Principal Search
Letter from the Superintendent
English
Dear George Washington Middle School Community,
The time has come to select the next principal for George Washington Middle School. We look forward to working with staff, parents, students and the broader school community to find and retain the best candidate for this important position in our community. In this vein, your involvement in the process is crucial.
Currently, the position has been posted, and I have asked John Porter to assist with the search and hiring process. Some of you may know Mr. Porter as he served as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent in Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) before retiring in 2009. He returned five years ago to ACPS in a part-time capacity and has coordinated approximately 15 searches for the school division since his return, including for numerous elementary school principal positions.
As one of the first steps in the process, Mr. Porter will send you an invitation to provide your thoughts, via an online survey, about George Washington and what you would like to see in the next principal. He will use your thoughts/comments to develop a Principal Leadership Profile which will help guide potential candidates and interview panels during the process. Parents and staff will also be involved on the interview panels with broader staff, parent, student and school community participation as the process narrows the candidate field to meet and greet sessions with the two finalists for the position. The Hammond community will be encouraged to provide thoughts/comments about the finalists. We expect to have a new principal in place by July 1, 2023.
The George Washington webpage will soon provide a special section on the principal search with important documents related to the process—job description, timeline, Principal Leadership Profile, updates. I encourage you to check this webpage regularly for important information. You may also contact john.porter@acps.k12.va.us with questions as this work proceeds.
We look forward to engaging you in this process as we move George Washington forward to its next exciting chapter in support of our amazing students.
Sincerely,
Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt
Interim Superintendent of Schools
Spanish
Estimada Comunidad de George Washington Middle School:
Ha llegado el momento de seleccionar al próximo director de George Washington Middle School. Esperamos trabajar con el personal, los padres, los alumnos y la comunidad escolar en general para encontrar y retener al mejor candidato para este importante puesto en nuestra comunidad. En este sentido, su participación en el proceso es crucial.
Actualmente, el puesto se ha publicado y le he pedido a John Porter que me ayude con el proceso de búsqueda y contratación. Algunos de ustedes puede que conozcan al Sr. Porter, ya que se desempeñó como maestro, director y superintendente asistente en las Escuelas Públicas de la Ciudad de Alexandria (ACPS) antes de jubilarse en 2009. Regresó hace cinco años a ACPS a tiempo parcial y ha coordinado aproximadamente 15 búsquedas para la división escolar desde su regreso, incluso para numerosos puestos de director de escuela primaria.
Como uno de los primeros pasos del proceso, el Sr. Porter le enviará una invitación para que brinde su opinión, a través de una encuesta en línea, sobre George Washington y lo que le gustaría ver en el próximo director. Él usará sus opiniones y comentarios para desarrollar un Perfil de Liderazgo del Director que ayudará a guiar a los posibles candidatos y paneles de entrevistas durante el proceso. Los padres y los empleados también participarán en los paneles de entrevistas con una participación más amplia del personal, los padres, los alumnos y la comunidad escolar, a medida que se reduce el campo de candidatos en el proceso, para tener sesiones de conocerse y saludar con los dos finalistas para el puesto. Se alentará a la comunidad de George Washington a que proporcione ideas y comentarios sobre los finalistas. Esperamos tener un nuevo director para el 1° de julio de 2023.
La página web de George Washington pronto ofrecerá una sección especial sobre la búsqueda de director, con documentos importantes relacionados con el proceso: descripción del trabajo, cronograma, perfil de liderazgo del director y actualizaciones. Le animo a que consulte esta página web regularmente para obtener información importante. También puede comunicarse con john.porter@acps.k12.va.us si tiene preguntas a medida que avanza este trabajo.
Esperamos poder involucrarlo en este proceso mientras movemos a George Washington hacia su próximo capítulo emocionante en apoyo de nuestros increíbles alumnos.
