Two local school districts are moving forward in their search for new superintendents.
Both Owen J. Roberts Superintendent Susan Lloyd and Pottsgrove Superintendent William Shirk have announced they intend to retire in June at the end of the school year.
In November, the Owen J. Roberts School Board hired the Chester County Intermediate Unit to conduct its search for a replacement for Lloyd.
Friday, it invited the public to participate in a focus group meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 13, to develop a candidate profile.
Across the river, the Pottsgrove School District has announced the hiring of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit to hire a replacement for Shirk and have set Jan. 29 as the deadline for applicants to apply.
Initial interviews for the Pottsgrove post will take place Feb. 15 through 18, with finalist interviews beginning in March. No process for public participation has yet been announced in Pottsgrove.
The OJR position is being advertised locally and nationally. Deadline for submission of applications is Jan. 15. The first round of interviews is scheduled to begin in early February.
The OJR focus group will be held on Jan. 13 from 7 to 8 p.m. via Zoom. All interested members of the community are invited to attend.
To assist with the planning of the focus group, attendees are asked to register in advance at www.cciu.org/ojr-focus-group.
Upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email containing instructions for joining on Jan. 13.
“The perceptions, experiences and recommendations of focus group participants will be utilized to develop a candidate profile and interview questions for the next OJRSD superintendent,” according to a release issued by the CCIU.
“Focus group sessions are being conducted with all district stakeholders, including parents, staff, high school students and the community at large. Parents and staff have been invited to attend focus groups via the district’s email notification system. Students will be notified by their principal,” the release said.
At the focus groups, participants will be asked to identify the following:
- The qualities of a superior school leader;
- The strengths and skills essential for Owen J. Roberts’s next superintendent to demonstrate;
- The key issues facing the district in the next five years; and,
- The obstacles to student achievement and strategies to overcome those obstacles.
This article first appeared as a post in The Digital Notebook blog.
