Members of the community shared their input Thursday evening on the leadership qualities they want to see in the Saugus Union School District’s next superintendent during a meeting held at Bridgeport Elementary School.
Education Support Services, the search firm selected to find the district’s next superintendent, led the community meeting aimed to document stakeholder feedback to help assist with the leadership profile set to go live for possible candidates to view.
ESS search lead Steven Keller started off the discussion with those present on what were positive qualities the Saugus district had, areas of growth, and nonnegotiable leadership qualities in the next superintendent.
The community meeting had approximately 30 people present.
“The most important thing about this process for us is to create a leadership profile that is about you, not about us. We’re learning a lot about this district, but this is your voice,” Keller said.
Strengths shared included: academics, highly educated teachers, diversity, school pride, resources for student support, and deeply rooted in multigenerational families.
Jodi Osburn a former employee of the district and grandmother of children who will attend the district, went to the community meeting to see things change for the better.
“I worked for the district for 25-plus years, the last few years were not great. I have hope for the future. I’ve got grandkids coming in and I would like to see the SUSD district that I used to be a part of,” she said.
Osburn also expressed disappointment with the small turnout but realized that many who showed up were reassuring her that everyone was in agreement in what they would like to see moving forward.
“I think most of us are on the same page. I’m a little disappointed that board meetings are packed with people with complaints. People have a chance now to help. Where are the people?” she added.
Some factors the community would like to see improve in the district according to the discussion were: student retention, communication with the community, accountability, respecting the voice of teachers and other staff, and safety in the classroom, among others.
For leadership qualities many expressed they’d like to see a superintendent who is approachable, trusting, involved in all programs, collaborative, takes accountability, willing to listen to feedback, has a vision and is goal oriented, and makes researched and informed decisions.
Bridgeport parents Michelle Spiegel, Eric Ybanez and Ashley Drummy were reassured during the discussion that some challenges they’re facing at their school site aren’t isolated, but rather a district-wide challenge.
“It’s good to hear that we’re not siloed in our own feelings. It’s being felt across the district. We heard a lot of different things and there are points that need to be addressed, it’s not just one thing. It seems to be recurring,” Ybanez said.
Spiegel and Drummy were in agreement, and thought the meeting was effective but had some doubt if a superintendent with all the nonnegotiable qualities existed, but chose to remain hopeful.
“This is a community that really cares about their kids. A lot of us moved here for that,” said Drummy.
A final community input meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on Monday via Zoom at 6 p.m. The link can be found on the Saugus district website under the Superintendent Search page.
The public can also take an online survey found on the same page of the district site in either English or Spanish. It is expected to take about five minutes to complete and will be live up until March 6.
