Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Candidates: Let the Research Begin!

The Ann Arbor Public Schools Board has announced the semifinalist candidates for the next Superintendent. There are six candidates. Three have local ties (Benjamin Edmonson, Current AAPS Principal; Sandra Harris, who retired from Oak Park schools but used to be director of personnel for AAPS; and Henry Hastings, who is a lecturer at EMU). The three others come from Colorado Springs, Colorado (Jeanice Kerr Swift); New York/New Jersey (Brian Osborne) and Hershey, Pennsylvania (Richard Faidley).

I very much like that three of the candidates are local and are sure to understand Michigan politics these days. I was unhappy to see a clear connection between Brian Osborne and the Broad Foundation/SUPES Academy (more on the SUPES Academy in the coming days.)

I am working with a group of parents to do our own background research on the candidates. If you have information about the candidates (did you work with one of the local candidates? Have a friend in Colorado Springs who is active in the schools?) please send me information directly at rlk234@gmail.com. As I have mentioned before, I think I made a mistake last time in not getting as involved as I can in the search. We are not going to keep this information--good, bad, or indifferent--to ourselves. We will share our findings, probably in this space and through as many other venues as possible.

And that starts with reading the candidates' biographies and resumes. Everybody should read them.

Ann Arbor Chronicle article, with resumes and timeline for hiring.

From the Chronicle:

Interview questions are being developed and will be discussed by board members at a study session on Tuesday, July 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the Balas administration building, 2555 S. State St.

Translation: Send the questions you would like to have asked to the Board of Education at boe@aaps.k12.mi.us before July 2nd at 5:30 p.m. [Ideas: Process skills? Budgeting? Approach to Testing? Communication? Working with parents? Working with teachers? Sense of humor?  Feelings about best ways to evaluate teachers? Approaches to special education?] 

Also:

Semi-finalist interviews will be held at the Courtyard Marriott, 3205 Boardwalk, on Monday, July 8 from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, July 9 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Interview times on those dates are tentative, according to AAPS.)

 I wish I could go to these, but I will be at work. If you are interested in being "ears" for the rest of us, please let me know.

Annarbor.com article, with resumes.

Christine Stead blog post.