A spokesperson with the Des Moines Public Schools provided an update Wednesday about the resume Roberts used before he was hired as superintendent in 2023...
...Janis Sartucci, of the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County, a watchdog group, told Bethesda Beat on Tuesday that her organization is continuing to push for transparency and accountability. She said the group didn’t know who was on the community panel that was involved in the review process.
“Unfortunately, this superintendent [search] process was one of the most closed ones we’ve seen,” she said.
Sartucci said she wants to see better communication from McKnight, particularly on how money is spent. She said McKnight hasn’t provided a clear answer on 25 electric buses that were supposed to be delivered earlier this school year.
Sartucci said superintendents who preceded McKnight also lacked transparency, and McKnight has continued that trend.
“She’s the superintendent. She’s accountable for what goes on,” Sartucci said...
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Montgomery County Public Schools says it will announce its new superintendent on Tuesday, Feb. 8, but tonight, some parents in the county are raising questions over transparency in the hiring process.
The Parents Coalition of Montgomery wants to know why former Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith, now works for the company hired to find his replacement.
Dr. Monifa McKnight, Smith's former deputy, is now acting superintendent and is a candidate for the job.
Joseph Hawkins of the Parents Coalition describes MCPS' search as shrouded in secrecy.
"I think it would be difficult to be completely satisfied given the lack of transparency that takes place so yes if she’s appointed, she’s appointed, but we don’t know really what happened behind those closed doors," Hawkins said. "We don’t even know the other candidates!"
In an email to FOX 5, Dr. Jack Smith confirmed he does indeed work with the company that is helping MCPS find his replacement. However, he says he has not been involved with the school system's search...
Asked about the agenda item for next Tuesday’s school board meeting, spokesman Chris Cram said the board will appoint “a new superintendent” after an “extensive search.”..
On next week's agenda for @mcps : the appointment of the next Superintendent of schools. https://t.co/ot9EYddwR5
— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) February 2, 2022
What will they be discussing? They don't want you to know, but the public can guess. Maybe they will be discussing virtual snow days? Maybe they will be voting to pick the next superintendent?
Do you want the Board of Education to discuss these topics in secret or do you want Board members to have a public discussion about these topics?
The Board of Education doesn't want you to know what they are discussing so they are claiming an exception to the Maryland Open Meetings Act allows them to hold this closed meeting to exclude the public.
a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section and § 3-104 of this subtitle, this title does not apply to:(1) a public body when it is carrying out:(i) an administrative function;(ii) a judicial function; or(iii) a quasi-judicial function; or(2) a chance encounter, a social gathering, or any other occasion that is not intended to circumvent this title.
Under the Maryland Open Meetings Act a member of the public may object to the Closing of a Board of Education meeting.
From the Maryland Open Meetings Act manual (page 78):
If a member of the public objects to the closing of a session, the public body must send a copy of the closing statement to the [Open Meetings Act] Compliance Board. See § 3-305(d)(3).
Even for a virtual meeting, the Board of Education must meet in public first and allow the public the option of objecting to the closing of the meeting. 15 OMCB 5,8
If you object to the closing to today's Board of Education meeting notify the Board through the chat function of the virtual meeting or any other method available. The Board of Education will then have to comply with the law and send a copy of their Closing Statement from today's meeting to the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board.
The Parents' Coalition suggests the following options for objections to today's closed session of the Board of Education: virtual chat, e-mail [ boe@mcpsmd.org ] , Twitter, phone 240-740-3030, or FAX 301-279-3860
Today the Board of Education resolved to hold closed sessions to discuss the Request for Proposals (RFP) regarding the search for a new MCPS superintendent.
Since 1991, MCPS has had only one Black superintendent, and none of them were female. Since 1991, MCPS has undergone a major shift in demographics, as white flight in certain neighborhoods continues to encourage inequities in funding, learning and health resources. I strongly urge that MCPS searches for a candidate who is more than willing to examine the properties of authentic learning, rather than statistics...
https://wmcurrent.com/27215/opinion/smiths-departure-leaves-room-for-growth-in-montgomery-county/
...Sean BulsonBulson spent the first 16 years of his career in Montgomery County Public Schools, where he finished as community superintendent, supervising 36 schools with approximately 24,000 students. In 2011, he became superintendent of Wilson County Schools in North Carolina, supervising 12,000 students and 26 schools. Today, he works in the University of North Carolina system, where he focuses on educator preparation and directs a portfolio of statewide programs that support schools and school districts.
“To me, leadership is very much about relationships,” he said. “A leader needs followers.”
Bulson emphasized that a leader should strive to be visionary, collaborative and entrepreneurial.
A superintendent may work closely with a school board, but he or she should be steering the direction of the ship, he added. Once established, the superintendent should be the greatest cheerleader and proponent for the vision decided upon.
“I am an includer by nature; I always want other experts in the room helping me come up with solutions,” he said. “I never assume I’m the smartest guy in the room.”
A superintendent should also examine the resources that already exist in a community to see what can be leveraged to improve outcomes, he said.
“A school district does not exist independently of the broader community,” he added.
Bulson said it’s also important to provide excellent customer service to families with students in the system as well as members of the broader community who fund the system.
“The broader community needs to see the importance of the schools. We not only prepare workers but we also attract them,” he said. “If they’re willing to come here and put their kids in our schools, it makes it easier on them to exist as a business.”
Bulson, who started his career as a Montgomery County teacher for students who were non-native English speakers, said his experience in the classroom taught him to “look at students as individuals, bringing very different experiences to a classroom.”
“I served kids from 15 or 20 different countries, speaking 18 different languages — everything from kids coming out of war zones escaping with only their lives to ambassadors’ children,” he said.
Those experiences also informed him that the best solutions often come from those closest to students: their teachers.
“We need to have high expectations for our teachers, but we also need to give them a great deal of respect for what they do. And the more they’re engaged in making a difference in addressing some of these challenges, the easier it will be to keep them and the more sustainable our results will be, because they are a big part of solving those problems,” he said. “That’s going to exist long beyond an initiative that came from my office.”
As a superintendent in North Carolina, Bulson said he tried to give his teachers as much flexibility as possible.
“You can lead for results or you can lead for process, and I generally lean toward results,” he said. “I can’t tell you what to do and how to do it. Let’s set high standards and then support you as much as possible, but also give you space to do the work and succeed.”
Bulson noted that as missions of county and state agencies overlap, there’s a greater need for coordination to reduce redundancy and increase partnerships that produce positive outcomes for all students.
Bulson recalled his work in Wilson County, N.C., where the local detention center was located directly across the street from his office, and every day he watched as they drove in new prisoners.
“My goal was to keep kids off the street,” he said, noting that he strived to place students with behavioral problems at alternative programs within the system in order to avoid them dropping out. “I’m constantly looking for more solutions to student behaviors. There’s no perfect solution, but you come to those solutions in working with the other leaders to find the best fit.”..
http://www.cecildaily.com/schools/superintendent-finalists-discuss-views-on-leadership-schools-role/article_54e15fb4-5696-5f07-84a8-76bdf441a8b7.html
State Superintendent Dr. Karen Salmon's letter declining the appointment of Verletta White as BCPS Superintendent. pic.twitter.com/9HoyedWZyr— Baltimore County Public Schools (@BaltCoPS) May 2, 2018
