Search for New Superintendent Begins, Community Invited to Take Part in Process

The following is a press release from Regional School District 13 Board of Education

The Region #13 Board of Education (serving as the Executive Search Committee) and the C.E.S. Executive Search Team announce the search for a new school superintendent has begun and is expected to conclude in mid‐October with the selection of a new district leader who will assume leadership of the Region #13 school district by January 2014.

The Board of Education will seek input from the school and extended community by inviting the Region #13 interested persons to participate in data collection activities (an online survey and focus group meetings) designed to solicit preferred leadership characteristics and attributes constituents find important to the success of the new superintendent of schools for Region #13. 

All school staff and community members are encouraged to attend a focus group meeting and/or complete the brief online survey.

The online survey will be available for interested persons to access on the school district website via a special link on the homepage beginning on Monday, August 26 and running through Friday, September 6. The survey is anonymous and all staff, students, parents, and community members are encouraged to participate.

The Board of Education has requested that the search consultant also collect data from the school and extended communities by facilitating focus group meetings for those individuals wishing to participate and engage in more in‐depth discussion about the leadership characteristics and attributes important for the new superintendent to possess. The schedule for the specific focus group meeting times (e.g., parents, town officials, senior citizens, etc.) will be posted on the district website in early August. The search consultant expects to conduct community focus groups from August 12 ‐ August 23 and school staff focus groups in early September.

"The Board invites all members of the school system and extended community to participate in this important step in the search for a new superintendent,” stated Kerrie Flanagan, Chairman of the Region #13 Board of Education. “Receiving input from the community is essential as the committee moves forward to identify an educational leader who can, working with the Board, help set the future for our school district. Information about the superintendent search process and timeline will be provided on the district website throughout the process beginning August 1."

Data collected in focus group meetings, along with the online survey results, will be compiled and organized by C.E.S. Executive Search Consultant Dr. H. Kaye Griffin and published in a comprehensive report to be posted on the district website after the conclusion of the focus group meetings in late September. The Search Committee will use the leadership profile included in the report as a framework for reviewing candidate applications and structuring interview questions and activities.

“For the Board of Education, having a clear understanding of the Region #13 community’s expectations for leadership attributes and characteristics of its next superintendent is critically important to the success of our superintendent search efforts and to the future success of our new superintendent,” Flanagan stated. “The data we collect from the community will provide important guidance during the next phase of the search and will assist the new superintendent once s/he is appointed.”

C.E.S. Executive Searches was selected by the Region #13 Board of Education to conduct the comprehensive superintendent search after the previous superintendent, Susan Viccaro, resigned her position in June 2013 to take a position in Massachusetts. Dr. Ernest Perlini is serving as interim superintendent through December 2013.

The new superintendent will be selected by the Board of Education this fall, and should anticipate beginning employment on or before January 1, 2014. A total compensation package will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. For persons interested in the position, please see more information regarding the Region #13 Public Schools superintendent search on the C.E.S. website at www.ces.k12.ct.us/region13.