Kelvin Adams, who takes over next week as the St. Louis schools' seventh superintendent since 2003, will arrive already familiar with the dynamics of a district under state supervision. Still, the leadership and management challenges he faces are daunting. The St. Louis schools have been run since June 2007 by an appointed, three-person Special Administrative Board (SAB) set up by the state of Missouri after it stripped the district of its accreditation for poor academic performance. SAB president Rick Sullivan said in an interview that Adams is the right leader for steering the schools back into good academic standing and for working with an appointed board that plays a large role in the day-to-day administration of the district. To that end, Sullivan said, the new superintendent will be charged with dealing aggressively with human capital issues. He will have to hire a chief academic officer, a chief accountability officer, and a chief operating officer right away. Sullivan also said that while he and his fellow board members will closely manage the district, especially budget and debt issues, Adams will be the architect of the district's academic reforms.