Looney, Dearden, and Carroll Finalists for WCS Director

Michael Looney, Dennis Dearden, and Dr. Barry Carroll are the three finalists chosen by the Williamson County School Board to be invited back for a second interview. Eliminated from consideration during the special board meeting were Interim Director Dr. David Heath and James Wilson of Georgia. The three finalists will be invited to schedule tours and interviews August 18-20.

The Board members used a matrix evaluation form provided by search firm Ray & Associates to compare the candidates head-to-head (Candidate 1 to Candidate 2, then Candidate 1 to Candidate 3, etc.) without discussion of individual candidates. The matrix was completed by each board member during a recess and the results were tabulated before the meeting reconvened and the results were announced.

Looney, the Superintendent of Butler County School District in Alabama since 2005, scored a total of 44 on the matrix. Dearden, a retired superintendent from the Marana Unified School District in Arizona, scored 28 on the matrix evaluation. Dearden is currently a senior VP with the Partnership for Excellence, he formerly was an assistant superintendent in Fairfax County, Virginia. Dr. Carroll, superintendent of Limestone County Schools in Alabama, scored 23 on the matrix.

Dr. Heath scored 15 on the head-to-head matrix and Wilson scored 10. Of note is that Board President Pat Anderson and Janice Mills both placed Dr. Heath above every one of the other four candidates. Comparatively, seven board members did not score Dr. Heath above a single one of the other four candidates. Looney was second behind Dr. Heath on both Pat Anderson's and Mills' matrix. Eight board members placed Looney ahead of every one of the other four candidates, with the remaining four board members placing only one candidate above Looney (two had Dearden above Looney, and two had Dr. Heath above Looney).

So, Brentwood Watchdog's assessment that all signs pointed to Dr. Heath being elevated to the position proved not to come to fruition. Instead, the School Board members (for the most part, at least) appear to have witnessed the interviews with open minds in search of the best candidate to lead our schools. Kudos to each of them for a job well done on this phase. It's possible that by the end of August the new Director of Williamson County Schools will be hired from among Looney, Dearden, and Dr. Carroll. Stay tuned!

Heath and Dearden face School Board's Questions

The Williamson County School Board interviewed two of the five semi-finalist candidates for the Director of Schools position on Monday night. Current Interim Director Dr. David Heath was up first followed by Dennis Dearden. Each candidate responded to the same set of 25 questions asked by various board members.

Dennis Dearden's 20-year history of teaching experience includes time as a teacher, a middle school principal, a high school principal, an assistant superintendent in Fairfax County, Virginia, and a superintendent in Arizona for three years.

Dearden spoke of listening to board members, teachers, community, support staff, students and "constituents" during the first few months on the job to develop a plan people would buy into.

Asked about vision for the district, Dearden said, "A vision is a saying or a slogan until it gets into the heart of the community. Unless it's in there it's just a slogan."

Dearden continued that the vision must be articulated clearly and carried throughout the system from top to bottom. Asked the vision in Arizona, Dearden said, "World Class Education for Tomorrow's Leaders."

On leadership Dearden said, "A leader is a visionary. A leader can inspire. A leader sees beyond the first step." He went on to add that three critical traits of a superintendent are: great people skills, political savvy, and common sense.

As for establishing partnerships with local businesses and higher education institutions, Dearden said that in Arizona, "I didn't ask (businesses) what they could do for the school district, I asked them what could the school district do for them."

Dearden said that working in Fairfax County, a district of 166,000 students representing 150 nationalities and 100 languages, gave him great sensitivity to promoting and understanding diversity and different cultures.

Regarding the WCS strategic plan, Dearden said, "I think you've got a good strategic plan. What I don't know is do people understand the strategic plan at the school and community level."

Asked about the greatest criticism of him by his critics, Dearden said, "I think that for some people that were in the 'comfort zone' -- we're already a good district -- that (change) was uncomfortable for them . . . I would say that's probably also what they would compliment me on now that it's over."

In a follow-up question Dearden was asked if he viewed himself as a "change agent". "Yes," he answered. "But not change for change sake."

One of the most critical issues five years down the road Dearden said would be funding along with some changes in No Child Left Behind.

Dearden, currently a senior VP with the Partnership for Excellence, was most recently a superintendent with the Marana Unified School District in Arizona -- a post he resigned effective June 30, 2008. Dearden cited only personal reasons and devoting more time to being a dad to his three children in a story from the Arizona Daily Star dated April 2, 2008.

Asked why he was looking to return to a superintendent role, Dearden said, "I'm looking for a special opportunity. I want to be a part of a unique district that says, 'I want to be better than just good.' . . . Williamson County is attractive to me because it presents this potential to be an absolutely great district. . . . This is one of the few districts in the country that can pull this off. I really believe that."

During his interview, Dearden also cited passage of a budget override and tax increase to increase funding in Marana schools -- an override that had failed twice previously -- as examples of his leadership. The additional $6.3 million in funds were used to hire teachers, nurses, and other instructors according to an Arizona Daily Star story from May 17, 2007.

