Today's AJC highlights the current competition for new superintendents metro-wide.
4 area school districts looking for superintendents
Over the next few months, school boards from four of the state’s largest districts will interview and select new superintendents, but the degree to which the public will influence those decisions remains unclear.
Cobb, DeKalb, Atlanta and Fulton are expected to have new leaders by July. Cobb board members are in the process of conducting interviews and DeKalb plans to announce finalists next week.
Each district has or intends to collect input from parents about characteristics a new superintendent should have. But when it comes to allowing parents to weigh in on the final decisions, districts have differing strategies.
DeKalb school board Chairman Tom Bowen said the board will hold public interviews where community members can submit questions to the finalists. The district is looking to hire a replacement for Crawford Lewis by early April. Lewis was fired and later indicted on charges he ran a criminal enterprise in the school system.
“Rather than going behind closed doors, we want to be as inclusive as we can,” Bowen said. “It goes to the bigger picture of changing the culture and changing perceptions. We want to make sure with anything major we do, we give transparency to it. The more people understand the process, the more comfortable they’ll be we’re doing things in the best interest of students.”
9 comments:
Rumor is that DCSS has narrowed the field to three -- which means those names should be released any day now.
I hope it is someone from outside the state. We really need someone to shake things up.
The first thing we need to shake up is all these public meetings. Gwinnett doesn't ask people what they think about redistricting-they just do it every year it is necessary.
How does 2 -day notice sound for a public forum with superintendent candidates???
The following was just posted on the DCSS homepage:
March 28, 2011
Contact: Walter Woods
404-486-3710
Walter.woods@cohnwolfe.com
DEKALB SCHOOLS TO HOLD PUBLIC FORUM WITH
PERMANENT SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATES
The DeKalb County School System will host a public forum with three candidates for permanent superintendant of DeKalb Schools on Thursday,
March 31, at 6 p.m. at the Administration and Instructional Complex
Auditorium at 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain, GA, 30083.
During the forum, each superintendent candidate will have 50 minutes to introduce themselves and answer 10 written questions from the public.
Parents and members of the community are invited to submit written questions of the candidates. Questions from the public must be submitted at
the forum in person prior to 5:30 p.m.
After each candidate makes a presentation and answers questions, members of the public will be asked to fill out a form regarding each candidate. These forms will be collected and presented to the DeKalb County Board of Education for its consideration during the selection process.
The Board of Education is seeking a permanent superintendent for the DeKalb County School System. This is one of the Board’s most important
responsibilities, and the Board is conducting a national search for a leader for DeKalb Schools.
The Board of Education is committed to making the Superintendent Search Process open and transparent, and its search will include multiple opportunities for public input and discussion. Members of the public are encouraged to participate in this important decision for our schools
WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES? Hey Tom Bowen it';s hard to ask a question of an applicant when you don't know who the applicant is!
You say you want this process in the open and transparent? Sorry Tom, without the names of the three finalists BEFORE the meeting you and the BOE are crooked as ever and we're headed down another slippery slope.
Why is it I smell a rat and that rats name is Morcease Beasley! If this guy is one of the three or hired there will be an exodus of teachers from DCSS that one has ever seen. I hope not, but why no names Mr. Tom "I'm all about transparency" Bowen.
The Palace guard is up to its regular antics again Par for the course! nice job Ramona and crew. These folks need to go!
What part of "multiple opportunities for public input and discussion" got by you?
What does Ramona Tyson have to do with this?
Everything we read in the news suggests that DeKalb's process is far more open and transparent than surrounding districts. If you were a candidate and currently serving as a superintendent in another district, it also reduces the length of the news cycle.
Some people try to find wrong in any and everthing, even if the law is being followed...
Let's see. Three candidates, fifty minutes each. Three candidates, ten questions each. Not to mention introductions and thank yous for all of the candidates. You are looking at a four hour event at minimum. Will this be televised on the great PDS-TV 24? Most concerned citizens and involved families cannot afford to spend four hours (plus or minus) on a school night at the palace.
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