Region 15 Seeking Community Input in Superintendent Search

The Region 15 Board of Education, functioning as the Executive Search Committee, has hired Cooperative Educational Services (C.E.S.) to conduct a comprehensive search for a new superintendent of schools to replace retiring superintendent, Dr. Frank Sippy.

The C.E.S. team provides boards of education in Connecticut with a comprehensive approach to hiring superintendent, assistant superintendents and central office staff in a cost effective manner, and the full resources of the regional educational service center are devoted to finding qualified candidates for executive positions in public education, according to their website.

In an initial step in the hiring process, the board and the C.E.S. team are encouraging the Region 15 community to participate in two research activities designed to identify leadership characteristics and attributes that the community finds important to the success of the new superintendent of schools.

All school staff and members of the community are encouraged to complete a brief online survey, as well as attend a one-hour focus group meeting. The anonymous online survey is now available on the district website and will be open until Friday, March 15.

“It is important for the Board of Education to hear from Region 15 citizens and the educational community about the desirable attributes of a new superintendent of schools,” said Search Committee Chairperson Pat Perry. “All citizens and school district employees are encouraged to participate in either or both the on-line survey and a focus group. Data from these sources will enable the board to structure its screening of candidates and subsequent interviews to ensure the successful candidate’s background and personal qualifications best match the culture and needs of our school district.”

The data collected at the focus group sessions, along with the online survey results, will be compiled and organized by C.E.S. Executive Search Consultants Tom Jokubaitis and Salvatore Corda and published in a comprehensive report on the district website, according to CES.

“Gaining a clear understanding of the Region 15 school district community’s expectations of its next superintendent is critical to the success of the search and to the eventual success of the new superintendent,” said Jokubaitis. “The data we collect will serve as a guide during the next recruitment and selection phase of the search and will assist the new superintendent once he or she is appointed.”

Region 15 will then use the data collected to assist them with creating the selection criteria framework that will be used to review candidate applications and to structure interview questions and activities. With the help of the C.E.S. team, a new superintendent will be selected by the board this spring, according to the board.

Below is a full focus group schedule constructed by the region.

Date & Time

Focus Group

Location

March 13 – 11:30 a.m.

High School Students

Pomperaug High School (PHS) Media Center

March 13 – 1 p.m.

Administrators

PHS – Conference Room

March 13 – 3 p.m.

March 13 – 4 p.m.

Faculty & Staff (Session 1)
Faculty & Staff (Session 2)

PHS – Media Center

March 13 – 6 p.m.

Town officials

PHS – Media Center

March 13 – 7 p.m.

Parents & Community at PHS

PHS – Media Center

March 14 – 11 a.m.

Community and Residents of Heritage Village

Southbury Public Library