The Office of Academic Affairs is responsible for the district’s academic division by implementing the district academic agenda to provide world class education for all MPS students. We work closely with many other departments of the MPS to ensure that we are all focused on the following areas:

• Accelerated academic achievement
• Shared accountability for student achievement
• Community engagement in support of learning
• Respectful and welcoming environments

The Academic Leadership team works with Superintendent Johnson to help each principal apply the educational priorities of the district within each school. The Chief Academic Officer and Associate Superintendents lead this work together.

Emily Puetz, Chief Academic Officer
Most recently, Emily served as an independent consultant centered on leading large-scale systems change initiatives in 20 districts across the state of Minnesota. Her facilitation, training and capacity building sessions have focused on how to strategically leverage the talent in organizations to advance learning outcomes. Prior to her consulting practice, Emily led the teaching and learning team in Eden Prairie Schools, overseeing curriculum, staff development, technology integration, organizational development, strategic planning, testing and assessment. She has worked in the Chicago and Boston public schools and over her career has navigated all sides of the learning continuum as a classroom teacher, district administrator, researcher, business entrepreneur and charter school designer.

Emily holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Notre Dame. She has done additional graduate work in organizational leadership and recently completed a Master of Public Affairs degree at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.