Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Superintendent Search topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Beaverton board consultants outline superintendent search outreach: 27 focus groups, surveys in 10 languages
Summary
Consultants told the Beaverton School Board work session that 27 focus groups and a multilingual survey (translated into 10 languages) are underway for the superintendent search; the survey closes Nov. 17 and consultants recommended a broad advertising plan including an e‑blast reaching about 40,000 recipients.
Christy Perry, one of the consultants leading Beaverton’s superintendent search, told the board at its Nov. 4 work session that the engagement phase is underway and that consultants have already begun focus groups and a district-wide survey. "We have had, a fabulous time the last couple days because we Kathleen and I have started your focus groups," Perry said, noting the team’s enthusiasm for community engagement.
Perry and a colleague, Kathleen, said the search team scheduled 27 focus groups that run through Nov. 19, including a student group that meets on Nov. 19. The consultants said the survey launched the day before the meeting, is translated into "10 other languages other than English," and will be actively monitored; if completions lag in particular languages the district’s multilingual department will make follow-up phone calls through interpreters.
The consultants described the timetable for closing and analysis: "We're going to close it at 05:00 on November 17," Perry said, and then the consultants will analyze focus‑group and survey data to draft superintendent criteria and a strengths-and-challenges presentation for the board on Dec. 3 (with a possible Dec. 9 alternative if requested by the subcommittee).
On outreach, the team recommended a multi-channel advertising plan intended to reach a diverse leadership audience. Perry said the firm's largest channel is an e‑blast with about 40,000 recipients and listed additional target outlets (some at no cost, some paid) the subcommittee had recommended. "The subcommittee's goal was broadest reach," Perry said; board members asked about adding ethnic- or region-specific job boards and the consultants said they had looked for formalized groups with job boards but some communities are less formally organized.
Board members praised district staff for translation and logistics work and asked about what deliverables to expect. The consultants said the Dec. 3 presentation will include the number and composition of focus groups, participation counts, demographic breakdowns from the survey, themes from focus-group discussions and proposed superintendent criteria. They also noted that raw survey data could be shared only if the board requested an additional redaction and review process that would require extra contract work.
Next steps: the consultants will continue outreach, monitor survey response by language, complete the focus groups through Nov. 19, and present analysis and draft criteria to the board in early December. The survey close date is Nov. 17 at 5:00 p.m.; the board will consider advertising and next steps in its regular business meeting later that evening.
