February 9, 2008- Regarding Concerns with the Superintendent Search

Greetings ________,

I want to thank you for your input and your concern for the District.

I believe that in the end we will see great applicants come out of this search process.

I would vehemently disagree with the assertion that the standard for the position has been lowered. The case could be made that the barrier for entry has been decreased, but that is the only thing that could be said on any level. If a Doctorate in Education simply made a person qualified to lead one of the fastest growing school Districts in the state then this would be an easy process. On the other hand this is not another teacher that we are hiring, this person must be a leader. A leader will always recognize that those they surround themselves with are the strength of the organization and will rely on them accordingly, and thank heavens for that.

I will use my employer, Colorado College, as an example. The closest that this individual had come to education before being hired President of this organization was signing the Ohio Department of Education budget. He is not a career educator, nor does he hold a Doctorate degree. He was though selected as the leader for what has become one of the best Liberal Arts colleges in the country. Some of his greatest strengths were actually his weaknesses. Because of his weaknesses he relies on his team, but fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your performance ;-) for them he also holds them strictly accountable. Professionalism is greatly valued and employees are allowed to innovate to meet targets.

On the other side of the discussion one of the regional school districts has always had a Doctorate at the helm and it continues to suffer declining performance (10% minority math proficiency, 70% graduation, etc.) They have added layer upon layer of administration to "meet the challenge" but performance continues to suffer. Did limiting the field to only D. Ed unnecessarily result in a smaller pool of Leaders for them to choose from? We are fortunate that our system is in a strong position and we have excellent people like yourself that are committed to the District and the business of Education.

I know that the response that I hear to this is that any of the applicants who look at the Job Posting will arbitrarily assume that we don't know what we are doing. That our fundamental requirements are to low, etc. I would contend that a representative that would feel that way is not the leader that I would want anyway. A person who looks and only sees problems instead of opportunities is not what I think we need in D-49. I say this partly because we have built in excuses that a person can use to explain away poor performance (growth, transiency, etc.) I need someone who sees that as a challenge that they want to address.

D-49 is on its way to being the best school district in the region if not the nation. We have the personnel, talent, and opportunities to make this come to pass and I am committed to nothing less. I have two kids in the system and two more in training that need this to be the standard. We live in a world that is fully competitive. The barriers that used to protect the US's position on top have come crumbling down. This is great for the rest of the world so that they too can enjoy the standard of living to which we have become accustom, but it means that we now need to play at a level that we have never had to before. My children need a District that will challenge and prepare them for the future. They need to become life long learners with critical thinking skills, while maintaining an awareness of the world around them. To this end I have one role as a Board member in bringing this to pass and that is hiring a superintendent that is willing to lead a District in a manner that is rigorous and personal.

Now with all of that said, there is a high likelihood that our leader will have an advanced degree, an educational background, and all of the components associated with the current paradigm. I also believe that I will be able to choose this person knowing that the barriers for entry allowed many other potential leaders to put their hat in the ring.

In closing I will reiterate that this is not a choice that I take lightly for the sake of the children and families of D-49. Additionally I want to restate that these are strictly my perspectives and should not be represented as a position of the Board.

As to the contention that "the person that [we] are considering" as made such statement, I must admit that the statement is currently groundless based on the fact that we have not began the selection process yet. This coming week we will be assessing the input that we have received from the District's residents and developing the appropriate selection criteria by which to judge these candidates. From this frame work we will assess the appropriateness of the respective candidates. I would ask if the person that has made these comments shows up on the final selection list that you again advise us to the specific individual and information to corroborate the claim so that this matter can be included in the assessment of the candidates. I will try and remember to email you these candidates when the field is whittled down to the finalists to make sure that if necessary your concerns are given the light that they deserve.

Thank you for your time, service, and commitment to D-49. As usual feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Kent Clawson