Wednesday, August 27, 2014

State Superintendent Search

Letter sent by UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh to Members of the Utah State Board of Education about the minimum requirements for the State Superintendent.  UEA is concerned about having a political person in the position in stead of an educator.  You can see in this job posting that having a Utah teaching license is not a requirement of the job. 


TO:                Utah State Board of Education Members 

FROM:          Utah Education Association

DATE:          August 25, 2014

SUBJECT:    State Superintendent of Public Instruction – MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Dear Board of Education Members:

I don’t envy the task you have ahead in sorting through the applicants and selecting a leader to fill the Superintendent of Public Instruction position. The person filling this important post not only carries out the strategic direction set by the Board, but is also the “face” of Utah public education to school administrators, teachers, classified staff, parents and students.

In order to effectively implement statewide public education policy, the UEA believes it is imperative the person selected for this position have shared experience with teachers and administrators…someone who understands the complex intricacies of public education policy, knows what it is like in a classroom, and can garner the respect of those they will be directing.

To this end, the teachers of Utah call on the State Board of Education to seek a State Superintendent of Public Instruction who possesses the following minimum qualifications:

·          Relevant public school classroom experience including knowledge of public school curriculum, education policy, research and best practices

·          Relevant public school administrative experience, including knowledge of education finance, school budgets, human resources, employee contracts and education law.

·          Advanced degree in education

·          Proven record of collaboration with multiple stakeholders

·          Ability to be the superintendent to superintendents

As representatives of Utah’s educators, the Utah Education Association looks forward to participation, as a stakeholder, in the Superintendent selection process.

Thank you for your service to Utah public education.

Sincerely,

Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, NBCT, MA
UEA President

2009 Utah Teacher of the Year

No comments:

Post a Comment