From Harford County Public Schools:
The Board of Education of Harford County (Board) has begun the search process for a new superintendent of schools for Harford County Public Schools (HCPS). Currently, Barbara P. Canavan is serving as interim superintendent of schools and will remain in this capacity until July 1, 2014.
Phase I of the process is to develop the criteria for the ideal superintendent candidate for HCPS. In order to develop those criteria, the Board will conduct ten focus group sessions with different community groups that represent all stakeholders, including elected/government officials; business/community leaders; HCPS leadership team members; support staff; central office staff; principals; teachers; parents; students; and, employee association leadership.
Each focus group will consist of up to 15 participants. A committee of Board members will select the participants based on interest gauged from an invitation that will be distributed today. In order to implement an equitable process, the Board has contracted Ray and Associates, a firm that has been conducting executive education searches since 1975, to help facilitate this first phase of the search process and the focus groups. The contracted services for this phase will cost approximately $7,500.
“It is imperative that we have a fair and equitable process to ensure that the most qualified candidate is selected to continue the great tradition of excellence in Harford County Public Schools,” said Board President Nancy Reynolds. “We are looking forward to engaging the community in this process.”
Ray and Associates has been recognized by The School Administrator Journal as one of the top search firms in the country. The professional consultants, including women and minorities, are persons with long-term experience in the school executive search field with extensive backgrounds as school administrators, business executives, school board members, university professors and attorneys.
As the goal of the entire search process is to engage as many stakeholders as possible to better understand the needs of the community with respect to school system leadership, there also will be several opportunities for the community at large to provide input. The Board will hold three open public forums as follows:
– Wednesday, December 18, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m., at C. Milton Wright High School
– Thursday, December 19, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m., at HCPS A.A. Roberty Building Board Room
– Thursday, December 19, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m., at Havre de Grace High School
In order to provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to participate, an online survey, conducted by Ray and Associates, has been posted on the school system website to gather input from the entire community. The link has been posted on the school system website for convenience; however, all responses are anonymous and are sent directly to the search firm. Parents and other interested community members are strongly encouraged to partner with the school system during this important process by participating however they are able. The online survey will be open until January 10, 2014, at 8:00 a.m.
In addition, the media is invited to attend a press briefing with Ray and Associates regarding the search process at 7:00 p.m., on Wednesday, December 18, 2013. The briefing will be held at C. Milton Wright High School prior to the start of the public forum.
HCPS remains committed to communicating with the public regularly throughout the superintendent search process.
Save the money and appoint Canavan
This is a waste of more money! Barb Canavan is the bomb! Look no further than Hickory Avenue.
Ms Canavan is getting a year to prove herself, but the Board must still do their due diligence to see if a more qualified candidate is available or in case Ms Canavan does not meet expectations.
Please hire within, don’t make the same mistake you did with Tombeck! Barb Canavan is awesome!!!
Thanks to all of the relatives of B. Canavan.
Mike and Waste More Money, According to Cdev and Because, and others, HCPS doesn’t waste money.
Your waste is someone else’ policy. And since you don’t make policy but only carp about it, it makes you irrelevant.
We need someone who will lead us into social good. Someone who understands that pumping more money into the system nets better achievements.
Schools waste no money, that is absurd. Infact, schools need about 45 million dollars more in the budget. I want to see each and every teacher making over 100,000 dollars a year.
Before you critique raising the taxes, remember, its for the children. Your children, they deserve the best.
450 million, that is.
We never give back tax money and never give up on getting more for the children.
It’s a progressive goal to pledge ourselves to the greater social good.
I will march with Ryan Burbey, Cdev, Because and Proud to be Liberal against the corrupt corprorate power structure that hides money that should be taxed in foreign banks beyond the reach of the IRS.
Hey, I have an idea! Why don’t we go to Michigan to find our new Superintendant? Just kidding – I think Barbara would be a fantastic choice.