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Update: Valerie Silva, Charles Hopson, Deborah Henton are the finalists! The St Paul School board had many positive comments about each candidate, however it was an easy almost unanimous consensus. Public interview times are Valerie Silva - Wed at 5 PM, Charles Hopson - Mon at 5 PM, and Deborah Henton - Thurs at 5 PM.
The legacy of previous Superintendent Maria Carstarphen haunts these superintendent interviews, at least for me. One wants a superintendent who speak eloquently before a board, a legislature or a community gathering. That is well tested by this interview process. However, a St Paul superintendent has to be both a leader and a manager, in large urban school system known for its diversity. Since I took my children through these schools, I can assure you that there is a huge culture change, including management, from school to school. Superintendent Maria Carstarphen actually tried to "standardize" this diversity. I moved here to St Paul because of high quality and diverse public school options. I settled on A+ arts model school, Linwood, where I was a very active parent. In the reign of Carstarphen, Linwood was "merged" with another school, instead of letting the successful popular Linwood school continue intact.
So my questions are : Are these interviews, just a simple great theater performance like Maria Carstarphen's great interviews were, or is there really substance and performance behind these interviews? Do these candidates have the ability to switch modes and adjust to a wide variety of management cultures and needs? Or are these one-hammer-fits-all-needs managers? I don't know that I have the time to find the answers directly. I will find what indirect answers that I can find.
Last three interviews below the fold:
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