Using input from almost 650 education and community members, the Covington Board of Education has officially posted the job opening for its new school superintendent.
The job profile, which can be seen at Covington school superintendent seeks a driven leader who will act with boldness, courage, and urgency in energizing a school district that is more than 200 years old and serves a very diverse enrollment of about 3,500 students in grades PreK-12.
The job posting – which was approved by the Board of Education in a unanimous vote last week – represents a significant step in a long and thoughtful process that Board members say is noteworthy for its robust community engagement, its national scope, and the proactive nature of the search.
“We are rewriting the rules to meet the moment of where we are as a district and a city – this is a true inflection point for Covington schools, ” Board Chairman Tom Haggard said. “Thus it was important that this job profile represent not only what the Board wants in its next superintendent
but also what the community wants in that leader.”
Alma Advisory Group, the education consulting and executive search firm assisting in the search, gathered that public input over the last month through:
• An online survey with 469 responses, including from more than 100 current students and almost 180 teachers and staff.
• Three community gatherings featuring wide-ranging discussions.
• Focus groups and targeted interviews (32 sessions with 160 participants, including two meetings with 45 Holmes High School students).
• And presentations before community and partner organizations.
Feedback came from a broad spectrum of people: Educators, staff, students, alumni, parents and guardians, Covington residents, and leaders from the City of Covington, businesses, and regional organizations.
Alma presented that feedback to the Board at its meeting last week.
“The time invested in community engagement was extremely valuable,” said Sylvia Flowers, who as Managing Director of Talent Acquisition and Executive Search for Alma is leading Covington’s search. “We heard from students, teachers, principals, families, community partners, and city leaders, and their input was both candid and constructive. The Alma team is committed to finding a leader who can deliver on what stakeholders told us matters most.”
The feedback not only shaped the parameters of the job profile but will also continue to guide the screening of applicants, interviews of finalists, and the selection of a superintendent, Haggard said.
“Insight from within the schools and the broader community has been and will continue to be critical,” Haggard said. “The situation demands it.”
WHAT THE INPUT SHOWED
Survey and discussion participants described a strong sense of shared pride in the school system and its diversity. They had definite opinions on what the district does well and where it needs to improve, as well as on what they want in a new superintendent and what that superintendent needs to prioritize:
• Respondents said Covington schools already work hard to collaborate with the broader community to address basic needs of students and families, ensure school safety, meet the needs of multilingual learners, support students with special needs, and meet students’ social and emotional needs.
• But they want a stronger focus on student success, improved academic outcomes, new ideas and innovation targeted to student needs, more rigorous relevant work-based learning experiences that prepare graduates for careers and college, more parental and student input into decisions, more emphasis on teacher retention, improved communication, and stronger efforts to turn CIPS into a “destination district” where families choose to enroll their students.
• They said a new superintendent needs to have experience in change management and academic turnaround and be a courageous decision-maker, a diagnostic and systems thinker, an authentic communicator, and a consensus and coalition builder.
• Finally, they want the new superintendent to focus on building a roadmap to drive significant improvements in student achievement; develop a culture of accountability, transparency, excellence and continuous improvement; build high-performing systems, structures, and leaders; maintain strong financial stewardship; and leverage city and community partnerships.
Haggard said the Board will not passively wait for people to apply but will, with Alma Advisory Group’s help, actively recruit applicants from across the country.
The Board hopes to recruit candidates in December, begin the screening process in January, identify semifinalists in February, and pick a superintendent in March.
More information can be found at Superintendent Search Page.