Superintendent search begins

by Jim Boyle
Editor
Dr. Kenneth Dragseth and Dr. Antoinette Johns of School Exec Connect laid out their game plan Sept. 26 for finding the next superintendent of schools at a work session of the Elk River Area School Board.
The search firm’s process will include students, parents and community leaders as well as school administrators, building principals, certified and classified non-certified staff and the community at large.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

School Board members were told they still have to determine an acceptable salary range within a couple of weeks, and newly elected Gregg Peppin has stated during the work session at the District 728 Offices he wants to look for alternative candidates who might need a waiver from the state.
A letter to District 728 stakeholders has been crafted, and a confidential survey was to be loaded onto the Elk River Area School District’s website at www.isd728.org. Replies are due by Oct. 30.
The search firm’s process will include individual face-to-face meetings with members of the District 728 Board, school district staff, parents, students and community members as well as in focus groups to determine strengths, challenges, goals for the district and characteristics or skills people would like to see in their next leader.
Focus groups will be established for administrators, both certified and non-certified staff, high school students, parent leaders and community leaders.
The consultants and members of the School Board spent a lot of time on Sept. 26 talking about who would be on the focus groups, and they didn’t pull up when it came to discussing the importance of student input. It was decided to have two groups of about 15 or 16 students pooled from the four area high schools.
“And we don’t want all the National Honor Society students,” Johns said. “We want a real cross-section. Kids that are at all levels in the district.”
Interim Superintendent Bruce Watkins agreed with that approach, noting with a cross section of achievers there are kids who are speaking to their needs and what they’re hoping for and others that are kind of speaking of their successes and what they have received.
Johns said including a special education student or two would also be valuable along with ELL students or immigrants. Honor students and others heavily involved in school life will also be sought.
“The students are usually really good,” Dragseth said.
Johns said the depth of answers students provide is “amazing.”
Parent leaders of the school PTOs as well as community leaders will be tapped for the focus groups involving parents and the community.

Profile of the next school chief
All these efforts will be done to develop a profile of what people are looking for in the next superintendent.
The community meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 18, most likely at the centrally located Zabee Theater inside Elk River High School.
The individual input from one-on-one interviews (including any newly elected board members from the Nov. 8 election), focus groups, the survey and the results of the open meeting will be pooled and synthesized by Dragseth and Johns to prepare a report and a draft profile of the next school superintendent at meeting in mid-November.
School Board members, who will ultimately be in on the decision of who to hire, will get a copy of the draft beforehand and a chance to revise the draft. That includes those who will be newly elected on Nov. 8.
“We’ll present the profile then, and talk about the report,” Dragseth said. “Sometimes there’s something that’s missed, words that need to be revised or some change made to reflect the philosophy of the district.”
Then there’s a final copy prepared and the School Board will be asked to approve it.
“The community and the candidates can see what you’re looking for and that becomes a tool that we use later on to vet the candidates.”
Dragseth and Johns led the search more than 10 years ago when Dr. Mark Bezek was hired when the district was fractured and there was talk of the southern reaches of the school district breaking off. Dragseth recalled heavily attended meetings and lots of community upset.
“It was a very trying time,” School Board Member Sue Farber said.

Recruitment of candidates
Members of the Elk River Area School Board agreed to spend $905 to advertise nationally for superintendent candidates through Education Week and the American Association of School Administrators.
School Board members also agree they will draw upon the connectedness of School Exec Connect to bring in viable candidates as well as free vehicles like Minnesota School Boards Association, its own website and others.
Dragseth said the advantage of casting the net nationally is districts can get that person who is not looking for a job but sees an opportunity to return to their home state or home community.
“It’s good to spread it a little wider and see who’s out there,” Dragseth said. “For 905 bucks you have covered all over the country. In a large district like this, that’s a good thing.”
Peppin asked Dragseth and Johns about alternative searches.
“I’m interested in doing a nontraditional search,” he said. “Talk to me about doing a search outside the typical channels.”
The pair explained that, in Minnesota, candidates must have a Minnesota superintendent’s license or must get a waiver.
“We cannot recruit anybody that does not have a license,” Dragseth said. “A business person, for example, who has never gone through the Minnesota Department of Education processed to be licensed can’t be brought in by us.”
If someone without a superintendent’s licence inquired, Johns said they would direct the person to call the state.
Someone with an educational background and a superintendent’s license from another state can apply for a waiver, and that can be more easily done, Johns said.
Dragseth said he sat on a review board for six years that granted administrative licenses for people seeking alternative licensure from the University of Minnesota.
“If you do not have an education background, you need to take all the standards that are required (about 60 some) and you do a portfolio document and here’s how you meet each one of the these standards,” Dragseth said. “Then you have to go before a board of community members and educators and get approved by that.”
Certain requirements that others states don’t require need to be completed.
Peppin asked Dragseth to explain the process involved with the hiring of Peter Hutchinson by Minneapolis Public Schools years ago.
Dragseth said it’s obsolete now. The Minnesota Legislature changed the laws to prevent that situation from repeating itself. Minneapolis Public Schools had contracted to have a privately held team, headed by Hutchinson, lead the school system. When Hutchinson ended up quitting the job, the contract was voided, Dragseth said.
“The Department of Education and the Legislature said we don’t want this to happen again. It’s too disruptive,” Dragseth said.
An alternative licensure process is in place now that provides a path to hiring alternative candidates. Johns says it has been used in several instances, including with the hiring of a military man.
“He had been a superintendent in another state as well,” she said. “When he got here he got a variance. He was definitely an alternative candidate. It’s rare but it can be done.”
Johns said to get a variance or waiver, someone might have to take several classes that are required in Minnesota on topics ranging from human relations to Minnesota school finance.
Farber said interested applicants, traditional or nontraditional, could check the usual places to find school leadership opportunities if they were interested in doing that.
Peppin said he didn’t have a problem advertising for candidates, but he wants to ensure alternative candidates are sought and will be considered.

Recruitment, vetting
Dragseth and Johns said the recruitment and vetting process would happen between Sept. 28 and Jan. 25, 2017.
Then on Feb. 6, highly qualified candidates would be presented to the District 728 School Board and four to six of them would be picked for interviews on Feb. 7 and 8, 2017.
The School Board would narrow that group down to two or three finalists who would be called back for daylong interviews on Feb. 13, 15 and, if need be, on Feb. 16 with community, staff and students.
From there, the School Board would conduct a second set of interviews to narrow the finalists down to one with the hope of negotiating a contract in late February and early March with board action on a contract on March 13. The new superintendent would assume duties on July 1, 2017.

Elk River Area School District
superintendent search

Sept. 26 Meet with board to establish search process.

Sept. 28 Stakeholder letter to explain process.

Oct. 18 Meet with School Board, staff, students and community for input into the “new superintendent profile.”

Nov. 14 Develop “new superintendent profile” based on input from community, focus groups, survey results and board interviews.
Among the groups of people to be called upon include district administration, building administration, certified staff, classified non-certified staff, high school students, parent leaders, community leadership.

Sept. 28 Recruit candidates and complete vetting.
Jan. 25

Feb. 6 Highly qualified candidates presented to School Board.
Initial interviews for four to six candidates set for Feb. 7 and 8.

Feb. 7-8 First School Board interviews. Board narrows choice to two or three finalists.

Feb. 13, 15-16 All-day interview process. Community, staff, student interviews. Board reviews feedback forms and conducts second interviews and then narrows choice to one.

Late Feb. to Negotiate contract.
early March

March 13 Board action on superintendent’s contract.

July 1 Superintendent assumes duties.