z54\doc\web\2001\11\supsear.txt


From: Educationdoctors@aol.com 
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2001 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Request to Loop, Anne Arundel County Superintendent
Search




Dear Joan:


When Prince George's County found itself searching for a School
Superintendent and decided to use a NATIONAL SEARCH GROUP, I decided
to research the requirement for superintendents. Because I questioned
National Goal Number 6 for Teacher Certification/Development, I felt
that superintendents would fall in this category... "specialized"
development...and sure enough, my fears were realized.


Using my favorite search engines, Yahoo, AJ, and Google, I typed in
Superintendent Search... The search took me to sites that revealed
the following:


Special federal considerations...marketing language such as...we are
approved by the federal government to service your community for
seeking superintendents. 


What I have learned is that each state is required to establish an
Association of Boards, which will become the main source for
searching for superintendents and soon people to be appointed on
school boards...that is, after they are successful at taking away our
elected school boards.


Michigan, is one of the states (by the way, Michigan was one of the
first 15 states that piloted the accountability assessments between
1989-1992) that has established a superintendent search group via
their new state board association.


However, the marketing language has changed in the pass two
years...of course...people find out so they switch their presentation
style. Two years ago there were only three federally approved.
However, I can't seem to find the research material I stashed away
two years ago. I can't tell you how many their are today. 


What I am willing to bet a mortgage on is that in order to be a
"superintendent search group" you are bound by federal law to meet
certain requirements. Check out this site.


http://www.masb.org/page.cfm/34/


Go to this site and read what another researcher has to say about
superintendent search problems....
http://www.sambarpress.com/chuck/search.htm


Go to this site to learn about Hazard, Young, Attea, & Associates -
http://www.hyasupersearches.com/ Here you will find out that the firm
is made up of former psycho-educators/Superintendents...which will
prove their mindset and how they train/select superintendents.


Go to this site and read up on Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, the
firm that proudly boast about locating superintendents for
Montgomery, Fairfax, and Prince George's and soon, Anne Arundel.
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/031198/met_2b1schoo.html


Go to this site to learn what the parents of NY did when they threw
out their school superintendent and school
board...http://www.nyssba.org/search-service.html


Go to this site to feel the frustration other states have had in
using these search firms.
http://www.salisburypost.com/2000august/082300e.htm


I could go on, but the point is, I have yet to hear any agency
de-accredit a school system for not selecting one of the choices
presented to them by these firms. Furthermore, as I understand the
process, the state school superintendent must be contacted when a
district is ready for a new superintendent. The superintendent
provides the resources for the school boards/districts to follow as
guidelines. The school boards do not have to follow the guidelines.


Go to the US Ed site
http://www.ed.gov/search/searchResList.jsp?qt=superintendent+search&colParam=ED&col=site&col=misc&qp=&head=%2Fheader.jsp&foot=%2Fincludes%2Ffooter.html&st=0&lk=1&rf=0




(you know the reformed web site…) I have provided an URL, but you can
research things for yourself. 


But because most are too busy, don't know the requirements, and in
most cases out-right lazy, they spend our money to push these reject
superintendents on us... A good example of how reject superintendents
travel through the system is DC and Prince George's County…Akerman
from DC went to San Francisco and Metts from Delaware came to Prince
George's County.


And, because parents and advocates are too busy to perform interstate
networking groups like this loop, parents fall for all of the hype.
In my opinion, its just like marrying for the second or third
time...everybody has a history...they did not just drop out of the
sky. They must be checked out.


If you need more information, the simplest thing to do is go to one
of my favorite search sites and type in search phrase....


Superintendent Search


and go from there