Thursday, April 18, 2013
Superintendent from Lubbock, Texas will step in as leader of Fairfax County Public Schools on July 1.
Karen Garza was officially appointed Thursday as the next superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools. Garza, currently the superintendent of the Lubbock Independent School District in Texas, will start July 1. The school board approved Thursday a four-year contract for Garza, through June 30, 2017. Read: New Fairfax Superintendent: 'I Am A Constant Learner' In remarks after the unanimous vote, Garza said her primary focus will be on teaching and learning, "for that is our core work." "To our stakeholders, our employees, our parents and our business and community partners, I pledge to be responsive and accountable to all Fairfax County schools stakeholders," she said. Garza also said she planned to be "very visible," noting the best …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Fairfax County School Board, community members, share hopes for Karen Garza, likely the system's next superintendent.
Hours after Fairfax County Public Schools announced Karen Garza would likely become its next superintendent, school board leaders and other stakeholders spoke to the number of "unique qualities" they looked forward to seeing at the head of the system — chief among them, her ability to work collaboratively to find solutions. In a county that's home to a "highly demanding community and high expectations and different groups with strong voices who are not shy about expressing their opinions," that's an incredibly coveted trait, school board chair Ilryong Moon told Patch. "It's good to have a superintendent who believes in collaborating with a wide number of groups and does it well," Moon said, noting the former elementary school teacher was …
Karen Garza, currently a superintendent in Texas, will likely become the next leader of Fairfax County Public Schools.
A "strategic planner, a systems thinker, a stellar manager, and a highly effective communicator" is how the Fairfax County School Board described Karen Garza, the Texas superintendent leaders announced as their preferred candidate for superintendent Wednesday. Garza, who for the past four years has led the 30,000-student district of Lubbock, Texas, will assume the role pending final negotiations and a board site visit to the Lubbock Independent School District (ISD). She will become the system's first female superintendent as she takes the place of current Superintendent Jack Dale, who retires June 30. Garza was selected from 47 applicants for the position, and came out ahead of the 18 other candidates who were interviewed largely because…
Friday, April 5, 2013
Fairfax County school board to talk with next round of candidates in coming weeks as Superintendent Jack Dale prepares to retire.
The Fairfax County School Board will continue to narrow its field of superintendent candidates in the next two weeks as it prepares to name a new system leader by May. At its meeting Thursday night, the school board approved a motion to discuss, consider and interview candidates for the division's superintendent "at one or more undisclosed locations" between April 5 and 19. Outgoing Superintendent Jack Dale announced in 2011 his plans to retire June 30 of this year. Last fall, the board selected Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates — the same consulting firm that found Dale in 2004 — to lead the current search process. While the board has focused more on community engagement in this search than in the one it used to hire Dale, it decided to…
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Replacement for Superintendent Jack Dale should be in place by May, Fairfax County school board members said Monday.
Fairfax County School Board members are on track to have a new superintendent chosen by the end of April. After a work session Monday afternoon, School Board Chairman Ilryong Moon (At Large) said the Board was keeping to the schedule outlined in November 2012, hoping to publicly announce the new leader of one of the country's largest school systems in May. “We are having our first round of interviews this week,” Moon said, adding that he and his colleagues were planning to hold interviews Wednesday and narrow the pool down to approximately three finalists by Sunday. Those chosen will interviewed a second time, and the Board will then choose its preferred candidate, Moon said. During the work session, the Board explored the relationship …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Parents can apply to interview semifinalist candidates for Fairfax County's next superintendent.
The Fairfax County School Board is seeking parents, staff and community members for a committee that will help interview candidates for the school system's next superintendent. Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA)—the search firm hired by the board this fall that held a number of input meetings with stakeholders — met with thousands of parents, staff, members of the business community and other stakeholders in late 2012. Those meetings were to gauge what kind of qualities people would look for in a leader to replace Superintendent Jack Dale, who retires in June after nine years at the helm of one of the country's largest school systems. But the board, in an effort to make this search process more open and inclusive than the one that …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
More sessions for public feedback coming next week as part of the schools superintendent search process for Fairfax County Public Schools.
Visionary leadership, instructional excellence and an advocate for all children. Those are a few of the characteristics residents told the Fairfax County Public Schools board they would like to see in a new schools superintendent. FCPS has hired consultants from Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) to help find the replacement for Superintendent Jack Dale, who is retiring later this year. HYA presented its findings to the school board at its Dec. 20 meeting. To see the board's full list of desired characteristics click here. There will be opportunities for the public to give input on this list: Jan. 14, 4 p.m., Centreville HS library Jan. 14, 7 p.m., Hayfield SS (in middle school cafeteria 1535) Jan. 15, 10 a.m., Gatehouse …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Superintendent search firm compiles thousands of community responses to online survey about the system's next leader.
A month into Fairfax County's superintendent search community input process, a picture of what Fairfax County Public Schools next leader could look like is taking shape: someone who focuses on visibility and engagement, has a good business sense and can navigate the system through difficult budget seasons. Thousands of residents, staff and administrators have weighed in on the system's strengths and challenges and what characteristics will be key for the next leader of one of the country's largest school systems, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA)—the search firm hired by the board this fall—told school board members Thursday night. The consultants held 56 sessions with stakeholders to gather input over the past four weeks. Another …
Friday, December 7, 2012
As Fairfax County superintendent search forums continue, parents and staff place value on open, honest communication and a better understanding of budget.
Next summer, the leader of Fairfax County Public Schools could look like this: An educator with a strong economic background and experience in diverse school districts; a visible part of community discussions; someone who demands transparency, and on their own team, also embraces it; someone who could finally one-up the system's counterparts in Montgomery County. That was the picture painted by more than a dozen parents and system employees who met Thursday with Haazard, Young, Attea and Associates, the firm tasked with spearheading the search for a leader to replace Superintendent Jack Dale, who will retire in June. The meeting at the system's headquarters on Gatehouse Road in Falls Church was one of several this week designed to help …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
In meeting with consultants, Fairfax County school board focuses on "two-tiered" engagement strategy to replace Superintendent Jack Dale
The Fairfax County School Board will use a "two-tiered public engagement process" to search for its next superintendent, board members said Monday during their first meeting with search consultants — a move likely to be welcomed by many residents who have said they felt "excluded" and "unheard" during the system's last search for a leader in 2004. Many of those residents carried the issue of how the search for Superintendent Jack Dale was conducted into last fall's school board elections; when asked on the campaign trail, several members now on the board said they would make the upcoming search and selection process more open and inclusive. Though the board's consultants, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates led that search for Dale about …
RGS
4:42 pm on Thursday, April 11, 2013
Lets hope she can deal with those that are falling through the cracks. I am tired of always hearing about the issues of the"top performers" what about those who are "normal" or regular education. These students can't get anyone to even listen to them when they have questions of their schools. Like classes or academic paths that should be followed because eveyone is so focused on "top" performers… more ›