LYNN — School Committee members met Thursday evening to discuss the particular qualifications they would like to see in the next Superintendent of Schools, before voting to approve guidelines for the official job posting.
The School Committee, along with Massachusetts Association of School Committees Executive Director Glenn Koocher, debated the education, experience, and diversity requirements required for the job.
Mayor Jared Nicholson, who chairs the committee, opened discussions, saying that Interim Superintendent Debra Ruggiero’s appointment to her position earlier in the summer gave the selection process plenty of time to make the right choice.
“One of the fortunate aspects of the situation we’re in is that we have some time to find the next superintendent, thanks to the timing of the transition. And the position we were in was superintendent Deb Ruggiero to step in. So we have this year,” Nicholson said.
Upon opening discussion, School Committee member Donna Copolla asked Nicholson why the job’s minimum requirement for experience was 12 years of school administration experience and teaching experience in urban districts. She cited previous drafts, which mandated 15 years of administrative experience for the role.
Nicholson responded, saying that an individual who meets all other qualifications, but only has 14 years of experience should still be considered in the selection process.
On the topic of education, School Committee member Lorraine Gately argued that instead of requiring a master’s degree, with a preference toward those with a doctorate, a doctorate should be required for the Superintendent’s position.
“I think everybody in the state of Massachusetts that has taught for five years has a master’s degree, and that’s still the requirement. So shouldn’t it be doctorate preferred? Don’t we want a Doctor to be in charge of our school department?” Gately asked.
Nicholson responded that previous discussions with the committee, and previous drafts of the job posting concluded that the position should be opened to a larger pool of applicants, to be narrowed down afterwards.
“You know, we’ve had this discussion on this committee and throughout the postings. I think that if we’re looking to create as broad a pool as we can, I think that ‘preferred’ is the way to go, and then we can evaluate that in the interviewing and the decision-making process,” Nicholson said.
Coppola argued that the section of the job posting that put a preference on Spanish speakers narrowed the decision-making process too much.
“We have candidates out there and they don’t speak Spanish, we haven’t had a superintendent in the past, even in the recent past, that were fluent in Spanish. But are we limiting ourselves by doing that?” Coppola asked. “It may be a multicultural, diverse person, that’s great. Because I think that’s when you’ll be really good at limiting people on that […] There are a lot of people out here who want this job. If you’re putting things in there specific to certain people, then we go from there.”
In response to concerns over the job posting’s diversity and education requirements, Koocher said that a doctorate degree in education was an overrated qualification, and that non-spanish speakers would still apply to the position, regardless of the preference.
“At the risk of offending everyone, the only thing more overrated than lobsters is an EDD. It’s an important credential and I respect the people who have it, but I’m not sure that it makes a whole lot of difference.What you have here is sufficient to attract the people you’re looking for. There are people who are not proficient in Spanish who would still apply because they always do,” Koocher said. “There are people who possess advanced degrees in the sciences who teach science and their advanced degrees are in the science itself, as opposed to in the field of educational theory or policy or practice, whatever it might be, so I don’t see that as a significant credential.”
Nicholson responded to criticism of the diversity preference by arguing that, by encouraging people of color to apply for the position, the committee would not be discluding other qualified candidates.
“We’re encouraging candidates of color to apply. And the rationale there is that historically, you know, institutions have not always created a welcoming environment for people of color. And communicating that right off the bat sends a really strong message. And it’s not a message that other candidates shouldn’t apply, but it’s reaching out to those candidates who might feel marginalized, and that we really want them,” Nicholson said
Ruggiero responded to the discussion on education requirements, saying that even though she does not have a doctorate degree because she was not financially able to earn one, she has 37 years of valuable experience as an educator that she could bring to the table, and that the committee should not rule out candidates with backgrounds similar to hers. School Committee member Brian Castellanos responded briefly, exclaiming “That’s four PHDs!”
“The perspective I want to bring to the table is that it doesn’t always fit in people’s financials to do it, or time to do it because of a variety of reasons. I personally have 37 years in education, and I think that I bring a lot to the table without a doctorate. So it’s just a different perspective to think about,” Ruggiero said.
After voting to agree on the original qualifications and preferences set in the job posting draft, Koocher outlined the next steps in the selection process, and how it will ensure that a diverse pool of 1,300 candidates will be recruited.
“Starting almost immediately, we will be working with the designated search committee to get the search committee ready for their responsibilities. That will include an orientation briefing on the process itself, some guidance on how to look at application packages and how to look at resumes,” Koocher said. “Information on the importance of identifying diversity and equity in the end inclusion in the application process to make sure that a diverse pool of candidates is respectfully recruited. We will then at the same time, be distributing electronically and making phone calls and doing other things to recruit the largest possible pool of candidates that we can find.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
