REVISED SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH INPUT PLAN RELEASED

The Board of Education issued a more revised plan (below) for seeking input from the community in its search for a new superintendent of schools to replace Brian Osborne, who left for a new job in New York.

It includes focus groups to be heard, among them: faith leaders and teachers union leaders.

This is the plan issued by the district this weekend, followed by the initial schedule for input from different interest groups. 

It also includes a survey that can be found on the district website HERE.

The board also plans to discuss the search at its next meeting on Monday night.

From the district website:

The Board of Education has hired the firm Hazard, Young, Attea, and Associates to assist with the superintendent search process and solicit feedback and input concerning the qualifications for the next superintendent for our district.  

In order to hear from as wide a range of community members as possible, three methods to solicit input will be used: an online survey, open forums, and focus group sessions.  The Board plans to approve a leadership profile and search criteria at the October 20^th Board meeting.

Online Survey: We encourage everyone in the South Orange and Maplewood communities to fill out the Superintendent Search survey available on the District website homepage www.somsd.k12.nj.us. This survey, which will be open through the end of September, prompts participants to select the highest priority qualifications for the next superintendent and also provides an open comment section.  The results will provide an important component to building the leadership profile and search criteria for the next superintendent.

Open Forums:  2 open forums will be held in the Columbia High School Library and are open to all members of the South Orange and Maplewood Communities.  The dates for the open forums are Tuesday, September 9th at 7:00 PM and Thursday, October 9th at 8:15 PM.

Focus Group Sessions:  The Board has identified the following focus groups to tap into multiple stakeholders and established organizations in our community to ensure that a broad representation of community input is gathered during this feedback period.   

Many of the focus groups are scheduled to meet with the search consultants on Saturday, September 13th.  The initial schedule has been revised to allow more time for groups with similar interests to meet with the consultants.  Additional evening sessions have also been scheduled for Elementary, Middle and High School parents.  The Board would like to apologize for originally scheduling the faith leader group for Saturday morning, which would have excluded Jewish leaders due to the Sabbath.  We are very sorry for this oversight.

Elementary School Parents: Saturday 9/13  9:00 AM and Monday 10/6 7:00 PM for parents/ guardians of elementary school students.  

Middle School Parents: Saturday 9/13 10:15 AM and Monday 10/6  8:15 PM for parents/ guardians of middle school students

High School Parents: Saturday 9/13 11:30 AM and Thursday 10/9  7:00 PM for parents/ guardians of high school students.  CHS students are also encouraged to attend.

Community Coalition on Race & SOMA Parents of Students of African Descent Workshop: Saturday 9/13 12:45 PM.  CCR is an organization whose mission is "to achieve and sustain the benefits of a thriving, racially integrated and truly inclusive community that serves as a model for the nation."  They have an active Schools Committee that has provided input to District leaders and supported parent advocacy for many years.  SOMA-PSADW is a recently established group focused on equitable treatment of African American students and their access to higher level classes.

Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC), Special Education PTO, and others in the special needs community: Saturday 9/13 2:00 PM.   One session was held in July, but additional outreach is needed

Achieve: Saturday 9/13 3:15 PM.  Achieve is our local education foundation that provides a wide range of enrichment opportunities, professional development, tutoring, and facility improvements for the South Orange-Maplewood School District.   

Faith Leaders:  Tuesday, 9/9 6:00 PM.  Leaders in the numerous houses of worship throughout Maplewood and South Orange often have trusting relationships and insight into the needs and concerns of their members - families with students in our school district.  We would like their input on the strengths and challenges facing our school district and important characteristics for the next Superintendent from the perspective of community members they represent.   The Board is not seeking input of a religious nature.

SOMEA members: Teachers and support staff.  Focus groups were held at the end of June, but more outreach is needed.  Additional focus group dates and times are still being finalized.

CHS students: The date and times for CHS students to meet with the search consultant are still being finalized. 

District Administrators: Focus group sessions were held with Administrators in July.

PTA/HSA Presidents' Council:  A focus group session was held with members of the PTA/ HSA President’s Council in July.  This organization is comprised of the current PTA and HSA Presidents of all 9 schools, as well as an executive Board of former presidents.  

Municipal Officials:  We will email the municipal officials in both South Orange and Maplewood to invite them to participate in the open forums, take the online survey, and speak to the search consultant directly by phone.  

Local Real Estate Agents:  We will email the local realtor office managers and ask them to encourage their agents to participate in the forums and take the online survey to provide insight into what potential homebuyers are looking for in a school district.