Roederer, former Ft. Madison superintendent interview for superintendent's position

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

The Mt. Pleasant Community School District Board of Directors settled in this week for a marathon of candidate interviews with the hopes of having an interim superintendent in place next week.

The board met Monday and Tuesday evenings in Central Office to interview three candidates for the superintendent position, which became vacant following Dr. Mike Wells? departure to Hamburg Community School District.

The board had originally received a list of 11 names of possible candidates from Dr. Jon Sheldahl, chief administrator of Great Prairie Area Agency and the temporary superintendent for the district. During a special meeting at the end of June, the board whittled the list down to five candidates, with three accepting interviews.

Monday night?s interview was done in closed session per request of the candidate, which has not been named. Tuesday night, the board interviewed Dr. Craig Scott and Dr. John Roederer.

Scott has worked at a variety of different sized schools. As superintendent he has worked at Underwood, Red Oak, Ballard, Colefax, Harlan and Ft. Madison. Scott has also just finished his third interim superintendence.

Scott said his leadership style is collaborative and visible. As an example, within the hiring process, he?s always used a committee system.

?Collaboration means that if I think we ought to hire candidate A and the committee feels we ought to hire candidate B, we?ll hire candidate B because I think the wisdom of the group is more significant even though I am willing to be held accountable of that person?s success or failure,? he said.

Scott said as a superintendent, he is in the buildings and classrooms every day and when it comes to conflict, he likes to deal with it early.

?I like to sit down and have a conversation because if you don?t deal with it right off the bat, it will fester and get worse,? he said, adding that not everyone may like the decision, but there is usually respect that a decision has been made.

Roederer is a former superintendent of Mt. Pleasant, serving in that position for 20 years until his retirement in 2013. Earlier in his career, he was also a principal at Mt. Pleasant.

Roederer said during his time at the helm of the school district, his greatest accomplishment was the strength and support the community of Mt. Pleasant provided the kids.

?That?s not something that just happens; it?s nothing I could have done on my own, it comes from the people,? he said.

Since his departure from the school district, he has been operating a superintendent candidate search firm with a partner.

?I?ve been studying the last two years what school districts are looking for, whether it be an interim or full-time superintendent,? said Roederer.

Roederer said one of the things an interim superintendent has to do is communicate with the community and staff.

?If the relationships are there, he or she needs to continue to build them,? he said.

Roederer said an interim also has the responsibility to make sure the district keeps moving forward and programs continue to be implemented.

?I think I can do that by working with the staff and the community,? he said.

Roederer added that continuous improvement has always been at the forefront of the community and that will not stop, but the main adjective of an interim is to create conditions to make the next superintendent successful.

He added that as part of his search firm, he recommends to boards that an interim doesn?t initiate or recommend any new program because they?re only going to be there for a year and he doesn?t want a project to be started and then dumped by the next superintendent.

However, when it comes to programs, like the 1:1 initiative at the middle school, both Scott and Roederer think it?s a great idea, but must be implemented carefully.

Scott said at one of his previous districts, he held off implementing the program for several months to make sure policy and controls were in place.

Roederer added that he feels teachers need to have solid training in the technology before handing it out to students.

As for why they?re applying, Scott said he is passionate about the students and that is why he continues to work as a superintendent.

?I don?t just want to be somebody that keeps the boat afloat. I want this to be the best year in education you?ve ever had,? said Scott.

Scott said usually as an interim there are not a lot of changes to be made because you?re only there for a year. However, there is one significant change that could happen during his limited tenure and that?s pulling everyone together.

?You don?t want the community and everyone at odds with each other, you want this all to come together and I think you can build that relationship in a hurry,? he said.

Whether or not Scott is selected as the interim superintendent, he did have some advice for when the board begins their search for the permanent replacement.

Scott encouraged the board to be unified in their decision.

?You have to really support the person, if you?re split, you?re not going anywhere,? he said.

Roederer said he has a pretty good handle on what?s happening in the district and where people are coming from.

?That?s why I?m sitting at this table now,? he said. ?I know we can move forward and I know I?ve got, in a lot of ways, the trust of the community.?

Roderer hopes as interim he can take the hurt that has occurred with the community and move the district forward.

After a round of votes, the board chose not to select a candidate Tuesday night. Instead, the board will interview a fourth candidate Monday, July 13, which had inadvertently been left off the list.

Also during the meeting, newly elected director Chuck Andrew was sworn in. Andrew and four other board members will be up for reelection in September.