{"id":2455494,"date":"2020-03-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=322234"},"modified":"2020-03-09T08:45:54","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T14:45:54","slug":"and-aspen-school-districts-next-superintendent-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/and-aspen-school-districts-next-superintendent-is\/","title":{"rendered":"And Aspen School District\u2019s next superintendent is?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
On Monday at the middle school, the Aspen School District held a round-robin style meet-and-greet with the four finalists for the superintendent vacancy. Pictured is one of the finalists, Tammy Clementi, an educator who currently is the national director of academic planning for textbook and academic book publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.<\/strong>
Rick Carroll\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The future of the Aspen School District poses enough questions to fill an exam paper, and there\u2019s one the Board of Education plans to answer this month.<\/p>\n

Either before or after the district\u2019s students take off for spring break, scheduled March 23 to 30, the five-member board plans to announce its pick for a new superintendent, whose first day on the job is set for July 1.<\/p>\n

Whatever the result, the BOE members, as well as a bevy of district stakeholders who have been involved in the process, have shown a willingness to do their homework. That work has included the BOE\u2019s decision in October to hire Chicago firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) to conduct a national search for the next superintendent.<\/p>\n

Since December, the district and HYA have held focus group meetings both in person and online about what they want in a future superintendent. A leadership profile was created. An advisory group of students, teachers, parents and community members was formed. Candidates were given three questions demanding essay-length answers.<\/p>\n

The application process, which closed Jan. 17, attracted what the district said were 24 \u201cqualified\u201d candidates, before the board winnowed that list to four the last week of February.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so appreciative of the quantity and quality of feedback we received from the Aspen community,\u201d Max McGee, president of HYA, told the board at its meeting Monday. \u201cI think we had about 1,000 different comments from our focus group, our interviews, and our survey.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd all of this data went into our leadership profile report, and what we used that for \u2026 was to recruit and screen candidates.<\/p>\n

McGee noted of the HYA\u2019s approximately 40 superintendent searches for far this year, \u201cthis was our most rigorous application. None of the other applications had three essay questions, yet we still received 60% more applicants than some comparable districts in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado also is home to three of the finalists \u2014 Tammy Clementi, Tharyn Mulberry and Ann Schultz; the fourth one, David Baugh, lives in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Whomever is selected will be the superintendent of a school district compromised of 1,728 students this spring semester. That includes Aspen Community School in Woody Creek, as well as the preschool, elementary, middle and high schools, all of which share the campus off Maroon Creek Road.<\/p>\n

Some of the more pressing issues at the district include the completion and implementation of a set of goals and vision for the future as expressed in the district\u2019s strategic plan. Interim superintendent Tom Heald and staff got moving on that project last summer, following a climate and culture study that showed staff and faculty felt a need for greater clarity in decision-making and communications at the school district. Leadership and trust also were concerns.<\/p>\n

The next superintendent will inherit the execution of that plan, and his or her presence will be needed on the frontline of a bond campaign this summer and fall<\/a>, should the BOE decide to bring the issue to voters in the November elections. The bond measure would be intended for help funding capital improvement projects that could include relocating the school-bus barn; upgrading athletic, performing arts and academic facilities; and acquiring or building new teacher housing for a district that currently has 50 employee units.<\/p>\n

Teacher pay remains a concern, along with aligning the curriculum grades kindergarten through 12.<\/p>\n

Getting to know them<\/p>\n

On Monday and Tuesday, after having cleared a process that included video interviews, reference checks and social media screenings, the four superintendent finalists visited Aspen and its school campus, where they met community members and discussed district issues important to them.<\/p>\n

McGee, in his remarks to the board at Monday\u2019s meeting, noted that \u201cover the course of today and tomorrow, we will see who emerges as the best fit to serve the student, staff, parents and the greater Aspen community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with having to provide written answers to a series of essay questions, the results of which <\/a>are posted on the district\u2019s superintendent-search web page<\/a>, the candidates publicly addressed how they would respond to a set of unenviable scenarios if they were the district\u2019s leader. Those scenarios, called case studies, were given to them in advance of Tuesday\u2019s public interviews at the high school seminar room, where the finalists gave their responses.<\/p>\n

The questions weren\u2019t served up to see if the candidates would answer them correctly. There were no right or wrong answers.<\/p>\n

But the responses did yield insight into the finalist\u2019s knowledge about and philosophy toward academics and learning, as well as their ability to think on their feet, answer follow-up questions posed to them by audience members and publicly engage the crowd.<\/p>\n

