The Board of Education is asking parents of Darien students for advice on picking the next superintendent of schools, and it announced two ways parents can use to bring those ideas to the board.
The first: Speak at a “community forum” being held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 15 at the Board of Education Meeting Room at 35 Leroy Ave.
The second: Respond to a survey that will be emailed to parents on the week of Sept. 15.
“A vital part of our search will be to develop specifications for the qualities and skills we would like to see in our ideal candidate,” said the emailed letter from board Chairperson D. Jill McCammon and search committee Co-Chairs Dennis Maroney and Sara Parent.
The letter, received by Darienite.com Wednesday morning, also gave out the email addresses of Parent and Maroney and encouraged parents to contact them if the parents have any questions about the search.
When former Superintendent Alan Addley resigned from his position at the beginning of July, the school board appointed Eric Byrne to fill in as interim superintendent for 12 months. The Board of Education set up the search committee, which has hired consultants for the search.
Excerpt from the Letter
Most of the letter is in this excerpt (the missing parts: welcoming school parents as their children enter a new school year and praising new Interim Superintendent Byrne as a “a strong leader and is a calm presence in our schools”).
Here’s the excerpt:
We have begun the search for a permanent superintendent, with an anticipated start date of July 2026. To assist us, we have engaged the highly regarded search firm, School Leadership LLC, in this process.
A vital part of our search will be to develop specifications for the qualities and skills we would like to see in our ideal candidate. We are reaching out to you for your help to develop these specifications. As valued partners of the DPS community, your thoughts are important to us.
The board is seeking your input on desired characteristics for our next superintendent in two ways:
1, School Leadership will be holding an in-person Community Forum on Monday, Sept. 15, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Board of Education Meeting Room at 35 Leroy Avenue.
2. An online survey will be emailed out to you the week of Sept. 15.
We hope that you can take the time to share your ideas with us. The board, along with School Leadership, looks forward to learning your perspective. Should you have any questions about the search process, please reach out to Sara Parent (sparent@darienps.org) or Dennis Maroney (dmaroney@darienps.org).
On behalf of the Board of Education, thank you for taking the time to participate in this important endeavor.
Very truly yours,
D. Jill McCammon
Chairperson, Darien Board of Education
Dennis Maroney and Sara Parent
Co-Chairs, Superintendent Search Committee