Atentamente,
Dra. Melanie Kay-Wyatt
Superintendente encargada de las Escuelas
Arabic
أفراد مجتمع مدرسة George Washington المتوسطة الاعزاء،
لقد حان الوقت لاختيار المدير القادم لمدرسة George Washington المتوسطة. نحن نتطلع قدماً للعمل مع الكادر، أولياء الأمور، الطلاب والمجتمع المدرسي بشكل عام لإيجاد أفضل مرشح لشغل هذا المنصب المهم في مجتمعنا والاحتفاظ به. في هذا السياق، فإن مشاركتكم في العملية هو أمر بالغ الأهمية.
حالياً، تم الإعلان عن الوظيفة، وقد طلبت من John Porter المساعدة في عملية البحث والتوظيف. قد يعرف البعض منكم Mr. Porter كونه كان قد عمل سابقاً كمعلم، مدير مدرسة، ومساعد مدير مدرسة في مدارس مدينة الإسكندرية العامة (ACPS) قبل تقاعده في عام 2009. عاد قبل خمس سنوات للعمل في مدارس ACPS بدوام جزئي وقام بتنسيق ما يقرب من 15 عملية بحث لصالح المنطقة التعليمية منذ عودته، ليشمل ذلك العديد من مناصب مدراء المدارس الابتدائية.
كواحدة من الخطوات الأولى في العملية، سوف يقوم Mr. Porter بإرسال دعوة لكم لتقديم ملاحظاتكم، من خلال استبيان عبر الإنترنت، بشأن مدرسة George Washington المتوسطة وما ترغبون رؤيته في مدير المدرسة القادم. سوف يقوم بإستخدام آرائكم وملاحظاتكم/تعليقاتكم لوضع ملف السمات القيادية لمدير المدرسة وهو ما سوف يساعد في توجيه المرشحين المحتملين ولجان المقابلات خلال العملية. كما سيشارك أولياء الامور وأفراد الكادر المدرسي في لجان المقابلات من خلال مشاركة أوسع لأفراد الكادر، أولياء الأمور، الطلاب والمجتمع المدرسي مع إستمرار العملية بتقليص عدد المرشحين للوصول الى جلسات التعرف والترحيب بإثنين من المرشحين النهائيين لشغل لهذا المنصب. سوف يتم تشجيع مجتمع George Washington على تقديم الآراء والملاحظات/التعليقات بشأن المرشحين النهائيين. نتوقع أن يكون لدينا مدير مدرسة جديد بحلول 1 يوليو/تموز 2023.
سوف تقوم الصفحة الالكترونية لمدرسة George Washington قريباً بتضمين جزء خاص بعملية البحث عن مدير مدرسة مع وثائق مهمة ذات صلة بالعملية - وصف الوظيفة، الجدول الزمني، ملف السمات القيادية لمدير المدرسة، التحديثات. أنا أشجعكم على الإطلاع على هذه الصفحة الالكترونية بانتظام للحصول على معلومات مهمة. كما يمكنكم ايضاً التواصل على عنوان البريد الالكتروني john.porter@acps.k12.va.us لطرح الأسئلة مع تقدم هذه العملية.
نتطلع الى مشاركتكم في هذه العملية بينما ننقل مدرسة George Washington الى مرحلتها التالية المثيرة في دعم طلابنا الرائعين.
