The district has released a brief, seven question survey that probes which qualities and characteristics are most important for the head of an elementary school to possess. The survey also asks what parents believe is the district’s most pressing need and how student performance could be improved.
In all, there are 782 students enrolled in the Bronxville Elementary School, which houses students up to grade five. The survey will remain open until Friday, Dec. 6, according to Superintendent David Quattrone.
Once the survey is completed and submitted, Dr. Martin G. Brooks, the director of the Tri-State Consortium, will discuss the results with separate focus groups containing members of the school board, parents, faculty and administrators. The results will be discussed with the public at the Dec. 19 Board of Education meeting.
“The position will be advertised in January, and the screening process will begin in February,” according to Quattrone. “Brooks will also help screen candidates and orient the interviewing committee.”
The vacancy was created at the end of the 2012 academic school year, when former principal Thomas Wilson – who was at the helm for nearly a decade – was promoted to the same position at the middle school. Heidi Menzel is serving as interim principal until an official successor is named.
“I feel comfortable knowing the school, the people, how and where we can do things differently,” she said.
When he announced Menzel’s appointment as interim principal, Quattrone said that the district is seeking another candidate like Wilson, who can become a long-term fixture in the position.
“It is important to go through a process that assures all constituencies that we are looking at many promising applicants and selecting the best possible candidate to move the school forward in the years to come,” he said.
Finalists for the position will be chosen in March, with the interviewing committee conducting their final inquiries during site visits at the school. The Board of Education will name a new elementary school principal by the end of April.
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