Next St. Charles school superintendent needs to work toward rebuilding sense of community, according to parents, staff

The next St. Charles School District 303 superintendent must be someone who instills trust and can work toward rebuilding a sense of community.

That was one of the takeaways of executive search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates after two weeks of meeting with focus groups, collecting community survey responses and analyzing them. The firm talked to more than 100 stakeholders in 42 interviews, focus groups and forums.

In addition, 851 people responded to a community survey, including 463 parents and 268 teachers and certified staff members. Superintendent Jason Pearson has announced he will be leaving the district to become the superintendent of Northbrook School District 28 beginning July 1.

Pearson will replace Northbrook Superintendent Larry Hewitt, who has been in the post for the past 15 years and will retire June 30. Pearson has served as District 303 superintendent since 2017 after joining the administrative team in 2010 as an assistant superintendent and then deputy superintendent in 2016. His contract was renewed in 2019 and runs through June 30.

During a special school board meeting Feb. 28, the firm presented a leadership profile report to board members.

“We use the report to recruit candidates locally, regionally and from across the country,” firm president Glenn “Max” McGee told board members. “We want to recruit them based upon the strengths that we find and on the challenges that they’re going to face.”

McGee is a former school superintendent and a former Illinois State Superintendent of Education.

“We really use this as a match criteria,” McGee said. “We’ll take the top criteria, qualifications, characteristics, attributes, experience and expertise and we match those to our candidates.”

According to the report, the new superintendent also must ensure all students that they are well prepared for college and are “real world ready.” The report stresses the need for the new superintendent to be the public face of the schools and advocate for teachers and students.

The person chosen as the next superintendent will face challenges, including declining test scores and a perception that the district hasn’t been effective in responding to and reversing that trend.

“There were some elementary parents that weighed in on that. There were high school parents that weighed in on it and everything in between,” HYA associate Brian Harris told board members. “So it was districtwide. It wasn’t just at one level.”

Harris, who had worked in the district as an assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent, hosted a focus group with St. Charles High School students.

“I had 10 students from North and 10 students from East,” he said. “And I’m going to tell you, it was an unfiltered, robust conversation.”

Applications for the superintendent position will be accepted through mid-March. The firm will recommend a slate of candidates to the board.

Plans are for the school board to name a new superintendent April 11.