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Board expands community engagement for superintendent search with translated surveys, ELAC and optional community panels
Summary
Consultants will run translated surveys, lottery-based parent and staff focus groups, and trustees added an ELAC leadership group and a Spanish-language outreach focus group; an optional confidential community panel (12 people) was proposed at $2,200.
Trustees instructed consultants to prioritize community engagement during the superintendent search, endorsing a mix of focus groups, a districtwide survey and an optional confidential community panel.
HCE told the board it had scheduled multiple focus groups and will use a lottery system for parent and staff groups; organizers will attempt to balance representation across schools and roles. "We really want to make sure that we're inviting voices that might not always be heard," Kathleen Roden Nord said, citing outreach to BIPOC families and parents of students with special education needs.
Board members asked that the survey and outreach be available in Spanish; consultants confirmed plans for English and Spanish survey versions and said they can facilitate Spanish-language focus groups virtually or hybrid with district liaisons. Trustees proposed two additional focus groups: ELAC leadership and a dedicated Spanish-language outreach group. Consultants agreed to add the groups and to assess overlap in respondents.
HCE also described an optional confidential community panel to interview finalists and provide structured, non-ranking feedback; consultants said the panel typically costs $2,200 and includes 12 trained community reviewers who sign confidentiality affidavits. Trustees approved advertising and translation steps to broaden participation before the application posting.
