Washtenaw Intermediate School District asks community to get involved in superintendent search
The Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s search for a new superintendent has officially begun, with a timeline and an agreement with a recruiter now in place.
The WISD Board of Education has agreed to work with the Michigan Association of School Boards to select the next superintendent. Board members will be accepting applications for the position until March 10 and hope to have a candidate identified by mid-April.
A survey is available on the WISD’s website for the community to get involved with the search process. MASB search consultant Michael Emlaw said the survey is an important step in the process.
“The first step in the process is to gather input from WISD’s various constituencies and compile the information into a candidate profile that describes the key professional and personal characteristics that WISD seeks in a new leader,” he said in a statement.
The survey is available until Thursday. Emlaw will also be meeting with several small groups of staff, school district officials and community members to seek their input.
Former WISD Superintendent William Miller retired from the district on Dec. 31.
Richard Leyshock, the WISD’s former assistant superintendent for student services, is serving as interim superintendent through the end of the school year or until a new superintendent is hired. Leyshock is not seeking the superintendent position permanently and plans to retire at the end of August.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com.
Comments
John Hritz
Sat, Jan 15, 2011 : 5:46 p.m.
Perhaps comparing apples to oranges, but its amazing that we can have a new UofM football coach within a week and the search for a new superintendent can take vastly more time. The secret is probably that there is always a list of suitable candidates maintained.
Peter Eckstein
Sat, Jan 15, 2011 : 11:46 a.m.
"The first step in the process is to gather input from WISDs various constituencies and compile the information into a candidate profile that describes the key professional and personal characteristics that WISD seeks in a new leader, he (Emlaw)said in a statement. These naval-watching exercises always amuse me. Surely the profile of an ideal leader has already been developed, and it will probably read (with a tad more specificity) like the Boy Scout oath. Just pick an existing profile and send it around to all those constituencies for comment, but don't try to make everyone feel a part of the process because they have voted to have "dynamic" or "sensitive" moved to a higher or lower position on a meaningless list.
Linda Peck
Sat, Jan 15, 2011 : 10:14 a.m.
I did the survey and I hope someone will actually read it. I also hope that the superintendent will be a member of this community already and no person will be hired from outside. We have the talent right here. We need to move into the future with compassion and understanding of children. Take good examples like Honey Creek Elementary School and Middle School and Community High School and build on those great institutions.
DonBee
Sat, Jan 15, 2011 : 8:53 a.m.
If WISD treats this survey the way AAPS did for their Superintendent search it will be a waste of electrons. WISD needs to centralize overhead costs for the school districts they serve. There should be no accounting, computer, or other overhead departments in any school district. There should be one WISD wide contract for all school employees. The school districts need to focus on education, not administration and overhead.
ptrcklttl
Sat, Jan 15, 2011 : 7:16 a.m.
WISD has to become on par with the other three quality ISD's (Kent, Oakland,& Wayne). The ISD has provided strong special ed support but must try to get serious about working with the rest of the educational world. They have dragged behind in its support of general education, providing funds at times but not leadership that is consistent. The new Supt.has to be well rounded, not just focused on Special Ed. Also, this person has to bring Ann Arbor schools into the fold as a partner with the other districts. Too often, they just do what ever they want and leave the rest to choose their own path. Each district has to do this at times, but A2 seems to do it more. I will put this in the survey as well.