JPS casts national net for superintendent search
Tasked with filling a superintendent vacancy amid concerns over a possible state takeover and troubled academic rating, the Jackson Public Schools board has voted to launch a national a search for the next leader of Mississippi's second-largest school district.
Two months have passed since former superintendent Cedrick Gray tendered his resignation. And the board's action on Tuesday to release a request for proposal is the first step members have taken to find Gray's replacement. The proposal acts as an invitation for firms to bid to provide search services.
"We want quality individuals that are able to take on such a task understanding what our district's idiosyncrasies are, our demographics," member Camille Stutts Simms said in a portion of the meeting aired on a local news station.
A spokesperson for the district told The Clarion-Ledger the RFP or Request For Proposals is limited to consultants who have at a minimum a decade of experience securing "highly qualified" and "successful" school chiefs. The benchmarks, if any, aside from years of experience, that the board will use to evaluate whether applicants have satisfied those requirements is not known. For example, the Mississippi School Boards Association, a nonprofit with a background in recruiting superintendents, has considered 24 of its 30 completed searches as successful based on a superintendent still being with a district, retiring on good terms or advancing to larger district.
Gray was chosen from 10 semifinalists and a total 71 applications. The board enlisted 26 residents to help advise them on the search, and hired the search firm of Ray and Associates, in business since 1975 and based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,.
The search for Gray's successor comes at a time when the district is fighting to retain local control.
SEE ALSO: After Gray, can JPS head in the right direction?
State officials downgraded JPS' accreditation status to probation last year, warning additional sanctions, namely the declaration of a state of emergency that would result in a conservatorship, were a possibility if improvements in classroom instruction, safety and discipline were not made. Correcting deficiencies found by oversight officials is only half the battle. As with 18 other districts rated as failing last year, the outcome of student assessments this spring will determine JPS' eligibility for absorption in the state's Achievement School District. Under that system, districts rated F two years in a row would have their school boards dissolved and be placed under the direct oversight of the ASD superintendent and the state Board of Education.
Since Gray's departure there has been a bump in attendance at school board meetings as parents have asked for a voice in the search process. WLBT reported that a survey for public input is expected to be placed on the district's website soon.
Contact Bracey Harris at 601-961-7248 or bharris2@gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter .