The Cleveland Schools are hosting a series of meetings to generate input from the community on what they want for a CEO. For a school system not always anxious for public input, this is a great way to start a search process.
The Cleveland School District (CMSD) CEO Search Advisory Committee, created a process for public input, including open meetings and opportunities for recommendations (see, http://schoolceosearch.net [1] for details). The search process is aiming for a report to the Board in early January, with choices and consideration of a CEO in February and March of 2006.
I attended last night’s meeting at the Boys and Girls Club on Broadway Avenue, in the Broadway/Slavic Village neighborhood. The sessions, led by the search committee officials, started with requests for broad input, asking for values, challenges and the professional and personal characteristics that people want to see in a CEO. The public input was far-ranging, with issues stressing school security, meaningful roles for parents, CEO salaries and CEO credibility/integrity (I just want a creative problem-solver, but that’s just my take on things). For the most part, those attending were calm, responsive and sincere, with minimal speech making. In a positive light, I think the meetings identify one of the enduring strengths of the Cleveland school system – a public that recognizes a tremendous history and value in the Cleveland schools, is hungry for progress and willing to give a new CEO the benefit of the doubt, as long as the CEO demonstrates a commitment to education and the public sees improvement.
In the meeting, every idea, big and small, under the sun was raised (as well as a skepticism of new ideas and fads of the day) and, certainly, no CEO can be all things to all people. Even so, public input is important and a sincere and passionate discussion of one of the region’s greatest challenges has to help but contribute to a more understanding and support further down the road, when the schools need voter approval of bonds, levies or elected officials that create a constitutional school funding system.
Public meetings are scheduled on December 4th (6:30-8:30 pm) for Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church (12826 Lorain Ave.) on the Westside or Lee Harvard Community Center (18240 Harvard Rd.) on the east.
Links:
[1] http://schoolceosearch.net