Following the announcement of Steller Principal, Harlod Green’s impending retirement, an ad hoc group of Steller parents met March 31 to discuss the process for selection of a new principal.  In consultation with staff, this group has taken the following steps to develop plans for Steller community (student, staff, parent) involvement in principal selection:

• On April 1, 2011 Steller parents Pat Galvin, Wendy Wolff, and Joe Banta met with Superintendent Carol Comeau and Mike Henry to discuss the principal selection process and the particular needs of our strongly engaged community as this decision is made.

• The Steller Parent Group will host a community café “principal attributes” evening on Wed. April 6 at 6 PM at Steller’s MPR to provide parents, students, and staff an opportunity to discuss the Steller principal selection process and to develop some open-ended interview questions that will help us best learn about the candidates.

• ASD requests development of a principal selection advisory committee composed of staff, parents, and students.  This group will have an initial meeting on April 7th.  This advisory committee will be composed of 2 students, 4 teachers, 1 counselor, 1 janitor, 2 parents, and 1 community member.

• As the advisory committee meets to identify the criteria/characteristics of an ideal Steller principal, the community cafe will provide the committee with suggestions regarding desired principal attributes.

In the April 1 meeting with Superintendent Carol Comeau and Mike Henry, the Steller parents expressed our appreciation for the opportunity for our entire community to meet and talk at a  “meet and greet” process with all the candidates during our last principal selection.  We added that we’d like to have the opportunity to do the upcoming selection in the same way.  Carol let us know that all the secondary principal interviews were now done that way and that it was due to Steller’s request last time.  We’re the trendsetter!

We then requested one thing different from the process last time – increasing the time between the community interview event with the candidates and when we need to submit our input.  Superintendent Comeau immediately agreed to that request.

We also clarified whether or not we were late in the process for getting to consider all candidates – as we understand that many other schools have already embarked upon the selection process.  They let us know that the only secondary principal position for hire this year is for Steller.  There are 8 – 10 positions for elementary principals open and they will go through a separate, probably longer process and any principals that are double certified will be able to apply for the Steller job.

We discussed the principal selection process in detail: with Mike Henry:
– The position is currently being advertised on the secondary principals website and it is open to national applications.  It closes April 7.  We sent Mike the link to the Coalition of Essential Schools job openings website.
– On April 6, Mike will meet with Steller staff to discuss the process.
– On April 6, at 6 PM, there will be a community cafe process to gather attributes and questions from the Steller community.
– On April 7, at 2:15 PM, the advisory committee formed to advise the district on desirable principal attributes will meet for the first time.  This advisory committee will be composed of staff, students, and parents.  Not sure if this is their only meeting to develop attributes, it sounds like there will be another some time in the future.
– On April 8 the application window for the position closes.  Administrators (principals and management staff with ASD) will review the applicant pool and come up with a short list of 6 -7, then meet again to come up with 3 final candidates to bring to the Steller Meet and Greet.
– Tentative April 15 (or 14), Steller Meet and Greet with top three principal candidates.  We need to check with the staff and community to see if April 15 works – seems to make sense as already meeting for the Steller Activity Night.  If it doesn’t work, Th. April 14 would be the other good option.  A key point for the district is that the candidates are all asked the same questions at the meet and greet.  After all the candidates have had the opportunity to answer the questions, there will be small group break-outs to chat less formally with the candidates [we may want to try to make this a bit organized, if possible].
– One day later, the final input of the advisory committee would need to be made to the ASD.  The district’s administrators would then do a final review and pass along all information and recommendations to Carol who makes the final decision.
– On April 22 and May 2 there are ASD board meetings that could be used for the final approval of a candidate.