By Carol P. Bartold     

Sep. 28, 2016:  Fourteen Bronxville residents attended the September 20 public forum in The Bronxville School auditorium held to explain the search process for the new superintendent of schools for The Bronxville School. The new superintendent will succeed Dr. David Quattrone in 2017. Quattrone will retire from the position at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year.

The Bronxville Board of Education sponsored the forum to solicit public comments that will help it and the search consultant, School Leadership LLC, to develop the set of specifications that will be used to advertise the position and recruit candidates for the job.

"This first part of the process is to help the board define for us what we are to look for in terms of a candidate's background experience and skill set," said Charles Fowler, president of School Leadership LLC. "This part of the process is truly the beginning, but it is also the most critical."

The board of education urges community members unable to attend the meeting to participate in the search process by completing the online survey available in a separate article in this paper. 

"This decision for the board of education is one of the most important decisions anyone on the school board gets to make," Fowler noted. He explained that, by law in New York State, a school board cannot make a decision or an appointment to the school system without the recommendation of the superintendent.

Search consultants Martin Brooks and Susan Elion Wollin joined Fowler in conducting the meeting, an open discussion with attendees, about the school, the type of candidate that should be recruited, and the new superintendent's role in both the school and the community.

The attendees expressed consensus in identifying effective, open communication and transparency as a desired quality in a superintendent. They agreed that the new superintendent should also be a good listener.

A community member described the superintendent's relationship with the community as "full body contact" and went on to say that if the superintendent is not comfortable facing parents, students, staff, and the community, he or she will not be comfortable in the job.

The school is the center of the community, several people in attendance stated, and described Bronxville as a community of highly involved parents. "A real and very close collaboration among parents, teachers, and administration is an everyday thing in the school," a speaker stated. Others described the neighborhood feel and openness of the school as a community strong point.

Resource allocation was identified as the most significant challenge the new superintendent will face upon assuming his or her duties. "We have parents who are demanding and who have high expectations," an attendee said. "The reality is that the tax base is not here to support their expectations."

It was suggested that the new superintendent might be able to act more in a CEO role with less responsibility for academics and curriculum and more focus on long-term financial planning. A community member stated that whoever is selected must come in as a strong leader and determine priorities between curriculum and financial leadership.

A speaker expressed his preference to look outside the district for a new superintendent rather than recruiting from within. "I feel like we need a fresh perspective," he said. "Someone coming in from the outside would not be involved in the politics."

The consultants pointed out that candidates want to see school districts where there is a commitment to a higher level of achievement and excellence. "They look for places where there is a chance of success, where they believe they can make a difference in kids' lives," Fowler said.

Wollin added that interested candidates will do a "tremendous amount of research" on Bronxville and the school district. The interested candidate will want to know that the district is a good match.

Fowler indicated that the board of education anticipates a November approval of a set of specifications to use for recruiting candidates. He expects School Consultants LLC to begin active recruiting from the end of December of 2016 through January of 2017 and into the first part of February of 2017. He identified those weeks as prime recruiting time for the superintendent position.

Fowler stated that the consultants will screen a probable pool of 50 to 70 candidates and interview the top 15 to 20 from that group and present to the board of education the five to seven interviewees they feel best meet the specifications. He believes the board will be in a position to interview the finalists in April.

Pictured here:  The Bronxville School.

Photo by A. Warner