The search process for Superintendent Dr. Paul Sally’s successor entered a new phase Monday, with New Trier High School seeking input from community members through open forums, an online survey, and focus groups.
The two-week engagement process comes before the New Trier Board of Education is set to conduct candidate interviews in October and make a selection at the Nov. 18 board meeting. Hazard, Youth, Attea & Associates (HYA), the educational consulting firm conducting the board’s superintendent search, shared that timeline at the July 15 board meeting.
HYA is holding two forums online and one in person to hear from the New Trier community. The online forums are on Sept. 4 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 5 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Attendees can join via Zoom. The in-person forum is on Sept. 5 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Northfield Campus in room C234.
Anyone within the district can also fill out an online survey, which takes fewer than eight minutes to complete. It closes at midnight on Sept. 6.
Through these engagements, HYA aims to understand community members’ views on the necessary qualifications and characteristics of a school leader, as well as New Trier’s strengths, challenges, and short-term and long-term priorities. This will shape further recruitment efforts, including criteria for Sally’s successor and interview questions for candidates.
HYA will present the gathered information at the Sept. 16 board meeting,
Focus groups comprising of students, staff, parents, and community members will occur through Sept. 6. Separate from focus groups, HYA will give the board the option to pick people for individual interviews, according to a contract dated May 20 between New Trier and HYA.
The contract also stipulates that HYA would conduct up to 40 engagement sessions ranging from 45 to 60 minutes. The board can determine what combination of sessions, such as individual interviews, focus groups, community forums, and staff meetings, will occur.
For more information on the superintendent search process, head to the New Trier website.
Sam
Aug 27, 2024 at 4:06 pm
thanks for this update. I would urge the selection committee to focus on maintaining the academic rigor that has distinguished our school and eschewing popular socio-political memes of our time in favor of that.