The Princeton Public Schools has launched its search for a permanent superintendent of schools.
Consulting firm School Leadership LLC began advertising the top administrative post Oct. 17. There is no deadline to apply, although school district officials would like to have the new superintendent in place by July 1, 2025.
The vacancy was created by the resignation of former Superintendent of Schools Carol Kelley. The school board appointed Kathie Foster, a retired superintendent of schools, to fill in as the interim superintendent of schools until a permanent superintendent is hired.
School Leadership LLC is leading the nationwide search for the next superintendent of schools, armed with a description of six specifications or qualities being sought in the new leader. They were derived from focus groups, forums, online surveys, interviews with parents, school district employees and the community.
Those qualities include being an educational leader who is a team builder and who has a strong background in curriculum, instruction and student achievement and well-being.
The next superintendent is a courageous, ethical, visible and accessible leader who is excited to become a member of the Princeton community and who wants to lead a diverse, nationally recognized school district to an even more impressive level of excellence.
And the superintendent must be able to promote the Princeton Public Schools’ mission to prepare students to lead lives of joy and purpose and to become compassionate citizens of a global society.
The job opening is being advertised on the consultant’s website and on other sites. It is being advertised in Education Week, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and the American Association of School Administrators.
It is also being advertised in the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the National Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, consultants Rina Beder and Martin Brooks told the school board at a special meeting Oct. 16.
Beder said about 40% of applicants have learned of job postings on School Leadership LLC’s website. She said the search firm would start with telephone calls to people they know.
“We will send notes to about 1,500 superintendents and other educational leaders who hold key leadership positions in various educational institutions,” Beder said.
The consultants are going to reach out to people who may be able to put them in touch with potential candidates who they think may match what the school board has in mind for the job, Brooks said.
“A couple of times, we will share with the school board paperwork of everybody who has applied, including people who we think do not match the specifications, but (whose paperwork) we think the school board should see anyhow,” he said.
Brooks emphasized the confidential nature of the search and interview process. Some community members had asked whether they could meet the candidates.
Some of the best candidates may not be thinking of changing jobs because they are happy with their present situation, but a phone call or a note may get them to think about it, he said.
Brooks said that once a candidate is brought in front of people other than the school board, it is no longer completely confidential. The candidate may drop out because the risk is too great for them if their own school board finds out that they have applied somewhere else.
“It is important for the community to understand that the greater the opportunity for people in the community to meet the candidate, the less likely it is that the really top candidates will apply for the job,” he said.
Wrapping up the meeting, school board member Besty Baglio thanked Beder and Brooks. The board is looking forward to emails and phone calls when the consultants bring candidates to it, she said.
“The board is united in finding the right candidate to lead our school district,” Baglio said.
