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Imagine there's a Superintendent . . |
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Wednesday, 06 May 2009 |
BY ABBY FOX
Some 30 people met Monday night to come up with the characteristics they’d like to see in the next school superintendent, and their expectations for him or her, before the school committee starts interviews in a couple of weeks.
The district so far has 14 candidates for the spot and School Committee Chair Jean Ann Guliano said she hopes one is picked in early June.
The focus group, facilitated by Ed Myers, an executive searching associate with the New England School Development Council, ranked, by numbers, what skills they thought most important based on the ad for superintendent the school committee has run.
The top qualities were: a collaborative management style, with an ability to build consensus; an innovative leader; commitment to high academic achievement; a high-energy person who wants to be immersed in the schools and community; and someone with excellent communication skills. “Fiscal acumen” and “planning and critical thinking skills” were ranked just below those traits. Lou Lepry, a former principal at Cole Junior High, said that something basic was missing from this list: the winning candidate needed to show that he or she likes children and would know how to work for them. Paula Dillon, Director of Student Services, said she wanted a superintendent who had a handle on all the state regulations and a grasp of their financial implications and how schools could smoothly implement them, while Jay Gowell, chair of the building committee, said it wasn’t necessary for the next superintendent to have built a school, as great construction experience is one of those “once-in-a-lifetime or never” résumé bullet points. Of course, the district is about to undergo construction of a brand new middle school and renovated high school science labs, and “I think we can handle that,” he said, “we’ being the building committee and the project manager, Jon Winikur of Strategic Building Solutions, out of Connecticut.
The group then rubbed the genie lamp some more and came up with a long to-do list for the new superintendent: visit every school and get to know each one; put in place an “action plan”; discuss and work on the “unresolved issues,” with outgoing Superintendent Charlie Meyers; meet all the “stakeholders” in town; and work on consistency for special education, specifically autism.
School Committee member Deidre Gifford said the group’s eagerness to have someone who wants to listen and learn is a good start, but the bottom line is she wants a leader who can assess the situation and offer a vision, a plan. Science teacher Nick Rath struck a similar tone, saying, “I’m looking for a decision maker who provides us with a clear direction.” And Jeff Stevens brought up that the applicant pool shows the district is about to get a principal from outside the district, or the state, and that could be great, as it’s a big change from the current set-up, where the current superintendent has been a familiar part of the school system for years.
Guliano said she wants a superintendent who knew how to do things “better, smarter, faster, more efficiently,” and High School Principal Jeanine Nota said she was hoping for someone forward-thinking, “pro-active, not reactive.”
A superintendent who would work on a technology plan for the schools, consider the shape the facilities are in, review the curriculum and work with the PTG, also garnered some votes, though not as much as the others.
Members
The focus group consists of Eldredge School Principal Dom Giusti, Nick Rath, chair of the science department at East Greenwich High School, teacher Joanne Leach, teacher Laurie Ratigan, teacher Linda Cram, speech/language specialist Pat Rakovic, Director of Administration Maryanne Crawford, Director of Student Services Paula Dillon, School Committee members Jean Ann Guliano, Susan Records, Deidre Gifford, Mary Ellen Winters and Anne Palumbo, Building Committee Chair Jay Gowell and Jeff Stevens, also on the building committee, Finance Committee member Henry Kates, PTG representatives Tricia Colgan, Betsy Shimberg and Carolyn Mark, special needs parent Joanne Quinn, resident Mark Gee, retired teacher and substitute principal Roger Allard, Lou Lepry, past principal of Cole Junior High, former school committee member Chuck Barton, High School Principal Jeannine Nota, Fields Committee Chair Mike Feeney, Cole Principal Michael Zajac, parent Lori McEwen and resident Janet Joyce. |
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