Warren County Public Schools superintendent search starts Feb. 10

J. David Martin, president of Real Synergy LLC, presented the draft vacancy announcement, application and survey results for the WCPS superintendent search to Warren County School Board members during a special Saturday morning work session. Background: School Board Chairman Arnold Williams Jr. (left) and School Board member Kristen Pence (right). Photo by Kim Riley. Video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

The Warren County School Board’s application and profile seeking a new superintendent for Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) will be made available for potential applicants on Monday, February 10. They are due by midnight on March 20.

School Board members during a special Saturday, February 8 work session unanimously approved, with amendments, the third-party vacancy announcement and application documents developed by Real Synergy LLC, which the School Board contracted to manage the WCPS superintendent search.

As applications from potential candidates are received, Real Synergy President J. David Martin, a former Fauquier County (Va.) superintendent, told board members that he and his Real Synergy colleague Roger Collins, a retired Nelson County (Va.) superintendent, will begin to vet candidates.

“What that means,” said Martin, “is that we will begin to look at their digital footprint, which means we’ll go back through and look at newspaper articles and we’ll look at what the media says about them. So, when we bring you all of the job applications, we’ll be able to share that information with you.”

The data-sharing will occur during a tentatively scheduled April 4 meeting at which board members will be able to view all submitted applications and receive Real Synergy recommendations, “but that’s all that they are,” said Martin. “If you want to interview somebody outside of that, then that’s great.”

Martin also said that he and Collins “will not be checking references because at that point, you won’t know who you want to interview.” That process also will be discussed during the April 4 meeting, when Real Synergy reviews round one and round two interview criteria with the School Board members, he said.

Additionally, as applications are received, Real Synergy will start work on determining how many of the criteria points each candidate meets.

Data for that criteria, and for both the WCPS superintendent vacancy announcement and application, were derived by Real Synergy’s 120 face-to-face interviews with school personnel and local leaders, as well as from the more than 690 online surveys submitted by the public.

For instance, data was collected from the face-to-face interviews Real Synergy conducted with: building-based administrators; School Board members; Warren County Supervisors; the School Board Office; the community; teachers; students; and the public hearing held during the School Board’s January 5 regular meeting.

To help build the profile for a future superintendent, Real Synergy asked respondents five questions: to describe the characteristics, skills or knowledge that a new superintendent should possess; what challenges WCPS faces; a description of the positive attributes of WCPS; one piece of advice for a new superintendent; and whether the respondent knew anyone who fit these characteristics and attributes — data on this last question wasn’t made public by Real Synergy.

According to the data provided by Real Synergy, the top two answers for each question were:

1. 58 total respondents want the new superintendent’s top characteristics, skills or knowledge to include communication (that he or she be a good listener); and 33 total respondents want to see the next superintendent have both classroom and administration experience.

2. Regarding the top challenges facing WCPS, 32 total respondents cited the retention of employees; 22 total respondents said attendance; and 20 total respondents named special education as challenges.

3. 20 total respondents described WCPS’s positive attributes as being a sense of community; 19 total respondents cited WCPS being a small division as another.

4. The top pieces of advice for a new superintendent included that he or she listen (25 total respondents), be visible (11 total respondents), and gain feedback from employees (11 total respondents).

Meanwhile, data from the online survey results were compiled from questions about the qualities that people think a new superintendent should possess and were ranked by ‘most important,’ ‘very important,’ ‘important,’ ‘less important,’ and ‘least important.’ The top-three categories of respondents were from parents of WCPS students, community residents, and WCPS employees.
According to Real Synergy’s data, for example, 365 respondents out of 690 total responses ranked “communicates well with all community groups” as ‘very important,’ while “communicates well with people of all races and socioeconomic status” was ranked as ‘very important’ (329 votes) and ‘most important’ (259 votes).

Among the numerous questions asked in the online survey, there were three questions that ranked as ‘most important.’ Respondents said that a new superintendent should know how to get staff, students, parents, and the community to work together to help children learn (386 responses); that the new superintendent understands how to provide safe environments for students and staff (368 responses); and that he or she has been a successful educator at the building and office levels (219 responses).

Other questions regarded a new superintendent’s use and development of technology in teaching and learning (322 voted it ‘very important’); the willingness to take new approaches to teaching and learning (305 said this was ‘very important’); and understands how to effectively delegate authority (336 ranked it ‘very important.’), among others.

All responses to the online survey and during the interviews helped Real Synergy develop the superintendent vacancy notice, superintendent profile key and the application, which the School Board members reviewed and tweaked with minor changes.

Following a motion by Warren County School Board member James Wells and a second by School Board Vice Chairwoman Catherine Bower, the board voted unanimously to approve the documents be made available publicly on February 10.

In addition to Wells and Bower, present and voting were Warren County School Board Chairman Arnold Williams Jr., and School Board members Kristen Pence and Ralph Rinaldi.
Board members then went into a closed session to discuss an employee personnel issue. Williams told the press that no announcements would be made following the closed session.

The Royal Examiner filmed the entire Saturday work session, which is available below.