Superintendent search

[Ted]

 
  J.S. Morton High School District 201 is conducting a search for a new superintendent and will be hosting two focus groups this month.

  I would appreciate people posting their thoughts on what they would like to see in a new superintendent.  I am posting this in the general discussion section to get  a wider variety of responses.

  Below are questions that the district is asking of people in the focus groups. If possible, target your responses to the questions and then add any additional thoughts you might have:

A) What characteristics would you like to see in a new superintendent?

B) What do you believe are the most important challenges or issues facing the district today?

C) What do you consider to be the most important strengths of the district?

D) Based on your perceptions of the needs of the District, please which of the following characteristics/skills that you would rate as the top in importance:

   1. Ability and willingness to deal directly and fairly with faculty, staff, students and parents

   2. Accountable and holds everyone in the organization accountable for his/her respective area of responsibility using key student and staff performance indicators/data

   3. Awareness of instructional and administrative applications of technology

   4. Belief in data-based decision making that focuses on the individual needs of students

   5. Effective communication skills: verbal, written and listening

   6. Experience as a superintendent

   7. Experience in a multi-cultural environment

   8. Fiscal management expertise

   9. Knowledge of emerging research and best-practice in the area of curriculum/instructional design and implementation

[mustang54]

Question A is easy. I want someone who has the ability to do all that is mentioned in question D.
Question B. The biggest challenge i feel is to make the biggest change that Morton has needed for many years. The second meeting the new asst. super was at Dr. Kusniewski he stated that in his short time there what he found was that Morton is adult driven and not student driven as a school should be. That was music to my ears. It is one of the major problems with the district.
Question C. To be honest right now i don't see any strengths in this district. I have seen improvements but i don't see anything right now i would consider a strength.
Question D. They are all equally important and whoever gets the job should have all of those skills and characteristics or they shouldn't be hired.
  One thing I don't want to see in a new super is someone who gets the job because of who he or she knows instead of what they know. I don't want a former Mortonite who will come in here with a bunch of half ass clown friends of his or hers saying we want to bring Morton back to the way it was. Most of this districts biggest problems have been here since the day I walked in as a freshman in 1965. Incompetent people who are only there because of a political favor or a friendship. When it comes to the business of educating kids that is wrong.

[Bear]

Well, face facts plain and simple people...

Do any of you expect a guy to show up
and turn 201 around to what you expect it should be?

Ain't gonna happen.

[mustang54]

Well, face facts plain and simple people...

Do any of you expect a guy to show up
and turn 201 around to what you expect it should be?

Ain't gonna happen.

Yes i do. And we should all demand it. And if those responsible don't do it call them out on it. This place has been a frickin mess for far too long. I think it can and will get done.

[Shelley]

Question A)  What characteristics do you want to see in a Superintendent? 

someone able to increase funding to District 201 either by mobilizing our community to pass a referendum, lobby to Springfield for funding reform, or plant money trees on the football field. 

Question B)  What do you think are the most important challenges facing our district?

Funding.  No matter what grand plans are presented, none can be implemented without more funding.  Whatever the priority, the funding must follow.  Other priorities include aligning the curriculum with the state standards and lengthening the school day, attracting and keeping exceptional teachers. 

Question C)  Strengths?  none.  Though I consider the opportunity to hire a new Superintendent a huge chance for improvement.  I hope we don't blow it. 

Question D)  Rating of characteristics

I would rate #2, #4, and #9 as tied for first.

Thanks for posting, Ted. 

[OakParkSpartan]

Shelley summed it up nicely.

You need money to make changes.

2, 4, and 9 are the key items.  Not sure what order I'd put them in.  2, 9, 4? 

[Ted]

  One more question - Is there anything you would like to see added to the list in (D) above that is not there?

  Frankly, I did not like some of the choices in the list in (D).  I would have liked to have seen more CEO type of characteristics rather than COO characteristics - things like a demonstrated ability to deal with and communicate with the entire community (why limit the question to just parents, students and staff?), a proven ability to present and implement a visionary plan to improve education; a proven leader in the area of education; a demonstrated ability to change a culture of failure; etc.

  It didn't seem like the list had leadership qualities in it; it was more nuts-and-bolts experience questions.  I want someone who demonstrates leadership qualitiies and someone who can deal with representing the district both internally as well as externally.

  One last thought - Does the superintendent have to be an educator?  What about the idea of hiring someone from outside the education arena but who has experience in running a large enterprise.  Would that fly?

  Ted

[OakParkSpartan]

I think the idea of hiring someone from outside the education arena is intriguing, but there would be a steep, steep learning curve IMHO. 

[mustang54]

  I think an educator with some experience in business management within education.
Our last superintendent was more of a business money type than an educator. He failed miserably in both categories. I feel if this community sees improvement in the district as far as graduation rates,test scores, and starts hearing more and more positives about the district they would pass a referendum. An idea such as Ted had a while back about a short term increase to improve things then a smaller permanent increase to account for normal rising costs would fly.

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

Well, face facts plain and simple people...

Do any of you expect a guy to show up
and turn 201 around to what you expect it should be?

