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School Superintendent Search Forums Next Week

by marcia chambers | Mar 18, 2010 8:25 am

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Posted to: Schools

Dr. Jacqueline V. Jacoby, a consultant with the Connection Association of Boards of Education (CABE), will lead two open forums a week from today that are designed to get community and parental input into the selection of the next Branford school superintendent.

Dr. Kathleen Halligan has served as superintendent for the past five years. She plans to retire at the end of this school term. Jacoby’s firm has been hired to lead what will be a national search, she said.  If for some reason the search process has to be extended, Dr. Halligan will stay on for additional month she has said. 

The nine—member Board of Education is also the search committee. It has no one other than itself to participate in the actual selection process.  Jacoby previously told the board that confidentiality is “extremely important,” especially for those superintendents currently employed. She suggested that the Board of Education be the on-site search committee, a designation that would enable it to go into executive or private session to interview candidates.  The board did so.

The aim is to hire a new superintendent before the spring term ends. “We are on schedule,” Jacoby told the Eagle in a recent interview.  She said she is now receiving “phone calls from potential applicants along with paper submissions. Branford is a highly regarded community. There are people who learn about it in a variety of ways.” She said an advertisement appeared in the March 3 edition of Education Week, a national education newspaper.

As she goes forward “we will focus on three arenas. What are the strengths of schools and the community, what are the weaknesses and what the challenges are for the future? We want to know the best of Branford and the challenges of Branford and translate that into the kind of leader we need and want for the school system,” she said. 

Jacoby, a former school superintendent in Glastonbury, will be joined by the Board of Education at the two forums, both to take place on Thursday, March 25, in the Teacher’s Lounge at Walsh Intermediate School, 185 Damascus Road. Parents will go first at 7 p.m. to be followed by members of the community at 8 p.m.

In an interview Dr. Jacoby said she is also meeting with faculty from the town’s five schools. She also plans to hold one-on-one meetings with town officials, financial officers, members of the Chamber of Commerce and the leadership of the Representative Town Meeting.

She will also speak with students, with outreach program leaders and with clergy.

Frank Carrano, the chair of the Branford Board of Education, said he is seeking community involvement and asked residents to share their “personal insight on our schools and town.

“The Board is committed to defining the leadership requirements for the next superintendent using information gathered from a wide range of perspectives. As such, community involvement is an essential component,” he said in a statement. 

At her interview for the position with the board Dr. Jacoby said her firm does “extensive networking.”  She will also evaluate candidates. “What’s on paper is not necessarily what you get. We do the pre-interviews of candidates.” 
 
If residents cannot attend the forum they may fill out a “Superintendent Search Leadership Profile form.” The forms are available at Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library, James Blackstone Memorial Library and the Canoe Brook Senior Center and may be deposited there. 

Forms are also available online at the district’s website.  Completed forms may also be mailed to CABE Search Services, P.O. Box 111, Milford, CT 06460, or faxed to (203) 877-1096. Completed forms must be received on or before Friday, March 26, 2010. 
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posted by: Branford Citizen on March 18, 2010  9:24am

With all the recent controversy surrounding BOE issues, a one hour session for parents does not seem like it will be enough time for them.

posted by: Ethan Huntington on March 18, 2010  9:43am

Actions speak louder than words and in this case the BOE rhetoric does not match up with with their actions. 

On one hand they pay lip service about embracing parental engagement unless, of course, someone disagrees with them.  Does anybody here really think this is anything more than showmanship? Are there no citizens trustworthy enough to sit on the search committee? How about teachers?

The reality is the BOE/consultant have already established some criteria since they have advertised and received calls and submissions for the position.  BOE - please do not waste our time when you’ve already settled on ‘what’s best for rest of us.’

posted by: Laura Troidle on March 20, 2010  4:01pm

“Frank Carrano, the chair of the Branford Board of Education, said he is seeking community involvement and asked residents to share their ‘personal insight on our schools and town.’”

Hmmmm.  Seems as though many parents have been doing exactly that. 

Problem is, who is listening?

I do remember requesting that parents and other community members be a part of the search from the outset, not after the field has been narrowed down.  CABE has been involved since at least December and this is the first public forum?  What has CABE been doing all of this time with the large amount of tax payer dollars given to them to do this search?

Again, I truly doubt that all of the members of our BOE are comfortable with this.  Please speak up.

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