OHIO — School district superintendents have exited their positions across the state and country fairly quickly within the last six months. Akron Public Schools is the latest to be added to the list, along with Dayton Public Schools and Columbus City Schools, who are all now on the hunt for new superintendents.
What You Need To Know
- Three women leading the state’s largest metropolitan districts and departing around the same time is unique according to one search firm
- Communities will need to be sensitive in finding the leader with a skill set that best represents them
- Two interim superintendents, both women of color, have been set in place to lead Akron Public Schools and Columbus City Schools
Mike Collins, President of Ray and Associates, explained that Ohio is in an interesting position.
“When you take three of six metropolitan areas in any state… to have them open at the same time is fairly unique,” he said.
He also said the three positions have been occupied by women and/or women of color, which is a significant statement regarding women in leadership. He explained that looking at most states, he’d be surprised to see that many in the largest urban districts.
There are several reasons superintendents, in general, may leave, including pressures of the job, political challenges, tensions with school boards, or where someone may be in their career. Regardless of why each superintendent is stepping away, Collins said as school boards work to find the next superintendents, there is a trend in that a lot of them have a tendency to hire someone opposite of whom they had previously.
“The community of Akron, the community of Dayton, the community of Columbus, really need to be sensitive to finding the best leader that’s reflective of their student and community makeup,” Collins said.
He said it also should be someone who can take each of the three metropolitan areas to the next step in laying out what the rest of the decade looks like, what educational leadership needs to be while addressing what they as superintendents can do for respective districts.
In the meantime, in Akron and Columbus, two women of color have been set in place as interim superintendents as both Christine Fowler-Mack and Talisa Dixon are moving or have turned in resignations before their official contracts ended. In Dayton, Dr. Elizabeth Lolli will finish out the term of her contract.
