Search for two new principals also proceeding.
By: Lea Kahn
School district officials are closing in on a candidate for the position of assistant superintendent for curriculum, and hope to make an appointment before the end of the 2004-05 school year, according to Superintendent of Schools Max Riley.
The search for two principals one for the Eldridge Park School and one for the Lawrence Middle School also is proceeding and school district officials hope to have new principals in place this summer.
Nearly 60 candidates have applied for the assistant superintendent’s job, which is the second-highest post in the school district, Dr. Riley said. Based on their applications, the list has been narrowed to 15 and the superintendent said he is in the process of winnowing that list to a handful of semifinalists.
"It’s a pretty impressive group one of the best assistant superintendent pools I have seen in 20 years," Dr. Riley said. "They have degrees from Stanford University, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, Seton Hall University and Rutgers University."
Dr. Riley said he is conducting one-hour screening interviews with each of the candidates to determine "if we need to bring them in for a more intensive screening."
All the candidates have doctorate degrees and one has law degree and is working toward a doctorate in education, Dr. Riley said.
Of the 11 candidates who have gone through the preliminary interview, there are six "very strong" candidates three men and three women, he said.
Interviews are pending with the other four candidates, he said, adding that he hopes to complete those sessions in the next week or two.
The strongest candidates will be invited back for a more intensive interview with staff and community groups, Dr. Riley said. The details of that intensive interview process are being worked out now, he added.
Dr. Riley said he believes the strong pool of candidates is partly the result of the national exposure that the school district has received over the past year. The school district’s partnership with the Eggerts Crossing Village and Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center which aims to close the minority achievement gap has been highlighted at several national conferences, he said.
Also, the school district has conducted a more complex search, tapping into electronic job announcement networks for school leadership positions in states that have reputations for producing high quality educators, he said.
This is the second search for an assistant superintendent for curriculum since former Assistant Superintendent Bruce McGraw announced his plans to retire last summer. Dr. McGraw’s retirement took effect Jan. 1.
The earlier search netted two finalists, both of whom were rejected by school district officials. Dr. Riley praised the two finalists in November 2004, but he said that neither Reginald Redding nor Cheryl Simone possessed the particular "skills set" that the district is seeking in order to advance academically.
The two finalists left their previous positions under less-than-ideal circumstances. Both had received votes of no confidence from either the staff or parents at their last jobs.
Dr. Redding was fired from his last job as the superintendent of the Rhode Island School for the Deaf. He and the school’s board of directors also received a vote of no confidence from the staff.
Dr. Simone was the subject of a petition that amounted to a vote of no confidence while she was superintendent of the South Hunterdon Regional High School District.
Meanwhile, school district officials are reviewing 64 resumes from candidates seeking to replace LMS Principal Nancy Pitcher, who is retiring. Ten of the 64 applicants hold doctorate degrees and the rest have master’s degrees.
The district has received 50 applications from New Jersey residents and six from Pennsylvania residents. The remainder have come from New York, Ohio, New Hampshire, Alabama, Texas and Minnesota.
The district also has received 46 resumes from applicants seeking to replace EPS Principal Sheila MacDonald, who also is retiring. Of the 46 applications, 40 are from New Jersey residents, four are from Pennsylvania residents and there is one each from residents of Ohio and Minnesota. Five applicants have doctorates in education and the rest have master’s degrees.