Collaboration Tops List at Superintendent Search Meetings

Demonstrating a seriousness of purpose, parents, teachers, staff, students and community members worked together to recommend the qualities the next Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent should have to successfully lead the District.

Collaborative management topped the list of qualities, with patrons in attendance at the April community meetings expressing the need for a "unifier," "team player/coalition builder," and someone who "includes others in decision making."

Educational experience, putting students first, setting high expectations and someone not afraid to make tough decisions were the qualities identified as next highest in importance.   Each meeting hosted by the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation featured a facilitated format that allowed everyone to participate and share their input. Brainstorming in small groups, each patron identified the qualities he/she felt important that the next superintendent possess.  Following the brainstorming session, the entire audience voted for the qualities they felt most important to determine the order of priorities.

All school board members attended at least one of the community meetings with several attending many or all of the meetings.  Acting School Board Chairman Albert Basey assured those in attendance that the school board would be using the qualities identified in the community meetings and via the individual surveys when they reviewed resumes and interviewed candidates.  

In addition to the community meetings, metro area residents had the opportunity to express their views through individual surveys made available at the meetings and online.  Survey results as of May 9th, had someone who "worked as a teacher or principal" topping the list with "has a vision for the District’s future" and "understands issues of an urban District" following closely.

More than 180 people attended the four community meetings held in various sections of the District.  Meetings were held at Capitol Hill High School and three new MAPS for Kids schools, John Marshall High School, Douglass High School and U.S. Grant High School.  In addition to those in attendance, more than 200 citizens completed individual surveys to date. 

Information collected from the community meetings as well as information received from the online survey through noon on May 2, 2008 was compiled into a report and sent to the school board.  Following this initial report, the survey remained available through noon on May 9, 2008.  Additional surveys received after the initial report was added as an addendum and sent to the school board.