Schools

Focus Groups Coming Up In Wakefield Superintendent Search

Focus groups to be held for various constituencies of the Wakefield Public Schools as part of the superintendent search process.

The following is an announcement from the Wakefield School Committee:

The Wakefield School Committee has engaged the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to assist them in the search for the next Superintendent of Schools.

An integral part of the process involves input from the following eight constituencies or stakeholder groups of the Wakefield Public Schools: parents of current students, alumni and members of the general public, teachers and instructional support staff, district administrators, principals and school & main office support staff, Town Officials and municipal department heads, and the School Committee itself. A focus group will be held for each of these groups and all members of the school community and general public are invited to attend the focus group session most appropriate to their relationship with the school department.

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These constituencies will be represented in focus groups that are designed to obtain input about the attributes, experience and knowledge that the new superintendent should possess. The groups also provide an opportunity for participants to identify immediate tasks which the new superintendent will be expected to address.

Today we are pleased to announce that two focus groups for members of the public, taxpayers, alumni and parents have been scheduled. School Committee Chairman Thomas Markham said, “Townspeople that fall into one of these categories are welcomed and encouraged to attend and participate in one of the group sessions. Input and advice from the community on establishing the profile for the next school superintendent is a vital contributor to the Search Committee’s and School Committee’s decision making. All are welcome to participate.”

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The session for Wakefield parents and guardians of Kindergarten through 12th grade students will be conducted on Monday, December 10, 2012 at 7:00pm in the Main Office Conference Room at Wakefield Memorial High School. The focus group session for Alumni and the members of the general public will be conducted on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 7:00pm in the Main Office Conference Room at Wakefield Memorial High School.

All those interested in participating should call or email Karen Fitzpatrick at 781-246-6431 or karen.fitzpatrick@wpsk12.org to register for one of the sessions. Focus groups are designed to serve approximately 50 participants. Therefore, it would be helpful to register in advance; although walk-ins are also welcome.

“The Wakefield School Committee and NESDEC hope that many parents and community members will be able to participate in this important next step in the superintendent search process”, said Dr. Arthur Bettencourt, Executive Director of NESDEC.


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