The Superintendent is, arguably, the most important position in our region. This person is responsible for the welfare and education of our children — setting direction and driving improvement in the face of ever increasing budgetary pressures. The Superintendent leads the largest employer in the five towns and manages the largest budget.
Lots of children and lots of money drive people’s emotions, making the Superintendent a lightning rod for criticism. The Superintendent sets the tone of the region in the way he responds to that criticism. Finding the right person to lead our district is the most important task this committee will undertake.
We can’t make this decision alone, so we are asking for your help. Your input is the starting point for a great selection, smooth transition and tremendous achievement as we look ahead to the next several years.
Online Survey
The easiest way to get involved is to complete our online survey. This survey will help us understand priorities within the community. You can take it by going to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FPD72PQ. The survey will be open until February 18th.
Focus Groups
For people who want to participate more directly in the process, we are holding a series of focus groups. Some of these meetings are targeted at specific groups, like faculty and students. Several others are being held for community; including parents, seniors and elected officials. To encourage open discussion, these sessions are being moderated by a third party and school committee members will not be present. Please feel free to attend any of these sessions. We have tried to spread them around the district to make it as easy to participate as possible, given the time contraints and the number of sessions that have to be coordinated.
Thursday, January 31, 2013. 6pm-8pm. Wachusett Regional High School, Auditorium.
Monday, February 4, 2013. 6pm-8pm. Glenwood Elementary School, Rutland
Monday, February 11, 2013. 6pm-8pm. Chocksett Middle School, Sterling
Tuesday, February 12, 2013. 10am-12pm. Senior Center, Holden
Future Participation
We are accepting applications for the Superintendent’s position until March 1, after which will begin a whirlwind of reviews, interviews, site visits, etc. as we work to make the appointment by April 9. The school committee is looking forward to providing opportunities for the community to meet with the top candidates and participate in the final selection. We have not figured out exactly how that is going to work yet, so watch this space for details.
To contact Steve Hammond, School Committee Representative, with questions/concerns about this particular bulletin posting, please send an email to: shammond@northpub.com.
