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KASB reports 103 focus‑group participants, 628 survey responses; board narrows top traits for next Emporia superintendent
Summary
KASB leadership field specialist Marcia Wiesman told the Emporia Board that 103 people attended seven focus groups and 628 people responded to an online survey. The board identified priorities including 'students first,' trust building, experience and ability to inspire others.
Dr. Marcia Wiesman, leadership field specialist with the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), briefed the Emporia Board on the superintendent search process. Wiesman said KASB conducted seven focus groups with 103 participants and an online survey that received 628 responses.
Wiesman summarized aggregated survey priorities: respondents placed high weight on personal integrity and the ability to “do what’s right,” approachability, and transparent decision‑making. Leadership qualities ranked highly included proactive, forward thinking leadership, community orientation and innovation; among experience priorities, prior superintendent experience and experience with diverse socioeconomic and racial demographics ranked near the top in the aggregated survey summary. Wiesman said the largest respondent groups were parents and students and that the data will be disaggregated further in the written report.
Wiesman delivered a short, facilitated exercise asking each board member to name a single “separating” characteristic for a finalist. Board members’ responses included “students first,” “establish trust and strong relationships,” “thick skinned,” prior superintendent experience or equivalent skill set to hit the ground running, and the ability to “inspire others to be great.” Wiesman said those five items could stand as a condensed prioritization to guide screening and interviews.
Wiesman also reported stakeholder concerns surfaced in focus groups: teacher and staff retention and competitive wages, student proficiency in math and English language arts, chronic absenteeism, and leadership turnover that creates loss of institutional knowledge. She said a full survey report, with redactions as needed, will be provided to the board and used to shape screening questions and finalist evaluation.
Ending: The board and KASB agreed to use the compiled focus‑group and survey material to refine candidate screening and interview protocols; KASB will provide a fuller written report and return to lead the next steps of the search process.
