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Home > Blogs > Springfield Schools News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > January > 14 > Entry
What’s Springfield looking for in a superintendent?
Wanted: An open, caring advocate for children with leadership experience and a willingness to embrace Springfield.
That’s what the city schools is looking for in its next superintendent according to a leadership profile developed by the firm running the national search.
Consultants met in December with various groups, including community members, business leaders and district staff, to get input about the qualities most vital to the next era of leadership in Springfield City Schools.
“(The profile) will keep us focused,” said board President Donna Picklesimer. “It brings us basic criteria to go back to and in spite of how we might feel about someone it gives us characteristics to stick to.”
The characteristics included in the profile are:
• An advocate for children
• Open, caring and authentic
• An experienced leader and collaborator
• An established bridge builder
• A community leader
The board worked with consultants to select the most important qualities discussed based on the input from various sources, said Picklesimer.
The five characteristics included in the profile are ones common to all sectors of the community, said Picklesimer.
It’s also what makes Springfield unique, she said.
“Those are the kinds of things that make us stand out from, not all other districts, but many other districts,” she said.
Springfield officials hope to announce a slate of candidates and conduct interviews in March with the goal of making a selection in early April.
A search for a high school campus director will launch after the new superintendent is selected.
See the full profile after the jump.
The Springfield City School Board, after consulting with staff and members of the community, has identified the qualities which they desire in their new superintendent. The individual appointed will be: • An advocate for children - one who not only recognizes the challenges facing public education in our small urban district but who also recognizes and can articulate the potential for promoting remarkable improvements in the successes of our students. • An open, caring, and authentic person - one who will make the difficult decisions honestly, fairly, courageously, and transparently. • An experienced leader and collaborator - one who has demonstrated the organizational and interpersonal intelligence needed to coordinate the improvements that will revive staff and community morale. This will be an individual who will be visible in each of our schools and will inspire cooperation and commitment to accomplishing the goals of each of the schools in the district. • An established bridge builder - one who will embrace Springfield and who can articulate clearly and persuasively the value of our diversity. This individual will build relationships within and between our schools and the community. • A community leader - one who communicates effectively with, and actively listens to, a broad range of internal and external stakeholders. This individual will be prepared to assume a prominent position in our community and will be the principal advocate for a new consensus in Springfield on the importance of all our children to all our community.
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