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…
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, December 4, 2012
The next superintendent of the Fairfax County Public School system probably won't be shy.
"Courageous," "knowledgable," "engaging." The conversation about filling the shoes of retiring Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Jack D. Dale formally began Monday night at the South County High School cafeteria. "I think we need a superintendent who has worked in a diverse community and who is sensitive to all ethnic groups," said Shirley Ginwright, newly elected president of the Fairfax County NAACP, at the meeting, which had five people in attendance. More meetings will be held across Fairfax County this week to determine the qualities necessary for a new FCPS superintendent to lead the largest school system in Virginia. Some came with specific issues in mind: "The research is there that shows that start times we have for …
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 …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
A proposed contract for Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates — the same firm that hired FCPS Superintendent Jack Dale in 2004 — comes before the board Thursday.
The Fairfax County School Board is expected to select Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates as the consultants who will help lead the system in the search for its next superintendent. In a vote scheduled for Thursday, the full board will consider a contract for $35,000 for the same firm that found both Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua Starr in 2011 and current Fairfax County Superintendent Jack Dale in 2004. Dale announced last fall his plans to retire in June 2013. The contract also includes additional reimbursement of approved expenses, according to school board documents released Monday. The system received five proposals from search firms after sending a request for proposal for consultant services this summer, according to school…
Friday, July 27, 2012
Nine-member group will review bids from search firms next month
The Fairfax County School Board named nine members to a committee tasked with reviewing bids from superintendent search firms on Thursday night, putting the board on track to hire a consultant to lead the selection process by October. The board unanimously appointed members Sandy Evans (Mason), Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill), Megan McLaughlin (Braddock), Ilryong Moon (At-large), Elizabeth Schultz (Springfield), Kathy Smith (Sully), Dan Storck (Mt. Vernon), Janie Strauss (Dranesville, and Ted Velkoff (At-large) to the Division Superintendent Search RFP Selection Advisory Committee (SAC). Pat Hynes, the board's recently elected vice chairman, was appointed as chairman of the committee. Schultz was absent from Thursday night's vote. Superintendent …
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 ›