12 apply to be next head of district

The Philadelphia Public School District has received 12 applications for the superintendent position after Dr. Lisa Hull announced earlier this year she would be retiring effective June 30. 

District officials said they hope to have a new superintendent on board by July 1.

The Philadelphia School Board has contracted with the Mississippi School Boards Association (MSBA) to assist in the search. The deadline to apply was Saturday.

“We received the applications on Saturday and the board will meet Tuesday to begin going through them,” Coburn said. “We will meet and develop the timeline. We have a good pool of candidates, One is local but not in the Philadelphia schools.”

Each application has been evaluated according to the criteria set by the Philadelphia Public School District board members. This includes evidence of a recent documented track record of raising the achievement level of all students in a district and also having served as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, or principal in a district or school rated “C” of higher for 3 years, prior to the 2019 – 2020 school year, under the Mississippi A – F Accountability System.

Denotris Jackson, MSBA executive director, and Dr. Tommye Henderson, MSBA Superintendent Search Manager, met with the Philadelphia board to review the applications on Saturday.  

Among the 12 applicants are two assistant superintendents, three directors, one coordinator, one academic coach, and five  principals.

Seven of the applicants have a doctorate degree. Six of the applicants are male, and six of the applicants are female. All of the applicants are from Mississippi.

A determination was made as to whether each applicant met the qualifications to be a superintendent in Mississippi, or met the Mississippi Department of Education Alternative Qualifications for Prospective district superintendents of education.

References were checked, and background checks were completed. Personal contacts were made to gain additional information about each applicant.

Three webinar meetings for stakeholder groups were held on March 28, 2022.  An online survey was made available for two weeks to the district’s stakeholder groups, including teachers, administrators, parents, and community/business members, in order to gather information regarding the characteristics of the new superintendent and priorities for the district.