Superintendent finalist Jenna Mitchell stresses equity, attendance and early‑childhood consolidation in ISD 191 interview

Dr. Jenna Mitchell, a finalist for superintendent of Burnsville‑Eagan‑Savage Public Schools (ISD 191), told the ISD 191 school board during a one‑hour interview that she would prioritize cultural proficiency and equity, raising attendance, aligning literacy work with the READ Act and consolidating early‑childhood programs to concentrate resources.

Mitchell, who described herself as an assistant superintendent with responsibility for systems improvement and student achievement in her current district and who has worked in central office and as a classroom teacher, said two guiding beliefs shape her leadership: “we all impact the world in how we impact each other” and that “public education is deeply important in our society.”

Those beliefs inform the practices Mitchell described to the board: routine, scheduled site visits she calls “learning walks,” weekly written messages to staff, monthly superintendent videos for community communication, and use of human‑centered design when creating programs. She told the board the district should embed the strategic plan into site improvement plans so building goals align with district goals and metrics.

On attendance, Mitchell said her current district added a small number of noninstructional days after analyzing absentee spikes tied to religious observances, an approach she said could reduce opt‑outs. “We looked at the various religions that our community celebrated and the different observances … and from there, we decided, with the board, I worked with the board to develop a plan where we would start to have noninstructional days on the days that had the highest number of absences,” she said.

Mitchell stressed literacy and the state READ Act when discussing historically underserved students, calling research‑based reading instruction essential and describing change‑management steps — a clear vision, a purpose and resources — to support teachers through curriculum shifts. She said training and selecting key performance indicators would help principals and building teams focus improvement work.

Describing past collaborative work, Mitchell said she led a human‑centered design process that produced a “safe and supportive schools” plan and resulted in placing licensed therapists in every building and piloting service animals in culturally responsive ways. For student chemical‑health supports, she described a partnership that delivered roughly 300 counseling sessions in a single year.

Mitchell also described a multi‑stage community process that led her current district to create a single early‑childhood center. She said the design work included caregivers, teachers and principals, produced two design options, solicited broader feedback, and ultimately recommended consolidating programming into one accessible building to pool limited early‑childhood resources across 10 elementary schools.

On accountability and central‑office support for principals, Mitchell said she spends time in buildings, attends principals’ staff meetings and participates in a cohort with outside partners to build trust and align central‑office practice with school leaders’ needs. She cited a six‑person cohort (four central‑office staff and two principals) using a University of Minnesota/University of Washington framework as a recent example.

When board members asked about budget and facilities, Mitchell described convening broad groups to identify priorities during past budget reductions and seeking community partnerships to restore programs such as middle‑school sports. Several board members who spoke during the interview cited facilities, declining enrollment and attendance as top near‑term challenges for the district.

Mitchell closed by asking board members what they were proud of; board members named the district’s diversity, pathways and career programs, facility investments from a bond, and increasing student leadership and community engagement.

The interview was moderated by board chair Anna Werb and included multiple board directors who introduced themselves: Abigail Alt, Rachel Nicholson, Scott Hume, Tyler Saksley, Ann Marie Anderson, Leslie Chester and others. The board said it will contact candidates after deliberations.