USD 253 parents, students, stakeholders and — now — board members have officially chimed in as to the qualities they want in a new superintendent.
Following a nearly week-long survey period and two days of focus group meetings, board members spent close to an hour working with Kansas Association of School Boards Leadership Field Specialist Dr Marcia Weseman — who asked for input on the characteristics of the most effective superintendent, items about USD 253 worth safeguarding, challenges facing the district and the single most important defining characteristic as part of Wednesday’s board meeting. These steps are now in place as the district looks for the next superintendent as Allison Anderson-Harder, the superintendent since 2021, retires effective June 30.
Weseman was impressed by the feedback.
What impressed Board Vice Chair Jami Reever was the level of community involvement.
Board members noted defining characteristics as:
*Student-first leader
*Someone who quickly develops trusts and builds relationships
*Somebody who is thick-skinned
*Someone with experience as a superintendent
*Someone who is inspiring
The board’s input on effective leadership traits was, not surprisingly, similar:
*An effective communicator
*A decisive leader
*Someone who is collaborative across the board
*Someone focused on student accountability
*A leader who inspires greatness
*Experience with similar size districts
*Someone who is nonpartisan
For things about the district worth protecting, the board chose:
*Community involvement
*Updated facilities
*Community pride in education
*Rich history/tradition/legacy in schools
*Career pathways and student support
*Great teachers/staff
*Different kinds of diversity
*District investments in student success
Challenges facing USD 253 were listed as follows:
*Poverty
*Declining enrollment at a time of employment unknowns
*Student achievement
*Chronic absenteeism
*Teacher/staff retention and recruitment
*Employee benefits
From here, Weseman plans to compile all the data from the past several days and file a report to the board within the next few days. Applications are due to KASB by March 19, with interviews by late March or early April. The board is still on target to announce a new superintendent by April 7.
Weseman says board member input aligned closely with information provided by both parents and students, the two groups that responded most to the online survey — and Weseman says that is noteworthy because it signals broad-based support for those goals.
