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Collaborative Effort to Be Used to Find SUSD’s Next Superintendent
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Jan. 27, 2020) – The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Governing Board meets this week to narrow down the pool of applicants to become Scottsdale’s 23rd superintendent. SUSD’s current superintendent, Dr. John Kriekard, will retire June 30.
Dr. Steve Joel, national recruiter for superintendent search firm McPherson & Jacobson LLC, Omaha, Neb., will meet with the Board in executive session on Jan. 30 to review applications submitted by the Jan. 10, 2020 deadline. The Board could name finalists for the position that day.
Finalists will be interviewed, round-robin style, Feb. 21 at the Mohave District Annex, 8500 E. Jackrabbit Rd., Scottsdale. Finalists will be interviewed by the Board and by five committees representing key SUSD stakeholder groups: teachers, students, parents and community members, district leaders, and staff. It is intended that these committees represent SUSD both geographically and by grade-level.
At the conclusion of the Feb. 21 interviews, which are not subject to Arizona Open Meeting law, each committee will provide feedback on the finalists to the Board. No timeline has been established for the Board to extend an offer of employment to its choice for superintendent.
In November 2019, the Board provided McPherson & Jacobson with the criteria it wants to see in SUSD’s next superintendent:
- Data-driven decision making that has produced successful academic outcomes for all children
- A culture of accountability to all stakeholders of the schools and community
- A strategic approach to identifying the needs of the district and our students and possess the ability to develop plans that target measurable growth in identified critical areas
- An understanding of the importance of creating an exceptional educational experience that enables the district to attract and retain students, parents and staff
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