Montgomery County residents are invited to tell the county Board of Education what they are looking for in the next Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent during three in-person forums in early April.
The forums will be held at 6 p.m. on:
- April 2 at Seneca Valley High School, 19401 Crystal Rock Drive, Germantown;
- April 3 at Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville; and
- April 4 at Wheaton High School, 12401 Dalewood Drive, Silver Spring.
RSVP for the public forums at this link.
A fourth community forum, which will be virtual, is yet to be scheduled, according to an MCPS press release.
Gathering feedback from the school community is the first of three phases in the board’s process of finding a new leader for MCPS, per the release. The board has pledged to have a new superintendent hired by July 1 after the position was left vacant by the departure of former Superintendent Monifa McKnight in early February.
McKnight resigned in the wake of a controversy over sexual harassment and bullying allegations against a former middle school principal. Shortly after, the board appointed Monique Felder, a former MCPS administrator, to serve as interim superintendent. Felder’s contract is set to expire June 30.
According to school board President Karla Silvestre, the in-person forums will run from 90 minutes to two hours and include discussion tables where participants can chat with board staff. She added that notetakers will capture feedback.
“We ultimately want to develop a leadership profile,” Silvestre told MoCo360. “… And so that information will inform the search firm as they look at people all over the country.”
On Tuesday, the board is scheduled to approve the hiring of a firm to conduct a national search and vet candidates, according to its meeting agenda. Silvestre did not share the name of the search firm that the school board plans to hire.
Spanish and American Sign Language interpreters will be available at the April forums as well as interpretation for other languages, which can be requested on the event’s RSVP form, according to Silvestre.
Since launching the search for a new superintendent in March, the school board has created a website dedicated to the process that includes a general feedback form and a superintendent search survey for students, staff and families.
According to the board, the search involves three phases:
- Phase I involves collecting input from students, staff, community partners and county leaders to better understand the type of leader the community is looking for. The forums and surveys are part of this first phase.
- Phase II will be the national search and candidates will be identified by the school board for initial interviews.
- Phase III entails the identification of final candidates who will undergo second interviews with the school board and a representative community panel. This phase will lead to the selection and announcement of the final superintendent appointee.
The upcoming forums will allow board members to “take the pulse” of the community on leadership in the school system, Silvestre said. Hiring a superintendent is one of the board’s key responsibilities and Silvestre said the board is committed to finding the right person for the post.
“Hopefully we’ll find that person in the next four months, but if we don’t, then we’ll keep looking,” she said.