From your Board of Directors:
A sincere thank you to the over 400 community members, parents, and staff members who participated in our superintendent search survey. Over the past two weeks, the board has researched and considered available options (full search, selection/appointment, or interim), while simultaneously analyzing feedback being collected from a wide group of stakeholders.
As we move closer to a decision about the best process for selecting our next leader, clear communication and openness are vitally important. At the board’s special meeting on March 16, the board discussed available options (March 16 meeting minutes). Those in attendance at this meeting had the opportunity to share their thoughts about the process and the qualities, characteristics, and attributes of the individual they believe the district should look for as we look for our next superintendent.
The Superintendent Search Survey closed last Wednesday (March 22). We've taken some time to analyze and disaggregate that information. What follows are a few key themes and takeaways:
- The survey garnered 406 responses, of which 50% were parents, 42% were employees of the district, 7% were community members, and 1% were students.
- Survey respondents were asked to rank nine different characteristics and attributes. The top four were as follows:
- #1 - Openness and approachable, is a willing collaborator and communicator, and builds strong relationships in the district and community;
- #2 - Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
- #3 - Familiarity with Deer Park and Deer Park School District;
- #4 - Willingness and desire to be active and engaged with community organizations
- The bottom three were as follows:
- #9 - Bargaining experience and demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with collective bargaining units (union groups);
- #8 - Prior experience as a superintendent;
- #7 - Demonstrates deep understanding of district policy and procedure and is also actively engaged with legislators.
Digging a bit deeper into the data, a few additional points were interesting.
- Just shy of 40% (39.8%) of respondents ranked “openness and approachability” as their #1 one characteristic, with another 24% ranking this item as their #2. This item was far and away the most important of the ranked characteristics and attributes.
- In regard to items being ranked as “top priority,” 20% of respondents shared that someone having familiarity with Deer Park School District (and the community of Deer Park) was their highest priority.
- Looking at the bottom of the list, 40% of respondents ranked experience with negotiations and experience navigating collective bargaining agreements as their least important attribute (ranked with a #8 or #9), and almost the same number of respondents ranked prior experience as a superintendent similarly low.
The survey included three “free response questions” relating to the following: 1) The district's strengths; 2) the challenges and issues the district faces; 3) "other items" the board should consider. Anecdotally, in what is very much an interpretive summary of the significant amount of feedback shared, the following themes emerged (not necessarily in order of importance):
- District Strengths:
- strong sense of community
- emphasis on small/rural/local values and needs
- focus on personal relationships (culture of care)
- solid teachers/leadership
- variety of strong extra-curricular and co-curricular programs
- the Home Link program
- Challenges & Issues:
- GROWTH in Deer Park (BY FAR the most frequently mentioned)
- importance of upcoming EP & O levy and a capital projects bond
- dealing with external pressures (“liberal” policies, political agendas)
- mental health
- drug use/vaping
- staffing (significant staff turnover, lack of substitute teachers)
- school safety (and prevalence of HIB behaviors - harassment, intimidation, bullying)
Finally, at our meeting tonight (Monday, March 27), we plan to share another update on the search process, while also using Executive Session (closed to the public), to evaluate the qualifications of specific candidates of interest. We will compare the characteristics, attributes, qualifications, and skills of these candidates to the feedback received in this survey.