In a matter of a week, the Oxford School Board narrowed the pool of candidates vying to be the next superintendent from 11 to three to two.
Board members met Feb. 16 to discuss the 11 candidates in a closed session.
Following the closed session, the board named Thomas Palmer, superintendent of Vassar Schools, Ed Okuniewski, deputy superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for L’Anse Creuse Public Schools and Oxford’s own deputy superintendent, Tim Throne as the top three candidates.
The board interviewed Palmer and Throne on Feb. 18, and Okuniewski on Feb. 19.
Following Okuniewski’s interview, they decided the best way to move forward would be to eliminate one of the candidates.
Okuniewski will have his second round interview at 7:30 tonight (Feb. 25) at Clear Lake Elementary. Throne’s will be at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the administration office.
During the first round interviews each candidate was asked a series of questions on a variety of topics.
In all, around 25 questions were asked by the board.
Opening questions
School Board President Jim Reis asked each candidate to give a brief overview of their background and tell the board why they’re interested in the superintendent position for Oxford at this point their career.
Instead of going through giving his resume background, Throne opted to give his leadership point of view instead. Throne believes there are two types of leaders out there ? ‘those that play to last and those who play to win.?
‘I want Oxford to win. I believe I can help Oxford do that, Throne said. ‘If I didn’t think I was the right person at the right time for this community, I’d be the first one to leave.?
Throne’s strategy for winning is what he calls his ‘four B’s? ? be your best, become your best, be kind, and have a ball.
‘Whether it’s for team, a department or an entire organization,? he said. ‘I think the leader needs to strive to be the number one learner and the number one teacher.?
The reason Throne said he’s interested in the position is because Oxford is where his heart is.
‘There is no other way to say it. I’ve had two sons graduate from here. I have two more at the middle school and we attend church here,? he added. ‘To say that I and my family are invested in the Oxford Community would be an understatement.?
Okuniewski on the other hand provided some background. Prior to becoming the deputy superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for L’Anse Creuse, he started his career out in Bloomfield Hills where he spent 14 years teaching math, as well as being a high school varsity coach for basketball and boys and girls golf.
Then he spent three years in administration at the middle school level, before transitioning to associate principal at Bloomfield High School for two years. After which he left to be principal at Lamphere High School for seven years.
Given what they know about Oxford Schools, Reis asked the candidates to tell them what they believe are the most immediate challenges the district will face.
One of the main challenges Throne sees is that Oxford doesn’t have a ‘stated list of values.?
‘Why is that important? Because the core values are the priorities of your organization. They’re not the operational priorities, but they’re definitely the cultural priorities,? he pointed out. ‘That’s going to be very important. Make no mistake about it, at the end of the day you can have the best strategies in the world, but cultural (priorities) will eat strategy (priorities) for breakfast.?
He believes that’s a challenge no matter who the board chooses to be superintendent.
‘The superintendent’s values must align with the district’s values, otherwise you’re going to run into problems,? Throne said.
Another challenge is that Oxford ‘needs to focus on its priorities.?
‘In the past, we’ve had strategic planning goals (and) we’ve had district improvement goals. I think those need to be aligned,? he said. ‘When you have scarce resources, you have to utilize the work that’s already going on. You have to become better at what you’re working on (and) develop a strategic roadmap. (Then put) metrics around that roadmap.?
Based on his research and discussions with several different people, which includes administrators, teachers and Oxford community members, Okuniewski said he knows Oxford has lots of initiatives, such as International Baccalaureate and Project Lead the Way and he’s heard from people that those initiatives need to continue.
‘I am also hearing there that people are overwhelmed also,? he said. ‘Not everybody, but there is some of that and teachers need some time to have some deep understanding, deep professional development and sustain professional development.?
‘Overall, the instructional piece needs some attention and I am a person who can do that,? he added.
So what sets the candidates apart?
For Throne ‘Oxford is where my heart is,? which is something he said the other candidates wouldn’t have from the get-go.
‘An external candidate would not readily understand or comprehend both the sacrifices and the risks that have been taken in the past to create the opportunities that Oxford has today,? he said. ‘I think that I would be coming to the table, not only with the obligation to continue these programs on and survive, but I want to make them thrive. I want to make them better than what they are today.?
Okuniewski says he’s an office administrator who gets in the buildings and knows the teachers.
‘We have 10 elementary schools, four middle schools, four high schools, alternative education building and a GED programming for adult ed,? he said. ‘I don’t know every single person, but I do know a lot of them. We have over 600 teachers in our district. And I can walk into any one of the high schools and know some kids.
For him it’s important to see what the ‘boots on the ground? in the classroom are doing.
Community Relations
‘How specifically would you go about establishing and maintaining positive public relations with our community,? asked Secretary Mark Stepek.
While listening is the first thing, Throne said, but he took it a step further and defined it as relationship.
An example he gave was for the last six months if anyone clicks on the ‘contact us? button on the district’s website, it’s automatically e-mailed to him.
‘Because it keeps me really close with what people are saying, keeps me close with what their concerns are, keeps me close when they say ‘Hey, I really appreciated this.? I think there are strategies you can do to help listen to the community, but it think it’s listening and spending time with people,? he said. ‘The most effective ways is to call people back. It’s one thing to get an e-mail that is quick and fast, but it’s another thing that when someone has a real concern. Sometimes they just want to listen to a voice and talk to somebody.?
On a corporate level it’s spending time with organizations, he said.
‘Not just keep up to date on what they’re doing , but being involved,? he added. ‘Not just listening, but reaching out and helping those organizations be successful in the community.?
Okuniewski also felt it was very important. He explained that people are astounded sometime because they hadn’t even heard of certain programs the district offers. So, for him, it’s a systematic way of communicating through school messenger, e-mails, phone calls and the activities they have at school.
‘Informal communication is also, being at events, being available to talk to people, being open and approachable at football games, concerts, in buildings and in the community,? he said. ‘It can’t be one thing or two things. There have to be several things to be part of this plan to get the good things that are happening that we want to brag about out there.?
Finances and Operations
So what are the advantages and disadvantages to Schools of Choice programs?
Throne said Oxford Schools has benefited financially due to Schools of Choice.
‘But more importantly we’ve been able to provide an educational experience and opportunities to students who would not otherwise ever had the opportunities they’ve had,? he said. ‘On a human level those families are really grateful.?
However, there is a struggle to keep away from the ‘us versus them,? mentality he said.
The other thing Throne said is they don’t want to grow too quickly from Schools of Choice.
‘Oxford needs to manage schools of choice so that we can sustainably grow our district. It will not do us any good to just open the floodgates, have thousands of students come in if we can’t service those kids,? he added. ‘I think there are huge benefits to schools of choice. Advantages are you have to manage them well and stay on top of it, otherwise they have the potential of creating really big problems.?
Okuniewski described it as statewide disaster. He doesn’t like that the state put schools in competition with each other for students.
‘The state has put us in a very difficult position where we have to compete with other districts. We have to try to get our next door neighbor’s kids. We have to try to get kids from other districts and they’re trying to get our kids,? he said.
‘I just think it needs to go away because I think we need to take care of the kids who live right here. I think we need to fund this properly and take care of kids right here and service our kids that are ours and that’s it.?
But because the state has put them in the position to compete, he said, ‘It’s necessary that we take advantage of it.?
The candidates were also asked questions concerning leadership attributes, instruction and curriculum, and staff and personnel, as well as fielded questions from audience members.