مع أطيب التحيات،
Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt
Amharic
ውድ የጆርጅ ዋሽንግተን (George Washington) መካከለኛ ደረጃ (Middle) ትምህርት ቤት ማህበረሰብ፣
ለጆርጅ ዋሽንግተን (George Washington) መካከለኛ ደረጃ (Middle) ትምህርት ቤት፤ የሚቀጥለውን ርዕሰ-መምህር መምረጫ-ጊዜው ደርሷል። በማህበረሰባችን ውስጥ ለዚህ በጣም አስፈላጊ-ለሆነው የስራ-ድርሻ፤ ምርጥ-የሆነን እጩ-ተመራጭ ለመፈለግና ለማቆየት፤ ከሠራተኞች፣ ወላጆች፣ ተማሪዎች እና ከመላው የትምህርት ቤት ማህበረሰቡ ጋር አብሮ-ለመስራት በጉጉት-እንጠባበቃለን። በዚህ-ጉዞ ውስጥ፣ የእናንተ በሂደቱ ውስጥ መሣተፍ ወሳኝ-ነው።
በአሁኑ-ጊዜ፤ የስራ-ድርሻው ክፍት-እንደሆነ ማስታወቂያው-የተለጠፈ እና፣ ጆን ፖርተር (John Porter)ን በፍለጋው እና በቅጥር-ሂደቱ ላይ እንዲረዱን - ጠይቄአቸዋልሁ። በ2009 ጡረታ-ከመውጣታቸው በፊት - ሚ/ር ፖርተር (Mr. Porter)ን - እንደ አስተማሪ፣ ርዕሰ-መምህር እና ረዳት ጠቅላይ-ስራ አስኪያጅ ሆነው በአሌክሳንድርያ ከተማ የሕዝብ ትምህርት ቤቶች (Alexandria City Public Public Schools (ACPS) ውስጥ ሲያገለግሉ እንደነበረ፣ አንዳንዶቻችሁ ልታውቁ-ትችሉ ይሆናል። ወደ ‘ACPS’ - እንደ የግማሽ-ሰዓት (part-time) አገልግሎት-ሰጪ ሆነው ለመስራት፣ አምስት-ዓመታት በፊት ተመልሰው-የመጡ እና፣ ከተመለሱበት-ጊዜ አንስቶ - ለበርካታ የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት ርዕሰ-መምህርነት የስራ-ቦታዎችን ጨምሮ - ለትምህርት ቤት ክፍሉ/school division፣ በግምት እስከ 15 ፍለጋዎችን በማስተባበር አገልግለዋል።
በሂደቱ-ውስጥ እንደ መጀመሪያ እርምጃ አንዱ-አካል ሆኖ፤ በኦንላይን የዳሰሳ-ጥናት አማካኝነት - ስለ ጆርጅ ዋሽንግተን (George Washington) እና በሚቀጥለው ርዕሰ-መምህር ላይ ምን ማየት-እንደምትፈልጉ፣ ሃሳቦቻችሁን ለመስጠት የምትችሉበትን መጋበዣ (invitation) - ሚ/ር ፖርተር (Mr. Porter) ይልኩላችኋል። የምትሰጡትን ሃሳቦች/አስተያየቶች - በሂደቱ-ወቅት፣ እጩዎች-ሊሆኑ የሚችሉትን ለመለየት እና የቃለ-መጠይቅ ፓኔሎች (panels)ን ለማካሄድ ወደሚወስደው-መንገድ እንዲመራቸው የሚረዳውን - የ‘Principal Leadership Profile’ን ለመቅረጽ ይጠቀሙበታል። የእጩዎች-ምርጫ ሂደቱ፣ የማጣራት-ስራውን-አከናውኖ - በ‘meet and greet’ ክፍለጊዜው-ውስጥ፣ ለዚህ የስራ-ድርሻ ሁለት የመጨረሻ-ተወዳዳሪዎች በሚቀሩበት-ጊዜ ላይ፤ ወላጆች እና ሠራተኞች - ከመላው የሠራተኛ፣ ወላጅ፣ ተማሪ እና የትምህርት ቤት ማህበረሰቡ-ጋር በመሆን፤ በቃለ-መጠይቅ ፓኔሎች (interview panels) ላይ የሚካፈሉም ይሆናል። የሃመንድ ማህበረሰብ፤ ስለ የመጨረሻ-ተወዳዳሪዎቹ ያላቸውን ሃሳቦች/አስተያየቶች እንዲያቀርቡ - ይበረታታሉ። እስከ ጁላይ (July) 1 ቀን 2023 ድረስ፣ አዲሱን ርዕሰ-መምህር በቦታው ለማስቀመጥ-እንጠብቃለን።
በጆርጅ ዋሽንግተን (George Washington) ድህረ-ገጽ በርዕሰ-መምህር ፍለጋው ላይ ልዩ-ክፍልን በማዘጋጀት - ከሂደቱ-ጋር የተገናኙ ጠቃሚ-የሆኑ ሰነዶችን ማግኘት-እንዲቻል—የስራ-ዝርዝር/job description፣ የጊዜ-አቀማመጥ/timeline፣ የርዕሰ-መምህር አመራርነት መገለጫ/Principal Leadership Profileን፣ አዲስና ማሻሻያዎች (updates)ን፤ የሚያቀርብ-ይሆናል። ጠቃሚ-የሆነ መረጃን ለማግኘት፣ ይህንን ድህረ-ገጽ፣ በመደበኛነት እንድትመለከቱ አበረታታችኋለሁ። ይህ ስራ-እየቀጠለ ባለበት ጊዜ ለሚኖሯችሁ ጥያቄዎች፤ በjohn.porter@acps.k12.va.us - ኢሜል በማድረግ፣ ማነጋገርም ትችላላችሁ።
በጆርጅ ዋሽንግተን (George Washington)፣ ግሩም-የሆኑ ተማሪዎቻችንን በማገዝ - ወደ ሚቀጥለው አስደሳች-የሆነው ምዕራፉ እየተጓዘ ባለበት-ጊዜ፤ በዚህ ሂደት ውስጥ እናንተን-ለማሣተፍ በጉጉት እንጠባበቃለን።
ከሰላምታ ጋር፣
ዶ/ር ሜላኒ ኬይ-ዋየት (Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt)
ጊዜያዊ - የትምህርት ቤቶች ጠቅላይ-ሥራ አስኪያጅ
LEADERSHIP PROFILE FOR PRINCIPAL—GEORGE WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
- PURPOSE
- INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
- CONSISTENT THEMES FROM THE ONLINE SURVEY
