Board seeks input on schools chief search
NEWTOWN — The Board of Education already knows that the next superintendent will have to be schooled in organizing, recruiting, motivating, negotiating, budgeting, communicating and planning, among other things.
What the school board doesn’t know is what combination of those skills students, teachers and parents want most.
So before the Board of Education sketches a profile for the ideal candidate to replace Superintendent Lorrie Rodrigue at the end of the school year, the board will survey Newtown to learn what qualities are most important in the next schools chief.
“The survey is designed to obtain participant input about the attributes, experience, and knowledge that the new superintendent should possess,” says a public notice posted by the school board’s search consultant. “The survey also provides an opportunity for participants to identify immediate tasks which the new superintendent should address.”
The survey, which will close after March 31, invites Newtown to vote on the top five skills it wants in the next superintendent, and to offer other input to help the school board decide what type of candidate will make the right fit.
Among the 16 skill sets residents will be asked to choose from on the survey is a candidate who:
will be visible in schools, aware of current issues and activities in the schools and shows an interest in community affairs
has the commitment to supervise and evaluate school programs in the spirit of continuous improvement…
understands the importance of accountability for staff and self…
has an appreciation for the diverse academic and social-emotional needs of students…
is able to motivate, lead, guide and direct people…
The school board’s search consultant would then assemble the survey results as part of a larger “community needs assessment report” to the school board. In turn, the board would use that report to build a profile of the preferred candidate.
Students, teachers and parents won’t necessarily know the results of the survey, since the selection process will be conducted discreetly, although the board does not consider the survey itself to be confidential.
“The survey is not going to be shared at a board meeting, but it is available by request,” said Dan Cruson, co-chair of the superintendent search committee.
The anonymous survey is the latest development in the board’s search for a replacement for Rodrigue, who marshaled social and emotional learning resources to help smooth the aftershocks of the Sandy Hook shooting when she took over in 2018.