TENAFLY — As Tenafly Board of Education members search for a new superintendent, community members were invited to participate in the "most critical part" of the search process, developing specifications of the future chief executive officer.
Community members were given an opportunity to come face-to-face with consultants from School Leadership, LLC, the company enlisted to advertise, network and recruit candidates to bring to the board for hiring at a meeting Nov. 11. The company fulfilled 13 superintendent searches last year and specializes with districts facing increasing or decreasing enrollment, according to Dr. Charles Fowler, president of School Leadership.
"We know thousands of superintendents, professors who train superintendents all over the country," said Fowler. "At this part we like to get as many ideas as possible from the people who live, work and send their children to school here in Tenafly."
The audience was mostly comprised of Korean-American parents who were attracted to the area for the excellent schools and yearned for a superintendent with a "global viewpoint." The attendees said the new leader will have to deal with sensitive issues arising from children assimilating to American culture, as well as children just arriving in the country. Leaders said 27 percent of the middle school student population is Korean, and the candidate must be open-minded.
The group of parents shared struggles ranging from communicating with their now American kids to feelings of seclusion within second language classes and the community. One parent asked that the new superintendent offer more support to parents facing problems "mixing in the community."
"The children are the most important thing, and we’re here because we care," said Julie Han, district president for the Korean Parents Association. "We don’t speak the perfect language and that hinders us. But when we see leaders participating in our events, wearing our costumes and eating our food, it shows us they care."
Another attendee agreed the new superintendent "should be visible" at concerts, practices and clubs. The resident thought the future leader should be an "iconic figure" who students see in classrooms and who could "understand the dynamics of communication" through e-mail. "Protecting the interests of the community and culture," like the Turkey Bowl, were also important to the man.
The consultant group sent questionnaires to middle- and high-schoolers, and received "wonderful comments" in response to a question that asked for the single most important quality in a superintendent. One eighth grade student wrote, "I want the future leader to be approachable. I have many opinions I’d like to share and sometimes I feel uncomfortable."
The consultant team asked three broad questions at the meeting, and also when they met with administrators, staff members, principals, department heads and leaders of unions to gather specifications on a future leader. The team asked the groups: what good things in the district and community would attract a leader, what challenges will the leader face and what kind of experience should the leader bring with him or her?
"Fifteen years ago you could put an ad in the paper and 120 to 125 candidates would respond, half of them experienced," said Fowler. "Today you might get 25 candidates and more than half have no experience."
Fowler said the search for an "outstanding superintendent" is particularly difficult because of a large amount of vacant positions and a small amount of qualified candidates.
