D15 School Board Candidate Lisa Szczupaj Addresses the Importance of Hiring the Right Superintendent

The D15 school board you vote in on April 4th will be tasked with hiring a new superintendent for District 15 upon the retirement of current Superintendent Dr. Scott Thompson. The search, interview process and hiring of the new superintendent may very well, be the most important responsibility this new board will tasked with handling. When it comes to ensuring an increasing level of success in District 15 as we move into the future, this decision must be made carefully, strategically and with many, many factors in mind.

The superintendent is the only employee for whom the school board has direct responsibility. The superintendent is accountable for hiring and retaining quality D15 staff. The superintendent also should be a true, natural leader of the school district - recruiting leadership below him and ensuring long term strategic direction is set and implemented by his staff.

There are many qualities that are integral to the success of our new superintendent, and therefore the success of D15. Some of those I feel are most important are below.

I believe we need to search for a succeeding superintendent who has some level of experience in a complex school district such as ours. Not only are we a large district, but we have a great deal of difference in cultures and socioeconomics across our 20 schools.

We need someone who exemplifies true leadership and who has the ability to hire and motivate quality leadership across the district. The one thing all best-in-class schools and school districts have in common is leadership, which inspires staff to work to be the best while motivating them to demonstrate a high level of leadership with their peers.

We need to hire someone who is forward thinking and innovative. Someone who is not afraid to make changes and try something new which will positively impact one, two or all of our schools. This individual should be constantly looking at successful ideas already benchmarked in other school districts and how these successes would translate to success in our own school district.

Finally, we need someone to fill this important position who has the skill-set to think long term and strategically, as positive change in a school district the size of District 15 takes planning and time for execution. This individual will need to have the ability to communicate the strategic plan for D15 to constituents on a consistent basis, as well as ensuring everyone is aware of the large and small successes achieved, in addition to the obstacles encountered.

Obstacles must only be climbed over or worked around in order to ensure every child in D15 benefits from the absolute best education we can offer.

On April 4th, I respectfully ask that you strongly consider bringing new leadership to our school district and vote for the Engage D15 Team - including Frank Annerino, Mike Smolka, Anthony Wang, Lisa Szczupaj, and Barb Kain to bring the change in leadership that District 15 needs.

Please visit the articles from my running mates, including Barb Kain, Mike Smolka, Anthony Wang and Frank Annerino.