Community Consolidated School Dist. 59 Professional Development and Administration Center. (Tom Robb/Journal photo)
Elk Grove Township Elementary School Dist. 59 opened a survey this week to help consulting search firm School Exec Connect narrow the field of candidates to replace Supt. Art Fessler.
Fessler plans to step down as superintendent after his contract expires in June 2021.
School Exec Connect consultants will host a series of focus groups for parents, community members, administration officials, certified staff, PTO, and school foundation members Tuesday, Oct. 20, and Thursday, Oct. 22, with specific times and dates designated for specific groups. The survey, which opened Tuesday, is expected to remain open through Nov. 6.
Information about both the survey and information about participating in the focus group are both available on the school district’s website.
The survey asks participants to identify district strengths, what improvements are needed within the district, what priorities a new superintendent should focus on, and a comment box for survey participants to leave any other notes they believe consultants conducting the search might find helpful.
Based on community feedback from surveys and focus groups, Dist. 59 officials said School Exec Connect would present a profile with attributes of an ideal superintendent candidate to school board members at their Monday, Nov. 9 school board meeting. On that same date, data from the community survey would also be publicly posted.
District officials plan to have a new hire to fill the superintendent role beginning July 1, 2021. They said the search would be confidential, with only the top three finalists being named publicly.
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