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Natick School Committee Announces Plans and Timeline for Superintendent Search
The Natick School Committee, at its June 21 meeting with search consultant Jacqueline Roy of J.A. Roy & Associates, finalized its plans for the multi-step process of conducting a nationwide search for Natick’s next superintendent.
· The process will include multiple community meetings and focus groups, extensive outreach to candidates, screening, interviewing and potential site-visits to finalists’ school districts. The current schedule is planned to result in the appointment of a new superintendent by mid-February, 2008, with a target start date of July 1, 2008, or potentially sooner.
· Solicitation of community input will continue to be a cornerstone of the search process. Input from parents, students, teachers, administrators, senior citizens, and all other interested members of the Natick community will be actively sought during upcoming public forums and focus groups.
· Because the anticipated appointment of a new superintendent will not be made until after existing superintendent Jim Connolly’s retirement at the end of December 2007, the school committee has appointed Dr. Joseph Keefe, former Superintendent of Natick Public Schools, as interim superintendent. Dr. Keefe will begin on January 1, 2008, following Mr. Connolly’s retirement, and will serve until a new superintendent begins.
The School Committee’s search strategy and timing, explained Chairman Rick Wynn, is based on a number of important considerations. “The competition for superintendents is very tough right now and we are committed to finding the best possible “fit” for Natick. We want to give the district enough time to identify a candidate who has the leadership and vision to help Natick schools attain the community’s educational objectives as well as someone who will view working in Natick as a great long-term career opportunity. In order to meet our current timeline, we’ll need to begin advertising for a superintendent in the early fall. We will be working aggressively to obtain as much community input as possible through August and early September.”
Wynn also expressed the committee’s confidence in Dr. Joseph Keefe, who will bridge the gap between superintendents. Keefe served as Natick’s Superintendent of Schools from 1976 until 1995, and recently retired from the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives (MOEC) where he served as Executive Director for the past 12 years. “Natick is very fortunate to be able to appoint an interim superintendent with Joe’s depth of experiences as an educator, superintendent, and as state-wide leader for educational collaboratives. He’s very current on educational issues and he’s well respected throughout the region for his commitment and leadership.”
Wynn remarked favorably, too, about Dr. Keefe’s strong ties to, and deep knowledge of, the Natick community through his involvement as a Town Meeting member, a Rotarian, and a Trustee of the Morse Institute Library. “Joe has a deep understanding of the people and issues in Natick and he also appreciates our current financial situation. He’s really uniquely well-suited to serve as our interim superintendent through this important transition and we are excited to have to the opportunity to work with Joe again.”
The School Committee considers Keefe’s appointment advantageous to Natick in one other important way too, said Wynn. “While we will be working to name a candidate as soon as possible, Joe’s availability frees us from feeling pressured to appoint a candidate simply because he or she is available to start when Jim retires. That kind of flexibility is a huge asset to the School Committee and we believe it will give us the time we need to find the best long-term candidate for Natick’s schools.”
The superintendent search process has been specifically designed to include as much public input as possible, including focus groups with teachers, administrators and others, a survey—which is available online or in print form (see below for locations and web site information)—and multiple public forums. “While the final decision on the new superintendent will ultimately be made by the School Committee, it’s vital to us that all members of the community have sufficient opportunity to provide input. We view this as an invaluable opportunity for the community to help define what type of school system is best for Natick, and to have that definition help shape what we’re looking for in a new superintendent,” said Wynn. “Even at this early stage of public comment, we have been very
pleased with the quality and quantity of input we’ve received. We’re excited to hear from as many additional people as possible in future public forums.”
Two public forums have already been scheduled. They are as follows:
August 21, 2007 - 7:00 p.m. at the Morse Institute Library - Marshall Lebowitz Meeting Room
September 10, 2007 - 7:00 p.m. at Wilson Middle School Auditorium
All residents of Natick are encouraged to attend.
The public survey about what Natick needs in a superintendent is available on the Natick Public Schools’ new website www.natick.k12.ma.us under “Announcements.” The School Committee encourages everyone to fill out the survey, including people who have attended, or plan to attend, public forums. Paper copies of the survey are available at the Morse Institute Library, the Natick Senior Center, and the School Department administrative office at Town Hall. All public forums sponsored by the School Committee are open to
all, and we encourage everyone to please attend.
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