By: Brock Gustafson, Steering Committee Chair
The search for our permanent principal is underway! I want to start by saying thank you to the more than 200 community members, staff, and students who provided feedback on the survey we sent out in the late summer. The Steering Committee reviewed all survey responses, including more than 250 individually written feedback items. Based on your feedback, our next principal should understand the D'Evelyn program and be committed to continuing D'Evelyn's rigorous academic and behavioral standards. Our next principal should be focused on maintaining high-quality instruction and staff. Our community desires a principal who will model integrity and honor and be an excellent communicator and mentor to both teachers and students. Our goal is to hire a candidate who meets and exceeds these expectations. In October, Principal Hiring Committee (PHC) members were chosen or elected by the various groups which make up our D’Evelyn community: D’Evelyn staff and teachers, Dennison Accountability Committee and administration, D’Evelyn Accountability Committee, D’Evelyn Founders, and Jeffco Schools leadership. Current Steering Committee members round out the PHC to a total of 16 people. The PHC met formally in November to receive training for the upcoming hiring process. Also in November, I had the opportunity to meet with Tracy Dorland, the Jeffco Schools Superintendent, and her executive team. In that meeting, Jeffco Schools committed to providing the resources we requested to empower a successful search, including national advertising across a number of industry publications in addition to job placement websites. With the support of Jeffco Schools leadership, an early start on the hiring process, and the benefit of contacts we built while looking for an interim principal last spring, we are optimistic that we will find the right candidate for our school. The opening for the principal position will be posted online from 12/15/22 until 1/16/23, and Jeffco leadership agreed that this time period would draw the greatest number of highly qualified candidates. The link to the job posting can be found on the Jobs at Jeffco Website. It is also posted on LinkedIn among other national websites. Please help us cast a wide net by sharing the job on LinkedIn or other education-focused groups you may be a part of. I have also included a flyer that Jeffco recruiting created if you want to share that on other social media sites. The PHC will review candidate application materials as they are received, and on 1/18/23 we will meet to discuss all the candidates who fully completed their applications. Qualified candidates will be invited to Interview with the PHC, tentatively during the week of 1/23/23 and, assuming a highly qualified candidate or candidates emerge from those interviews, focus groups composed of community members, students, and staff will meet with the candidate(s) in the days afterward. After reviewing feedback from those focus groups, the PHC may vote to move a candidate forward for final approval by the Steering Committee, or, if no clear choice of a top candidate emerges, the PHC may conduct another round of interviews prior to seeking Steering Committee approval. Upon the consent of Steering, the completion of required district background checks and paperwork, and the final candidate’s acceptance of the offer, the name of the new principal will be announced to the D’Evelyn community. Please remember that this hiring process is a confidential personnel matter and PHC members are prohibited from sharing details about candidates until the focus group phase is reached. The PHC is bound by state and/or federal law as well as Jeffco Schools’ hiring policy which forbids discrimination in the hiring process on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, veteran status, or disability. Please look for upcoming articles in JagTracks and/or email communications from the Steering Committee in January with further updates. If you have additional questions about the process, you can review the hiring process documents (SF-02 policy and regulations) on the Steering Committee website or you may send an email to [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the principal hiring process and your commitment to D’Evelyn. On behalf of the Steering Committee, I wish you all a happy holiday season! |
The Steering Committee is the governing board of the school and establishes policies designed to maintain and enhance its liberal arts philosophy. The Steering Committee appoints Directors to the Board of the D'Evelyn Education Foundation. Archives
March 2023
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