D211 to Consider Internal and External Superintendent Candidates

The District 211 School Board voted Tuesday to consider both internal and external applicants to replace outgoing Superintendent Nancy Robb, who will retire at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. 

The process will begin almost immediately, with current employees of District 211 being officially notified in the next few days they can now apply for the superintendent position.

The search firm School Exec Connect was hired by the township high school district to conduct the search, which will include focus groups to help determine what different stakeholders want to see in a new leader. A community meeting will also be offered, in addition to vetting by the firm to ultimately present final candidates to the school board. 

Harry Rossi of School Exec Connect attended the meeting and framed out how the search will be conducted over the next several months. 

Rossi said he will begin to form focus groups over the next few weeks, made up of around 20 people, including teachers, non-certified staff, administrators and parent leaders including boosters clubs representatives and parent advisory board members. 

A survey also will be made available online, not only to adults, but to students as well to gauge what qualities they believe are necessary in the right candidate for the job. 

Rossi said the goal is to be done with the initial interview process for internal candidates by August 1, which is when the position will be advertised to external applicants both statewide and nationally. 

Candidates interested will be able to apply for the superintendent position online, and will again be vetted by the firm. By the end of September to early October, Rossi said he would have final candidates to present to the school board, who will make the decision on who the next superintendent will be.