Lisa Kvistad: Amy Knight / MMSD
Lisa Kvistad, left, has been serving as interim schools superintendent since Carlton Jenkins retired this summer.
With the search for a new superintendent for Madison schools running on schedule, the school board is expressing concerns that hint at a problem the district encountered with past superintendents: a failure to understand the district and the city.
When Superintendent Carlton Jenkins announced he would be retiring earlier this year, the school board considered conducting a compressed search, but concluded that it needed to conduct a fully developed search, says Lisa Kvistad, interim schools superintendent. A compressed search would have attempted to hire a new superintendent by the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, yielding a less thorough process, according to district spokesperson Ian Folger. The longer timeline allows for a more traditional search.
“The board is actually doing some recruiting and early screening,” Kvistad says. The hiring process was timed to give the district access to the highest-quality pool of candidates possible, she says.
A job profile was posted on schedule Oct. 30, following the release in mid-October of a Community Engagement Report that included the voices of more than 3,200 staff and community members. The report was compiled by the Alma Advisory Group, a Chicago-based search firm that is helping the district. Alma’s staff includes two former district human resources employees: Deirdre Hargrove-Krieghoff and Najjah Thompson.
Potential candidates are expected to be selected in January 2024, with a semi-finalist round of interviews in February. The board plans to make a final selection in March. Superintendent contracts often begin on July 1, Kvistad says, adding that the district will work with the candidate to find a start date that works.
Mike Jones, president of Madison Teachers Inc., gives the district a thumbs up for its cooperation with the union so far. District leaders have promised the union that there will be increased trust, communication and transparency throughout the process.
Teachers and other staff members will be watching the process closely. “There’s a lot of cynicism from the staff as to whether there will be follow-through on promises from a superintendent,” Jones says. “You want to be aspirational but you also want to be realistic.
“The real test will come at the interview stage,” he adds. “We’ll see how the staff and community will be involved. Are they taking our involvement to heart or just checking a box?”
The profile itself is an extensive document seeking a candidate with experience in a dizzying array of areas, from strategic organization to collaboration with students, staff, and the community. However, in both the survey and discussions among staff and board members, there is a desire for a candidate who understands and is committed to Madison.
Twenty percent of people surveyed prefer a candidate who is from Madison, has strong ties to the city, or is committed to being part of the community; 11% want a candidate who plans to stay in the job for more than a few years.
Jenkins and his predecessor, Jennifer Cheatham, were not from Madison. Jenkins came on board in summer 2020, after serving as superintendent of schools in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Jenkins was an assistant principal at Madison Memorial High School in the 1993-94 school year. Jennifer Cheatham was hired in 2013 after serving as chief of instruction for Chicago Public Schools, where she focused on standards in math and literacy, as well as teacher evaluations.
Jenkins and Cheatham both brought in management teams, but most of those team members left the district when their hiring superintendent did.
“What people are saying, I believe, is they want someone who knows the community and can hit the ground running. That’s to say that someone who doesn’t live in Madison will have to address how they will gain that knowledge,” Kvistad says.
The union shares this priority. “The next superintendent needs to understand both the district and the community, knowing there are differences between the two,” Jones adds. The district has a higher proportion of students of color and economically disadvantaged families than the community as a whole.
The next superintendent “needs to be prepared to deal with poverty,” Greg Jones, president of NAACP Dane County, said at the school board’s regular Oct. 23 meeting. Jones noted that Madison has a poverty rate of 16.6%, significantly higher than the rate for the state.
Alma’s report found that district staff and community members want to see more emphasis on recruitment and retention of staff. “I think more and more, the district is understanding that,” Mike Jones says.
There was a protracted battle between the district and union earlier this year that ended with an 8% salary increase for teachers, keeping the district in line with area school districts.
MTI issued its wish list for a new superintendent this spring. “We knew we had to get those priorities out ahead of time so they knew where our members stood,” Jones says. Union priorities include a leader who would communicate clearly with staff, be present in schools and the community, and be dedicated to the schools and community.
Some board members also expressed support for improving conditions for staff at an Oct. 17 special board meeting with Alma’s Monica Santana Rosen, who founded the executive search firm.
Board member Laura Simkin cited a need to “strengthen the professional climate and culture for our staff, which I think is very directly connected with the ability for our staff to work to their fullest potential.” A strong culture for staff will benefit students, she added.
“I would like to see a track record in collaborating with collective bargaining,” said board president Nichelle Nichols. “I feel that’s a big part of our school district.”
The district is hoping that the process runs smoothly. The board’s first choice for superintendent in 2020 was Matthew Gutierrez, who accepted the job in early March. Madison schools closed for COVID-19 in mid-March, and Gutierrez rescinded his acceptance a few weeks after that. Jenkins was hired after a second, shorter search process.
To build on the district’s goals, community members and district leaders say they need a superintendent who is willing to understand Madison and stay long enough to make a difference.
As board member Blair Mosner Feltham said at the Oct. 17 meeting, “How do we attract somebody who in their heart believes that what happens in public schools in this city has meaning and impact on the experiences that young people have, the experiences that families have?”
