The Guilderland Central School District Board of Education met with Capital Region BOCES District Superintendent Lauren Gemmill on Tuesday, Dec. 10, to outline their plan for finding the next superintendent of schools.
The district will conduct a comprehensive confidential search throughout December and the spring, to replace Dr. Marie Wiles, who announced her intent to retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
The first step in the search process is to gather community feedback via an online survey and focus groups. A Q&A section about the search can also be found below.
The brief, anonymous survey seeks input about what characteristics and skills are desired of the next superintendent. The survey is for all members of the greater school community, including students, parents, staff and residents. It will remain open until Friday, January 11.
Take the anonymous community feedback survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GCSDsearch
A schedule of focus groups is below in Date – Group, Time, Location format:
- Wednesday, Dec. 11 – High School Support Staff, 2:30 p.m., GHS Principal’s Conference Rm.
- Wednesday, Dec. 11 – High School Faculty, 3:30 p.m., GHS Large Group Instruction Room
- Thursday, Dec. 12 – High School Students, 8 a.m., GHS Principal’s Conference Room
- Thursday, Dec. 12 – GCSD Expanded Leadership, 3:15 p.m., Farnsworth M.S. Library Rms.
- Monday, Dec. 16 – All Elementary Staff, 2:15 p.m., Pine Bush Elementary
- Tuesday, Dec. 17 – All Elementary Faculty, 2:15 p.m., Westmere Elementary
- Tuesday, Dec. 17 – All Support Staff, 6-7 p.m., Virtual RSVP
- Wednesday, Dec. 18 – Middle School Support Staff, 2:30 p.m., Farnsworth M.S.
- Wednesday, Dec. 18 – Middle School Faculty, 3:30 p.m., Farnsworth M.S.
- Thursday, Dec. 19 – District Office Team, 8 a.m., District Office Conference Room
- Thursday, Dec. 19 – District Office Staff, 9 a.m., District Office Conference Room
- Thursday, Dec. 19 – All faculty, 6 p.m., Virtual RSVP
- Friday, Dec. 20 – Transportation Staff, 9 a.m., Transportation Center Break Room
- Friday, Dec. 20 – Maintenance Mechanic Group, 10 a.m., Maintenance Building
- Friday, Dec. 20 – Non-instructional supervisors, 11 a.m., Maintenance Building
- Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2025 – Guilderland Elected Officials, 9-10 a.m., Guilderland Town Hall
- Monday, Jan. 6, 2025 – Community, 6 p.m., GHS Large Group Instruction (LGI) Room, RSVP Here
- Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 – Community, 6 p.m., Virtual RSVP
All members of the community are welcome to participate in a group that fits their demographic. Please note, virtual meetings require an RSVP with a valid email address, as they are held on Zoom. A Zoom meeting link will be shared to the email address at least four hours prior to the meeting.
Feedback from the survey and focus groups will inform the invitation to apply, slated to go live in January.
The board’s goal is to have the next superintendent in place by summer 2025.
Superintendent Search Q&A
Is the Board of Education conducting the superintendent search on its own?
The Guilderland Board of Education is working with Capital Region BOCES district superintendents to conduct the search for the next superintendent of schools.
What is a confidential superintendent search?
A confidential superintendent search means that all applicants for the position of superintendent of schools will apply directly to BOCES. BOCES and the Board of Education will work together to identify, from the entire applicant pool, who meets the criteria and those candidates who will be interviewed. The board will see ALL applications, but they will first be submitted to BOCES.
Why is a confidential search necessary?
This process has greater success in attracting sitting superintendents and other education professionals who prefer their candidacy for the Guilderland position not be made public. Without confidentiality, there is a very limited candidate pool. Conducting a confidential search increases the likelihood that the most qualified candidates will apply for the position.
Are there opportunities for public input?
Yes! With the BOCES district superintendents, the district has a community survey (found here) open from Dec. 11, 2024 – Jan. 10, 2025. On the survey, community members are asked to give input on the following questions:
- What are the strengths of the Guilderland Central School District?
- What needs to be improved?
- What characteristics and personal attributes should the new superintendent have?
- What will the new superintendent need to work on first?
- Do you have any additional thoughts or comments?
A number of focus groups will also be held to collect feedback from members of the GCSD community. All input given by the community will be taken into consideration by members of the Board of Education throughout their interviewing and vetting process.
What’s next?
Interested candidates will be invited to apply beginning in January. The application materials will be due to the BOCES district superintendent by February 28, 2025. After that date, the district superintendents and Board of Education begin the interview process. Selected applicants will complete at least two rounds of interviews with the board.
Once a candidate is chosen, they will be vetted through a process led by the BOCES team before a formal offer is made.The board expects that the new superintendent will be appointed in the spring and begin in Guilderland in July 2025.