One scenario addressed navigating the murky waters of a public relations crisis while at the same time addressing a potentially serious academic problem. In this instance, the finalists were asked how they would respond to a graduate who wrote a letter to the local newspaper decrying the lack of preparation Aspen High School gave her for college, and especially for her English major.<\/p>\n

The second scenario posed Aspen District lacking student enrollment in its accelerated calculus courses, roughly half of what the national average is at high schools with similar demographics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greatest things in life come about from friction,\u201d Baugh said in a response to an audience members\u2019s question about how he would respond to conflict or friction at the district. \u201cThese are our greatest growth opportunities. \u2026 I see friction in a district like this, \u2026 I think you have to listen and you have to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulberry said, \u201cYou cannot change anything about a school, unless you change the culture issues,\u201d adding \u201cif the teachers and staff do not buy into what you are asking them, it will not work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulberry has been Aspen High School\u2019s principal for five years, and observers noted Tuesday that he has brought much-needed stability to the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community loves Tharyn,\u201d said one audience member after Mulberry left his interview Tuesday. \u201cHe\u2019s a great communicator, a great listener, honest, funny and supportive of the teachers. He understands our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, she asked, \u201cDoes he have what it takes to raise the academic rigor at the other schools?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mulberry, who has a masters in educational leadership from the University of Colorado, has not been a superintendent, but his 25 years in public education included principal titles at other schools, more recently from 2009 to 2015 at Centennial High School in the Pueblo district.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that man to death,\u201d Clementi, who worked with Mulberry while they were in Pueblo, told the audience Tuesday. \u201cAnd if he gets the job, you\u2019re in good hands. He\u2019s a good man loaded with integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clementi, however, made her own case for why she is the most qualified candidate and the best fit. Currently a resident of Aurora, Clementi is national director of planning and analytics for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a publisher of textbooks and academic books.<\/p>\n

Clementi, who had a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Denver, has been an educational consultant and held management roles at various school districts. That has included chief academic officer of Aurora Public Schools and Pueblo City Schools, while Clementi\u2019s career started by teaching elementary school for 14 years, from 1987 to 2001, at the Colorado Springs School District.<\/p>\n

Attendees at Tuesday\u2019s interview said they appreciated her energy; Clementi wasn\u2019t shy about cracking a selfless joke or ingratiating herself with the crowd. She also, however, showed a serious side.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to take care of our people in the trenches who are doing the heaviest lifting, and that is our teachers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Schultz, executive director of Cherry Creek Academy in Englewood, attended the BOE meeting earlier that day, and later Monday night would be on the phone with her daughter, a teacher in Nashville, until 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The town had been struck by violent tornadoes, but her daughter was OK, she told the crowd gathered at the assembly room for the Tuesday public interviews. Schultz comes from a family of educators and coaches, and she relayed her daughter\u2019s biggest concern was her students.<\/p>\n

Schultz, who earned a doctorate of philosophy and educational leadership from Marian University in Wisconsin, held school leadership roles in the Badger State for more than 25 years before moving to Colorado in 2018 for the Cherry Creek job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I really like about Aspen is you just don\u2019t learn within these four walls,\u201d she said, in reference to the district\u2019s outdoor education programming. \u201cYou learn outside these walls, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

She emphasized academic excellence as well as cultivating the \u201cwhole child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other candidates revealed their own personal details, drip by drip, at Tuesday\u2019s interviews.<\/p>\n

Baugh, who received an Ed.D. in educational leadership from Seton Hall, has a service dog \u2014 it wasn\u2019t present during his presentation \u2014 and said he would bring it to work if he is hired. He also was named Pennsylvania\u2019s superintendent<\/a> of the year for 2020, and has a daughter who lives in the Vail area, which made the job that much more attractive to him, he said.<\/p>\n

Clementi is a former state champion bodybuilder and has three dogs, and said she loves the outdoors.<\/p>\n

Mulberry had children in the school district and emphasized his demonstrated commitment to the Aspen community make him the ideal superintendent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked hard to find four people, \u2026 so I hope that came through today,\u201d BOE member Jonathan Nickell told the audience as Tuesday\u2019s session drew to a close. \u201cWhatever the final decision is, we\u2019re looking for you guys to be on board and support that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

rcarroll@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday at the middle school, the Aspen School District held a round-robin style meet-and-greet with the four finalists for the superintendent vacancy. Pictured is one of the finalists, Tammy Clementi, an educator who currently is the national director of academic planning for textbook and academic book publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Rick Carroll\/The Aspen Times The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2455494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 11:44:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2455527,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455494\/revisions\/2455527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}