Former Philly schools chief Ackerman dies at 66
Posted at: 02/02/2013 10:25 AM
| Updated at: 02/02/2013 12:19 PM
By: The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Former Philadelphia schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who left abruptly a year and a half ago after clashing with local officials, has died, according to her son. She was 66.
Anthony Antognoli said his mother died at about 5 a.m. Saturday of pancreatic cancer in Albuquerque, N.M., where she lived.
He said she hadn't been ill long and "it was too short a battle."
Superintendent William Hite Jr. said Ackerman "devoted her life to children and public education" and encouraged countless others to do so - and "for that, we are grateful."
Ackerman took over the nation's eighth-largest school district in 2008 and was credited with continuing a rise in test scores and lowering class sizes in primary grades.
But critics called her style during her three-year tenure polarizing and autocratic.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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