queens. Mims was chosen as the National Principal of the Year for 2022 by the Magnet Schools of America, according to his LinkedIn page.

District 16 covers the eastern portion of Bed-Stuy and a small portion of Crown Heights.

Lindsay — who will stay on as leader of District 17 — previously worked as a Brooklyn deputy superintendent, a leader of principals in the Bronx and a principal in Brownsville, according to her LinkedIn page.

The new superintendents were chosen after several Town Hall meetings that were scheduled when families and officials found out their superintendents seemed to be ousted without community input.