A couple dozen concerned citizens showed up at Terry Parker High School in Arlington Monday night for the first of four community hearings.
The meetings are designed to let people weigh in on what the district needs in its next school superintendent.
Patricia Willis has been serving as interim superintendent since May when Nikolai Vitti left the post to take the reins of the Detroit public school system.
Board member Ashley Smith Juarez said getting public input is a key part of the superintendent selection process.
“The important balance for us as a board will be to find an individual who can learn those things that are working and continue to grow those successes as well as look at our areas of challenge and bring new insight to what we can do differently,” said Smith Juarez
She said participants put the graduation rate, elementary school curriculum and career-tech and early college programs in the district’s plus-column. They cited better integration of exceptional students and more school nurses as needs work.
Board Chair Paula Wright says the board has set it up so that people don’t have to speak at these meetings to be heard.
They’ve created an online survey that’s accessible by texting @SUPSEARCH to 39242 or by scanning a special QR code.
“We want to make certain that the entire city understands we want to include their thoughts and their ideas.”
The next community meeting is Wednesday night at Ed White Military Academy of Leadership on Old Middleburg Road in Southwest Jacksonville.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter @cydwjctnews.
