(Philadelphia Tribune photo)
By Philadelphia Tribune Staff
PHILADELPHIA — The Board of Education has targeted March to publicly announce finalists under consideration as the next superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia and hold a series of public meetings with each one.
Following the Board’s announcement, each finalist will be invited to Philadelphia for an itinerary that includes meetings with district stakeholders and one public, in-person, live-streamed town hall for all Philadelphians to hear from them and ask questions. Each finalist’s itinerary will also include in-person and live-streamed meetings with students, teachers and principals, and parents/guardians.
In preparation for the meetings, the Board asks Philadelphians to nominate themselves at philasd.org/schoolboard/search to be one of 32 people who will meet in-person or virtually with finalists during their visits to the city. Attendance caps will be in place for each finalist meeting and COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place.
Nominations are open for:
- 10 high school students, virtually (there will also be 11 principal-selected students in-person, at a high school TBD)
- 11 teachers or principals, in-person
- 11 parents/guardians, in-person
The application form will be open until Monday, Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m.
“The upcoming public meetings and town halls are the next opportunity for Philadelphians to participate in the process,” Board President Joyce Wilkerson said. “The process is ongoing and we are actively meeting with very impressive candidates who truly are aligned with the job profile that reflects what Philadelphians have said they want and need in the next superintendent.”
School District of Philadelphia superintendent William Hite announced last September that he would not renew his contract at the end of the 2021-22 school year.
Hite has been named the new CEO/president of KnowledgeWorks, a national nonprofit that partners with K-12 educators. He will begin that job July 1.
Accessibility remains a priority for all public engagement around the superintendent search. An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter will be present for all live streams and town halls. In-person translation will be secured once the 32 candidate conversation participants have been selected. In addition, all meetings will be live-streamed via Facebook, which allows viewers to turn on language translation.
The Board remains on track with its search timeline originally communicated to the public:
- Mid-winter 2022: Board moves from top five candidates to finalists
- March 2022: Public forums with final candidates
- Spring 2022: New superintendent announced
“We are narrowing down the field and are excited about bringing the finalists to the city,” board Vice President Leticia Egea-Hinton said. “There is still plenty of work to do, but we have been methodical about the process, sticking with our plan, and we are entering the final phases of the search for the next superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia.”
To stay up-to-date on the superintendent search, visit philasd.org/schoolboard/search.
This story first was published by The Philadelphia Tribune, a publishing partner of the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
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