Derby Board of Education Chairman Ken Marcucio Sr. said the search for a new school superintendent is underway.
“We’re looking to hopefully have somebody by Thanksgiving,” Marcucio said.
Candidates for the position have until Oct. 15 to submit an application, and while the board waits, its search committee and consultants will conduct a series of focus groups to determine what qualities city residents and leaders hope to see in the next school superintendent.
Former Superintendent Stephen Tracy left at the end of the last school year to take over as superintendent of Unified District No. 2, a position with the state Department of Children and Families responsible for the education of children in foster and residential care throughout Connecticut.
In July, the school board appointed George Tanner, 67, as interim superintendent. Tanner worked for the Derby public schools for 38 years as a math teacher and assistant high school principal. He retired in 2006 but returned for a stint as interim dean at Derby Middle School.
The Board of Education is receiving assistance in the superintendent search from the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), just as it did several years ago when Tracy was hired.
CABE Senior Search Consultant Dr. Jacqueline Jacoby said ads have been placed in publications and on web sites that are read by school administrators nationally and in Connecticut.
She predicted a new superintendent would probably be hired by Christmas, but noted that most school administrators have clauses in their contracts requiring them to give 90 days notice, so it is likely the new superintendent won’t actually take over until sometime in 2013.
Jacoby said she has met with the search committee to discuss what qualities to look for in the next superintendent.
She and Marcucio said the search committee would bring that discussion to all of Derby’s public schools in the next five weeks, and to the Board of Aldermen.
School officials say CABE search consultants will meet on Monday, Sept. 10, separately with groups of administrators, high school students and the staff of each school.
An open meeting for parents of school children and other interested community members will also take place, but it has not been scheduled yet.
In addition, the committee is also conducting a survey for Derby residents who won’t otherwise have an opportunity to give their opinions. Survey questionnaires may be obtained online or at City Hall and the Derby Public Library.
The high school might be one focus for the next superintendent, noted Bradley School PTA Co-President Chantal Gerckens, who has a seventh grader at the middle school this year.
She said many parents in Derby opt to send their children to private or parochial schools rather than to Derby High School. She added that the city hasn’t been able to afford the improvements that are needed there, such as new educational technology being used elsewhere throughout Connecticut.
The state is adding new graduation requirements for high school students, and Derby is contemplating merging its high school with Ansonia. Those issues would be important decisions for the next superintendent, she said.
Another issue is Derby’s test scores. “Right now we’re stuck in a rut,” Gerckens said. “There needs to be more focus, not just on the testing they do in the schools, but on the whole school environment.”
As for herself, Gerckens said she wants the next superintendent to be “a leader who will listen.”
“We’re at the beginning of our search,” noted Marcucio.
He said the search committee would interview the best applicants and refer the top choices to the full Board of Education.
The interviews are the hardest part, Marcucio said, but he and school board member Kimberly Kreiger participated in the last superintendent search, something he saw as an advantage.
