The Colonial School District recently posted the below to its website an update regarding its search for a new superintendent. Below is the message to the community:
Dear CSD Parents, Students, Staff and Community:
As you are most likely aware, Superintendent Dr. MaryEllen Gorodetzer has announced she will retire at the end of this summer. We are very grateful to Dr. Gorodetzer for her many years of service to the district and to education. Under her leadership, CSD continued its quest for excellence and has become one of the top school districts in the state.
The task of finding Dr. Gorodetzer’s successor is a daunting one. However, the Board is pleased to announce that the search for the next superintendent of schools for Colonial School District is well underway. The Board has contracted with the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) to conduct the superintendent search.
We have now met several times with the CCIU search team, headed by CCIU Executive Director Dr. Joseph J. O’Brien. Additionally, we have met with the heads of all District bargaining units, cabinet members and administrators to obtain background information for the search.
Please know that the superintendent position has been posted on various statewide websites including PENNLINK and PASA and direct outreach was made to school leaders in the region. The deadline for submission of application materials is April 21, 2017.
Integral to the process will be communication with district stakeholders. The Board will provide bi-weekly updates on the search’s progress on the District’s website, email news list and social media.
In addition to providing information, the Board will also seek feedback by conducting a series of stakeholder focus groups over the next several weeks. The dates for the focus groups are being scheduled for mid-April; more details and invitations will follow as the dates, times and locations become confirmed. From the focus groups, the Board will develop a candidate profile and an array of interview questions that center on the needs and challenges facing our district as identified by you, our stakeholders.
Information on focus group dates, times and locations will be published on the website and communicated through our normal channels in the near future.
The Board of School Directors hopes to have the search process completed by late spring in order to have a superintendent who can assume his or her responsibilities at Colonial School District on or as close to July 1, 2017 as possible. We realize that this is a very aggressive timeline, but we are hopeful that we will be able to start the new school year with our next superintendent in place.
We look forward to working with the entire CSD community to bring an outstanding educational leader to serve as the district’s next superintendent of schools. Inquiries regarding the search process should be directed to Dr. Joseph O’Brien at CSDSuptSearch@cciu.org.
We wish Dr. Gorodetzer a happy, healthy and enjoyable retirement! She will be greatly missed by the students, staff, community and school board.
Sincerely,
The Colonial Board of School Directors