- SAMPLE COMMENTS FROM THE ONLINE SURVEY
- INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS
- CLOSING
PURPOSE
This LEADERSHIP PROFILE defines the specific attributes for the next principal of George Washington Middle School. The profile reflects input from several stakeholder groups to include staff, students, parents, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members and community residents. Applicants and selection panels will use this profile to assess the candidate qualities of the position.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The Alexandria City Public Schools initiated a search for the position of principal of George Washington Middle School in March 2023, to replace the principal who resigned for a position in another school division.
ACPS gathered information for the leadership profile from a community online survey with staff, students, parents, and community members. The online survey was open to the public. The survey requested participant comments about strengths of the school, challenges facing the school and qualities/attributes desired in a new leader. The online survey was open from March 17-30, 2023. The survey enlisted comments from approximately ninety-four parents, students, community, and staff members.
As there was no requirement for participants to provide personal identifying information, there may have been some duplication of survey responses. There were, as will be evidenced later, several consistent themes in the survey responses. Certain comments from parents, students, staff and community were very much in line with one another.
Note, the data provided are not a scientific sampling, nor should they necessarily be construed as representing the majority opinion of the respective groups providing feedback.
As search consultant, I have reviewed the comments made and provided a summary of consistent themes in a concise manner to support the application, interview, and selection process for the new principal. This report, by its nature, cannot include all the comments made. However, the detail of all feedback is available and will be maintained for an appropriate period.
The strengths, challenges and traits noted will be used to inform panelists about candidates to be interviewed. The successful candidate will be one who, through the interview and selection process, best fits the leadership profile. Ultimately, the selected principal will be a school leader who can provide excellent educational, social, and personal outcomes for students, staff, parents, and the community.
