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Conversation Focuses On Questions For Superintendent CandidatesBy Amber Lester Sunday, September 26, 2010 When the Williamsburg-James City County School Board sits down to interview prospective superintendents, the community wants the members to ask tough questions. More than 30 people, including parents, retirees, WJCC employees and three school board members, gathered in the cafeteria at Lafayette High School on Saturday to talk about the search for the next superintendent. The community conversation was the third hosted by Citizens for Education, an education advocacy group. Former superintendent Gary Mathews accepted a position as superintendent of Newton County, Ga. schools last year. The school board posted a job vacancy ad on Sept. 21 and will begin reviewing applications on Oct. 21. A new superintendent must be hired by the end of December. Saturday’s conversation focused on gathering questions for the board to ask candidates during the interview process. Chris Gareis, associate dean at the College of William and Mary’s School of Education, served as moderator. He told the audience the challenge for the school board will be making sure there’s credence to what the candidates say. The meeting was structured as a group project, with participants splitting into five groups to discuss questions they’d like to ask superintendents. The groups worked to come up with questions that would find out prospective candidates’ philosophies of education; ideas for meeting the demands of changing demographics and trends in education; ideas about student achievement; and views of community relations. Before groups set to work, several community stakeholders offered their perspectives of the superintendent search. School Board member Denise Koch reminded the community that prospective superintendents “are vetting us,” saying, “These forums certainly show someone this is a community concerned about education…we want to make sure we’re a community that someone wants to serve and come and work with us.” Representing the teacher community, Karen Downing spoke for the Williamsburg-James City County Education Association. She said teachers wanted a superintendent who believed in transparency, had respect for teachers and their work and invited teachers to participate in decision-making. “Teachers want a relationship with a superintendent,” she said. Reba Bolden, executive director of the Community Action Agency and a former member of the Gloucester School Board, said a great superintendent is someone who has a clear vision but recognizes he or she can’t “know it all.” “A superintendent cannot stay in their office,” she said. “These kids depend on you knowing what’s happening in your system.” An ideal superintendent, she said, would be a “Houdini.” Bill Travis, provost of Thomas Nelson Community College’s Historic Triangle campus, said the next superintendent needs to recognize four-year college isn’t for everybody. “We need someone to encourage children to be successful, whatever their success might be,” he said. Groups worked for an hour to come up with suggested questions for the school board to ask, before delivering their results. Some common questions emerged: • How has the candidate worked to reach all students in his or her division? • In difficult financial times, how would the superintendent distribute resources? • How will the candidate build consensus with the board if he or she disagrees with one of its decisions? • How will the candidate reconcile the need to meet state and federal requirements with the need to educate students beyond memorizing test answers? • How would the superintendent evaluate staff? • How has the candidate increased parental involvement? • How would the superintendent ensure there are additional opportunities for students who aren’t college-bound? • How will the superintendent work with and within the community? Citizens for Education will compile the notes prepared by each group and present a report to the school board as a resource to use in the interview process. In his closing remarks, Gareis reminded the participants that the superintendent’s job is a challenging one. “There are few positions in the world that begin with super,” he said. “This individual is hired and paid to wake up thinking about the schools every single day … they need to be all things to all people. “Once an individual is identified for the job, then we return to our role as supportive of schools, supportive of the individual and understanding of what a supremely complex job it is,” he said. For more information about the search for the next superintendent, click here. |
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Comments
Since the WJC School Board does just the opposite of what the citizens want, this should be remembered when filling out the survey or attending these public sessions!
Attendance was only at 30, because the citizens don't trust the Board and it was held in the middle of a beautiful afternoon when parents are spending time with their children. Go figure!
Before you remove the cinder from your neighbor's eye remove the stake in yours.
How is you have so much time to be commenting back in Williamsburg when school just opened in Georgia?
If you want more parent involvement, then parents need to get their butts off the couch and get involved. What's the super to do with it?
If you want more opportunities for kids in skilled trades and other learning needs, then you need to step up and agree to fund these programs in the budget. These programs get cut because only a handful of folks support paying for them. Is a superintendent supposed to make them happen for free?
The same goes for creating a curriculum beyond the state-required minimum. If you want it, Mr. and Mrs. Williamsburger, then where were you when these enrichments were on the chopping block for funding reasons?
We keep reading, ad nauseum, about these lunatic groups who prattle on and on and on about what they demand the next super be and do for them.
These people should look in the mirror and make lists about what Williamsburg people need to be in order to attract and retain good candidates. Mr. Gareis alluded to this in his statements, but he should have driven home this essential point with much more verve.
Is the school board leading a conversation about that? Now that would be something.