As Charles Grandson’s role as Interim Superintendent comes to an end, the Malden community looks for a permanent superintendent, including the possibility of Grandson returning as superintendent. The community as a whole, now, is encouraged to put their input for superintendent in. A committee was put in place to search for a new superintendent, consisting of 13 members, including representatives from the five K-8 schools, and Malden High School.
Representing Malden High in the search committee is French teacher Paul Degenkolb, who was asked by Mayor Gary Christenson to be a part of it. Degenkolb describes what the committee does when searching for a new superintendent: “The city posts a job description: a little bit about the district, what the population is like, what makes Malden a special place, et cetera.” The description was posted on websites for school administrators.
What the search committee is responsible for is creating interview questions for the superintendent candidates once the application process ends. Since the application deadline hasn’t closed yet, Degenkolb says that the process of the committee so far has been behind the scenes, however he believes that it will be a “tiring but rewarding process.”
On the City of Malden’s website there is a survey in which all Malden residents, from students in the Malden Public Schools to Adult residents. The survey was posted on Jan. 17, and is available in eight different languages for the diverse population of Malden. The survey consists of questions asking how important certain priorities are, and how important certain skills and abilities are for a potential superintendent to have. Concluding the survey are open-ended questions asking about the preservation of aspects of Malden Public Schools, and the improvement of them.
