First in a series
With 65 days remaining in Supt. Patti Jaffe’s term in office, and given her high profile every day on every campus in the School District, it has been easy to forget that two months ago she announced her “definitely final” retirement.
She seems so vital and involved, talking about next year and the more distant future as if she will remain prominent in the landscape where she has made a 42-year career.
Practically unnoticed, the search for the popular Ms. Jaffe’s successor is proceeding in the background.
One of the two principal headhunters, John Cruz of Education Leadership Services, convened one of a series of community meetings early last evening at the District office.
It turned out to be an imaginative, wide-ranging exercise in developing a potential profile for the next Super.
Mr. Cruz sketched his plans and, while posing five questions, solicited input from an audience that included parents George N. Laase, Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin and Todd Johnson.
“By getting answers to our five questions,” said Mr. Cruz, “we can incorporate them into the job brochure that eventually will be developed and distributed to people who are interested in applying for the job.
“The job brochure will include background information on the community, on the School District, significant achievements of the District. We put things in there about leadership qualities, personal skills and abilities that are necessary, brief critical timelines and the application information.
“We spend a great deal of time with our community input portion so that our brochure reflects more than what the School Board is saying, but also what parents and community people are thinking.
“The job generally is advertised for four weeks,” the soft-spoken Mr. Cruz said. “That will begin as soon as the Board approves of this job announcement. We will put this together, give it back to the Board, and at an open meeting they will approve it. At that point, we post it. We probably will close this on the 25th of May, a Friday.
Closing in
“That weekend, my partner Wendell Chun and I will go through all of the applications. We will make a recommendation to the Board of six applicants we feel they should interview.
“The Board is free to add, delete candidates. We are very transparent. We give them all of the applications. They have a week to look at those. By the time we meet, they are ready to discuss the six we have recommended plus any others.
“After that, we will be interviewing our initial six on the 21st of June. Generally, the Board decides to bring back two candidates. We will conduct those interviews on Saturday, June 23.
“They decide on a final candidate and determine whether they want to go out to conduct a community visit.
“The goal is to have a person in place by July 1. But other factors enter the mix. You have a contract, and you have to present a financial package to the Superintendent. There is give-and-take there, but hopefully we will have someone on board in early July.”
(To be continued)
