School District Prepares for Superintendent Search

As the school year winds down, school officials are gearing up for the search for a new superintendent to fill the district's leadership role.

The Simsbury Board of Education heard a presentation by Connecticut Association of Boards of Education Search Services Senior Consultant Randall Collins Tuesday night about the results of an extensive leadership profile assessment conducted for the board.

Collins compiled the results from 8 focus group sessions held with town officials, school support staff, faculty, administrators, senior citizens, high school students, parents, and other community members, according to the CABE report. Collins also included the results from 86 responses to an online survey conducted by the school district.

"I look for themes that went across all groups so that they were broad and they were consistent," Collins said.

The results of the assessment will be used to guide district officials during the hiring process.

Some of the community responses detailed important qualities that should be considered like creativity, vision, problem solving skills, and engagement. Others focused on bigger picture issues facing the school district.

"There was almost universal concern expressed regarding the budget of the last few years and the negative impact that was felt," Collins said.

Another important theme Collins found was a "perceived erosion of services of special needs students." Others said the new superintendent should be visible and accessible.

"There is a longing on the part of the community to have a superintendent who is engaged," the report said.

Other characteristics and skills mentioned in the process include:

• Strong advocate who is sensitive to issues facing the town
• Fiscal astuteness with the courage to say "no" while maintaining relationshiops
• A leader who can effectively articulate the reasons behind decisions
• A leader who has demonstrated experience in a successful school environment
• Someone who can build relationships with parents, the community and supports parental involvement
• Someone willing to commit to Simsbury for a number of years
• A proven track record of improving student performance
• Someone who can delegate and hold administrators accountable
• Someone who supports teachers and other employees
• Someone who is hard working
• Approachable, accessible, open-minded and fair
• Someone who possesses outstanding communication and interpersonal skills
• A person who is comfortable working in a collaborative manner

The board will take the results of the leadership profile report into consideration during the interview process. Applications for the position of Superintendent of Schools are due by May 4 and the first round of interviews will begin on May 9.