Ain't gonna happen.

That type of attitude we definitely don't need.  It may not happen overnight but we do need someone who will start heading Morton in the right direction.  Let's face it - it's a matter of survival especially for Berwyn as any kind of a quality inner ring suburb.  District 201 is in dire need of change especially in terms of how people perceive it.  I think all of the qualities listed are important but someone who has succeeded in a multi-cultural environment is vital.  This ain't Mayberry anymore people and we need to change with the times. 

[OakParkSpartan]

Well, face facts plain and simple people...

Do any of you expect a guy to show up
and turn 201 around to what you expect it should be?

Ain't gonna happen.

Seems to be the age old Berwyn attitude of "aim for the middle, settle for less". 

It is a job, people take on challenges.  The right person can be found.

[Terri]

After sifting through the ISBE Superintendent meeting presentations a successful HS follows a 5 year plan focusing on the teamwork of  educators, students, parents and the community. 

In addition to funding, I would like the new Superintendent to personally market the school to the residents working towards community and business partnerships.  If the successes of the students were known the residents would be more likely to vote for an increase in school funding. 

The link below is from the Superintendent meeting.  I found the HW problem solving concept to be simple and successful, the school provides mandatory HW assistance until the student receives a passing grade.  Interesting is the "The Response to Intervention on the HS level" charts models of the academic/behavioral process planned by a HS.     

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/supts_conf/Default.htm

[Berwyn Patsy]

The position of the new superintendent should definitely go to an educator.
I also think the community needs to demand increasing improvement in district 201.
Positive thinking, helpful reinforcement, community Involvement and  I think it
can be done.  But---It's not going to happen over night!
One positive note is, the community is being invited to be part of the focus group,
don't let them down.
This position, should be carefully considered, and the biggest mistake is to hand it over
to someone that knows someone and well you all know how that goes.

[Bear]

Given demographics Brian tell us how you would turn 201
around. And name one school district with similar numbers
that had a "resurrection" so to speak. This is not any kind
of settling, one can not make the day night, it is reality.

[Terri]

Given demographics Brian tell us how you would turn 201
around. And name one school district with similar numbers
that had a "resurrection" so to speak. This is not any kind
of settling, one can not make the day night, it is reality.

Demand excellence!  Medicore is not allowed, continue the search for a Superintendent who will demand excellence of his students and educators.   

[Terri]

I'm sidetracking a bit, The Community Partnership at Joliet Township HS is worth a read.  Demographics are 37.1% White, 29.3% Black and 31.7% Hispanic population of students 5506.  

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/supts_conf/handouts/Session8.ppt#256,1,Moving Beyond the Walls of the Classroom through Community Partnership

[mustang54]

  Terri its funny you should mention Joliet. They merged their sports teams about the same time Morton,Niles and a bunch of other districts did. Now they are phasing in splitting them again starting at the freshman level. So apparently they are finally moving forward and have found a way to increase funding.
  We need someone who has already taken a district that had been spinning its wheels and turned it around. I'd be looking for someone with a proven track record of success in accomplishing that somewhere else. But remember, you pretty much get what you pay for and someone who has already accomplished such a turnaround will not come cheap. To me with probably the second largest high school district in the state you cant look for a blue light special. This move could have a huge impact on the entire future and turnaround of this community.
Once they narrow the search down it might not be a bad idea to someway involve the superintendents of the grammar school districts that feed into Morton for their opinions on who they think would be the best fit.

[OakParkSpartan]

Given demographics Brian tell us how you would turn 201
around. And name one school district with similar numbers
that had a "resurrection" so to speak. This is not any kind
of settling, one can not make the day night, it is reality.

I'd hire someone that has skills to do it, that's how I'd do it.

Glad to see you DCOB'ers have faith in changing the system.  But then again, you created the existing system, didn't you?

[Felix Greco]

  Terri its funny you should mention Joliet. They merged their sports teams about the same time Morton,Niles and a bunch of other districts did. Now they are phasing in splitting them again starting at the freshman level. So apparently they are finally moving forward and have found a way to increase funding.
 

Mustang54, what is the reason for splitting them again?
Could it be the growth explosion of former near west suburbanites ( Berwyn, Cicero, Stickney, Forest View, Lyons etc..) moving further south, southwest and west?  Just as the need to have another Morton back in the mid to late 50's or splitting the campus into 2 due to population growth.  The decline of students due to the aging population of the Berwyn-Cicero area has now ceased and instead is growing again. 

With an increase in student population for Morton, shouldn't they automatically qualify for more state aid?

[ZORBA]

Given demographics Brian tell us how you would turn 201
around. And name one school district with similar numbers
that had a "resurrection" so to speak. This is not any kind
of settling, one can not make the day night, it is reality.

I'd hire someone that has skills to do it, that's how I'd do it.

Glad to see you DCOB'ers have faith in changing the system.  But then again, you created the existing system, didn't you?

Why change the "system" when it suits them just fine?

As I said earlier, you can hire the most qualified, competent person in the world-the results will be the same.

The faces aren't the problem, the system is.

And the system begets certain faces.