03/14/2016

School Board chair: Superintendent recruitment phase ends, application screening and interviews about to begin

School Board Chair Elizabeth Scifres has provided this update on the 2016 superintendent search:

It's been about a month since the last update, and a lot has been accomplished in our Superintendent Search.

Our consultant has completed survey and focus group sessions with staff from all three schools, administrators, Town Council members, the School Board, and local legislators. We are also compiling data from the recent community input survey. This valuable information from a variety of sources will shape our search as we move forward.

The Cape Elizabeth Superintendent position was advertised broadly in print and online media, within the state of Maine and nation-wide. The recruitment phase lasted for one month, ending on March 8.

Tuesday night (March 8), at its regular business meeting, the School Board appointed members to the Advisory Screening Committee. You might be wondering how that committee came together. Teachers at each school participated in a nomination and voting process facilitated by their principal. Each principal then sent the name of his/her building's teacher representative to the School Board. The administrators chose amongst themselves for their two representatives to the committee. Parents and community members interested in serving on the committee submitted applications to the School Board. The board endeavored to choose parents and community members with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, including representation of parents of children in all three schools. The goal was broad representation of the schools and community. The School Board expresses its gratitude to all those willing to serve.

The Advisory Screening Committee members are: School Board members Michael Moore, Barbara Powers, and myself, Mike Tracy and Greg Marles from the District Leadership Team, teachers Sarah Harrington, Stephen Price, and Rosemary Grinn, Amy Stanley and Kimberly Carr representing parents, and community members Jim Clark and Carolyn Smith. The committee got right to work with a training session Wednesday night, and will soon be screening and ranking applications. At the conclusion of that work, the Advisory Screening Committee will give its recommendations to the School Board Interview Committee.

The School Board will appoint members to the Interview Committee at a Special Business Meeting on Tuesday March 15, directly following the budget workshop. The Interview Committee, made up of the entire School Board, two administrators, a staff member from each school, and a Special Education staff member, will conduct the first round of interviews during the second half of March.

The second and final rounds of interviews will happen throughout April, conducted by the School Board. We are still on track to hire a Superintendent in May.

All news and updates are posted on the school district website (www.cape.k12.me.us) and the Superintendent search site (supersearch.cape.k12.me.us).

Thank you for your continued support and engagement in this important search for our district's next leader.

Best,

Elizabeth Scifres
Chairperson, Cape Elizabeth School Board