Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education meeting highlights 2-26-14

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

All board members were present.

Special meeting on the superintendent search—interviews and surveys

Ted Blaesing of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, search consultant, presented results from 459 interviews and online surveys regarding desired characteristics of the next superintendent.

For district and community strengths, frequently mentioned items were: student college preparation; quality of life in the community; the number of organizations committed to the district; and Nylajean McDaniel, current interim superintendent.

Challenges and concerns included: the gap between reality and public perception, and media coverage of the district; an increasing number of poor, transient students with disengaged families; recruitment and retention of staff that reflect the student body; the frequent shifting among different approaches to academic achievement; and state testing.

The most frequently cited desirable characteristics describe a person who would make a long-term commitment to the district and who would understand, take pride in, and be visibly engaged in the community and the district. Those surveyed also want a superintendent who is polished, well-spoken, politically savvy, visionary, collegial, dynamic, intelligent and an educator. They want a person who can develop positive relations with the two cities and employee unions, foster teamwork, put students’ needs first, meet the demands of multiple constituencies, nurture relationships, communicate well, set high standards, foster a positive professional climate, and represent the interests of students, parents, staff and community members.

Blaesing said interview questions will be based on the survey results. He will advise whomever is hired to respect the survey results and focus on them. He praised school board members for their openness to the results.

Board members recommended that candidates be informed that the district is 80 to 82 percent minority, that the achievement gap needs to be addressed, and that the superintendent needs to be courageous in setting high expectations for students, staff, families and school board members.

Blaesing will report to the board in early April on the final stages of the search and on interviewing the final five candidates. There will be more opportunity for the community to be involved. Also in April, the three final candidates will have daylong visits to the district and the community.

LWV Observer: Nancy Dietrich.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse, and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.

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