Superintendent Search

Superintendent Search Open House:
Saturday, March 14, 2015
9-11 am
Lone Peak HS's Little Theater

All residents of Alpine, Cedar Hills, and Highland are invited to an Open House tomorrow, Saturday, as well as the faculty and staff of all our Lone Peak area schools.  This Open House will allow for the public to comment on the selection of our next Alpine School District Superintendent. Please think about what K-12 education means to you and what characteristics and experience in a Superintendent would bring that about.

Our official public input will be limited to an input panel composed of 3 appointees by each Board member (1 parent, 1 city leader, 1 business leader).  The rest of the panel will consist of appointees from the following organizations: 3 from the Alpine Administrators Association (AAA), 3 from the Alpine Educators Association (AEA), 3 from the Alpine Educational Support Services Personnel (AESP), 2 from the District Community Council, 2 from the PTA, 1 from the UVU K-12 Alliance, and 1 from the BYU Public School Partnership.  This input panel will be formally appointed on April 3 in an open meeting.  Their responsibilities will be to read through all the applications and score them according to a Board-created rubric sometime in April.  They will be required to sign a non-disclosure document to protect the identities of the applicants. 

While I appreciate the role our input panel will play, I think the appointment of a new Superintendent will have a huge impact on our community going forward.  So, I think it is only fair that there be a more extensive process, at least for me, personally, in hearing from those of you who live and the teachers who work in our Lone Peak area community.  At the end of the day, I believe that our Board fairly represents the diverse views of the people who live in Alpine School District. 

I ask that you take time right now to invite 2 of your neighbors.  This is not to be a political meeting, just an information gathering meeting.  So, every person in our community should feel welcome. 

The Process

Starting Monday, March 16, our notice and requirements will be sent out to various colleges and other employment agencies announcing the opening of the Superintendency.  The Board has created a list of desired Leadership Characteristics (see below) that will form the basis of the rubric used in scoring the applicants.

April 3: The Board will appoint, by name, in an open meeting, the members of the input panel described above.  The selections for this panel have already been made.  It is scheduling alone that requires the delay till April 3.

April 13: Applications are due (postmark acceptable) in the offices of the Board's attorney, Brinton R. Burbidge. 

One comment on confidentiality.  While I would like this process to be as open and transparent as possible, we also want to have many qualified candidates apply.  Oftentimes, candidates won't apply if the knowledge of their application could cause problems with their current employer.  We need to provide those applicants who will not be selected with a level of confidentiality, so that their current employment is not jeopardized.

April 14, 16: The input panel will sign non-disclosure agreements. Input panel will come to the district office to review and score the applications.  Each member of the input panel will work on his/her own.  The results of the panel will be given to the Board.

April/May: The Board will review applications and interview candidates.  There may be multiple interviews scheduled for some of the top-tier candidates.  All these proceeding will be held in closed session, as allowed by State law, in order to protect the candidates' confidentiality. 

The formal appointment and vote on the next Superintendent will be done in an open Board meeting.  We anticipate that the next Superintendent will assume the post on July 1, 2015. 

Leadership Characteristics

• Accepts the collaborative governance model in working with the Board of Education and is committed to doing whatever possible to assist the board as a body as well as to assist individual board members.
• Demonstrates high moral character, integrity and good judgment.
• Promotes instructional excellence and high student achievement and a commitment to collaboration through Professional Learning Communities.
• Understands the unique culture of the district and respects the role of parents in the education of their children.
• Communicates well and is able to build trust with employees, families, and community members. Listens to and understands different points of view. Shares a clear vision of educational excellence and inspires and motivates all stakeholders.
• Models and applies instructional leadership and best practices.
• Works with all stakeholders to increase student engagement and achievement.
• Inspires teamwork through collaboration and consensus building with various groups inside and outside the District.
• Advocates for the school district and its children in the community and at the state level.
• Uses data systematically to track student progress, inform instructional organizational decisions, and communicate district progress regularly to the Board of Education.
• Knows the legislative process and is able to develop an effective working relationship with the Utah Legislature, Utah State School Board, Utah State Office of Education and other state entities.
• Will manage the resources of the District in a manner that assures adherence to the budgetary provisions and the maximum effectiveness and efficiency in their use for promoting excellence in teaching and learning.
• Possesses leadership skills, including articulation of the vision and mission of the school district, exceptional ability to problem solve and make decisions, effectively delegate
• authority, collaborate with various stakeholder groups, and to inspire and gain the trust and confidence of others.
• Demonstrates the ability to listen, understand and respect differences of opinion.
• Develops and maintains mutually beneficial partnerships between the school district and local governments, business community and other educational institutions.
• Possesses experience collaborating with employee groups, associations and unions.