Something Dearden wasn't asked about and didn't discuss during the interview was that he was also recently a finalist for the Washoe County School District Superintendent position in Nevada. Although he was not chosen for that position, he was a candidate as late as June 7, 2009 according to a KTNV report on that search. Perhaps Dearden's candidacy there explains why he wasn't available among the first batch of candidates presented by Ray & Associates earlier this year.

Dr. Heath, when asked his views on leadership and his own leadership skills said, "I think I have a lot of traits that a leader possesses. Probably the biggest trait is my ability to look at a problem analytically and have others see it rather simply . . . Not all problems we face are complicated."

In terms of visibility within the schools, Dr. Heath said he would ideally visit each cluster (a high school and its feeder schools) every other month for a day for a total of 4-5 visits to each cluster every year.

In response to a follow-up question about setting goals and whether it's better to set higher goals and let the public see you miss or to set lower goals and let people see you reach them, Dr. Heath said, "I think we can't afford to set the lower goals anymore."

In regards to narrowing identified achievement gaps, Dr. Heath stated, "If we teach standards and test standards then students will achieve and those gaps will be found and remediated along the way."

Asked to define what criticism his greatest critic might have of him, Dr. Heath said, "That I say, 'No', too much."

As for the most critical issues facing the Williamson County School System in the next five years, Dr. Heath said that getting every child to pass Algebra II would fit that category. Rapid changes in information and scientific discoveries also offer critical challenges in terms of how to teach that information.

Towards the end of his interview, Dr. Heath turned his attention to the district's goals and the future.

"Until we can prove to people that there is a benefit to focusing on goals as a district then we can't get to the greater goal of being the best system in the country," he said. "We are never going to be the best system anywhere but Tennessee if we don't change and develop focus on goals."

Heath One of Five Set for Director Interviews

Dr. David Heath, the interim director of Williamson County Schools, is one of five candidates the Williamson County School Board intends to interview August 3-5 in the ongoing search for a replacement director following the Board's decision to remove Dr. Rebecca Sharber late last year.

Search firm Ray & Associates presented the five candidates to the Board Monday night during a special meeting. This comes after Ray & Associates embarked on a nationwide search for candidates that culminated with three individuals being interviewed for the position and subsequently rejected by the Board on the grounds of lack of experience and/or vision.

Along with Heath, the other five candidates -- who all happen to be male -- are: Barry Carroll of Athens, Alabama; Dennis Dearden of Oro Valley, Arizona; Mike Looney of Greenville, Alabama; and James Wilson of Atlanta. Wilson actually oversaw the construction of Centennial High School in the late 1990s while working for Williamson County Schools.

Anything other than the hiring of Dr. Heath will be an absolutely stunning move given how this process has unfolded. Perhaps the Board will surprise everyone by choosing someone other than Heath (Wilson, perhaps?) but there is simply nothing to suggest that this is headed any other direction.

Is it truly possible that there are no qualified females for this job? Doesn't that seem odd? Is it truly possible that only a handful of people are interested in leading the public schools in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States? Doesn't that seem strange? Is it truly possible that Dr. Heath is going to be handed this job when all is said and done? Maybe we'll all know by the middle of August. Is it truly possible that those who voted for this move will be re-elected come election time? Wait and see.

Heath One Step Closer to Removing "Interim" from His Title

Reporter Maria Giordano gets credit for her update in today's Tennessean regarding Interim Director of Williamson County Schools David Heath officially applying for the post formerly occupied by Dr. Rebecca Sharber prior to her ouster in January at the hand of the School Board. If you missed our post from late May regarding the issue, you can still find it here.

Consulting firm Ray & Associates will present their chosen semi-finalists from among this second round of applicants during a July 20th meeting. You know, JULY, when if parents and students are thinking about anything, they're thinking about school. Right? Could it be coincidental that Heath's application becomes official at the start of a LONG holiday weekend? Is it coincidental that the school board could make their decision while many families are away on vacation? Is it coincidental that Heath himself just promoted an "assistant principal" at Brentwood Middle School to replace the previous principal he reassigned earlier this year? You know, making it clear that promoting from within is the logical solution to the current situation.

We've said it before and we'll say it again, if the School Board wanted to replace Sharber with Heath there were more cost effective ways to create a smooth transition that would NOT have cost taxpayer dollars. IF Heath gets the job this summer remember to compare the names of who votes in his favor with the list of those who voted to fire Sharber. Here's that list again, just to jog your memory:

THOSE IN FAVOR OF FIRING SHARBER:

Pat Anderson (8th District)

Susan Graham (7th District)

Mark Gregory (11th District)

Terry Leve (6th District)

Tim McLaughlin (4th District)

Janice Mills (2nd District)

Barry Watkins (9th District)

THOSE OPPOSED TO FIRING SHARBER:

Gary Anderson (5th District)

James Bond (12th District)

D'Wayne Greer (1st District)

Janine Moore (3rd District)

Bill Peach (10th District)