Southlake Must ‘Put Its Best Foot Forward’ During the Carroll ISD Superintendent Search
The community wants a leader who can unite us.
Wednesday, during the Carroll ISD superintendent search focus group meeting, the community got to share with the consultants overseeing the search what they’re hoping for in the next superintendent.
The wide-ranging and often unrealistic answers from the more than two dozen people in the room prompted one consultant to issue a warning.
Let’s keep in mind, he said, “We are looking for a mortal.”
Takeaways from the meeting:
It’s apparent the questions the consultants asked were more for making the community feel involved than for seeking substantive input for the final selection.
I hope the consultants’ admonishment to the community—keep your dirty laundry out of the public by “[putting] your best foot forward”—is heeded.
My comments during the Q&A, that we already have a strong candidate for superintendent on staff, apparently didn’t go unnoticed. (More than 18 people reached out to me after the meeting.)
#1 - The questions…(and my answers in italics).
What are the greatest strengths of Carroll ISD and the surrounding communities?
That we’re a connected, cohesive community; our families look out for one another’s’ kids.
(I believe this to be true IF you remove politics.)
What are the greatest challenges which Carroll ISD currently faces?
As they pertain to the superintendent search, our greatest challenge is finding and selecting someone who will stiffen against the strong, harsh winds of politics and personality.
What are the professional characteristics that the next Superintendent of schools in Carroll ISD should possess?
I want the person who can develop the leaders of tomorrow and has a track record of doing just that. We also need someone who knows the district and what we’re about. In my opinion, that person is already on staff and is in this room right now. (More on that below.)
What are the personal characteristics that the next Superintendent of schools in Carroll ISD should possess?
Integrity and high character.
[The questions are available here.]
#2 - We need to put our best foot forward.
The consultants continually reminded us that the bad news currently coming out of Southlake isn’t helping the superintendent search.
“They are watching the board meetings and the news and reading the newspapers,” one of them said. It’s imperative, he said, that the community “puts its best foot forward” to ensure the preferred candidate is interested in coming to Carroll ISD.
In fact, he said, at least two potential candidates respectfully declined to throw their names into the ring given the current turmoil in the community.
Another important point: Websites, especially those created with URLs containing “Southlake schools” have the potential to be even more costly than simple news reports long-term.
Think about it: “Southlake schools” and “Schools in Southlake” are two of the main keyword variations used for folks looking to move to Southlake. So when they type “Does Southlake have good schools” or “What makes Southlake’s Schools so good” or “What are the best Southlake schools” into Google, the search engine will use exact match close variants and possibly reward the query with results from sites containing “Southlake schools” in their URLs.
REMEMBER, websites that can be crawled by search engines can also be indexed for search. In our case, that’s not a good thing.
#3 - The person is in the room.
Almost as soon as the words “that person is in this room” left my lips, my phone starting lighting up with texts and Facebook Messages. I was referring to Gina Peddy— CISD’s executive director of curriculum & instruction, advanced academics, G/T, LOTE, CTE, & Library Services Coordinator—who was seated to my far right.
I have known Ms. Peddy since 2015, when I attended CLASS (Carroll Leadership Academy for Supporting Success). She’s sharp as a tack, innovative, selfless, a brilliant educator and communicator, intimately aware and focused on our kids and families, and universally beloved. She knows the Dragon way, but is not hidebound to doing things that are no longer working. What’s more, she does not play favorites, backstab or seek the limelight.
My goal wasn’t to put Ms. Peddy, who has not thrown her hat into the ring for the position, on the spot. I did, however, want to make the consultant aware of two very important facts:
We already have a person on staff that many, many, MANY people would love to see have an opportunity at the superintendent position, and
Let’s not make the mistake of thinking the best, most ideal candidates will apply.
Again, Ms. Peddy has not applied for the job of superintendent. But, as more than half a dozen parents have made clear to me in the last 24 hours, she is more than qualified and parents would greatly benefit from Ms. Peddy assuming an elevated role in the district. Said one parent, “At the very least, she should be advanced to the position of assistant superintendent. We should insist on that, regardless of who is gets the head job. We should accept nothing less. Given where [the district is] right now, it’s the least parents are owed if they wish to earn back our trust.”
I unabashedly concur.