CONSISTENT THEMES FROM THE ONLINE SURVEY
Strengths of George Washington Middle School
· History of the school
· Diversity of school community
· Competent, dedicated, and caring staff
· Extent and quality of educational offerings/programs
· Parent and community support
· Competence, dedication, and caring of staff
· Co-curricular activities offerings
· Location
· Connections to the community
Challenges for George Washington Middle School
· Diversity of needs in both instructional and social/emotional arenas
· Academic expectations, quality, and rigor
· Student behavioral expectations and school safety
· Size of school and overcrowding
· Building maintenance/upkeep
· Staff shortages, turnover, and retention
· Class sizes
Desired Personal Qualities/Attributes of Principal
· Clear and open listener/communicator
· Kind, fair, honest, trustworthy, and personable
· Compassionate and caring
· Enjoys middle school aged children—is “kid-friendly”
· Approachable, patient, positive, and calm
· Empathetic
· Firm and follows through
· Respectful and supportive
· Problem solving outlook/approach
· Exhibits strong leadership
· Organized
· Exhibits integrity
· Strong academic vision and focus
· Positive experience as a teacher and administrator
· Able to build a culture of trust, transparency and respect
· Skillful in student management
· Holds others accountable
· Problem-solver with growth mindset
· Collaborative approach
· Listens to and supports staff, parents, and students
· Safety focused
· Advocates for the school and students
· Holds high expectations
SAMPLE COMMENTS FROM THE ONLINE SURVEY
Many of the comments centered around the principal, staff and students at George Washington. The following comments provide a brief commentary in this area:
“I want the kind of principal who keeps us safe and together.”—Student
“We need someone who understands what it is like to be 11 to 13 now, ...”—Parent
“Someone who is an educator first—administrator second.”—Staff Member
The following statements provide an overview of feedback from the online survey relative to attributes desired in the new principal:
o We need a clear, open and honest communicator.
o Someone who is a learner and leader from the heart—not just theory.
o Willing to observe before taking action.
o Kind, caring, nice, fun, and funny.
o Someone who is willing to make difficult decisions.
o The ability to work with a diverse population.
o Someone who is professionally sound in background, experience, and approach.
o Safety-focused and strong disciplinarian.
INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS
A candidate should use this profile to make a self-assessment and determine how she/he best fits the qualities sought by the school community. These characteristics should be reflected in the content of the application. Should the applicant be selected for an interview, that candidate must demonstrate these qualities in the screening process. Generally, a strong principal should demonstrate leadership and management skills, inspire trust, and build support in the school and across the community. We seek a principal who can do adapt these qualities for the George Washington Middle School community.
CLOSING
As your search consultant, I extend my thanks to all who provided feedback via the online survey. Your time, effort and care are most appreciated. We look forward to the selection of the best candidate as your next principal.
Sincerely,
John Porter
School Principal Search Consultant
Department of Human Resources, ACPS
Search Timeline for Principal—George Washington Middle School
· March 8, 2023—Post Job Description/Announcement. Communicate Process to Stakeholders
· March 17, 2023—Post online survey for staff, parents, students, and community members.
· March 30, 2023—Online survey closes.
· April 10, 2023—Post Leadership Profile to accompany job description.
· March 8-April 18, 2023—Paper application review to select five to seven candidates for first round panel interviews.
· April 26 and 27, 2023—First Round Panel Interviews. The goal is to narrow the field to three to four candidates for second panel interviews.
· May 1, 2023—Second Round Panel Interviews. The goal is to narrow the field to two finalists.
· May 3, 2023—Finalists meet and greet with staff and PTA/Community in two separate virtual meetings. The community virtual forums are posted online for three days for viewing/feedback from the general public.
· May 5-9, 2023—Staff and parents/community provide feedback on finalists from virtual meet and greet sessions.
· May 10-15—Individual interviews of two finalists with Superintendent of Schools.
· May 18, 2023—Board of Education approval (Board date to be announced)