Dozens of Union Public School District parents attended the Parent Teacher Organization meeting on the evening of March 20 that also served as a listening session for the district’s search for two new principals.
After a short meeting that covered PTO meeting, two sets of cards were passed out for the parents in attendance to write down the characteristics and qualities that they wanted in the next principals.
Current Union Middle School Principal Tyler Hansford was named as the district’s superintendent in February, and Union Elementary School Principal Deanna Rush will transfer to the high school as the new guidance counselor this summer.
Current UHS Guidance Counselor Fawn Keen will take a job at the Grenada School District after this school year.
Hansford, who has been handling duties as the UMS principal as he works alongside interim superintendent Wayne McDill in the transition, said the district took applications up until Friday, and started the interview process on Wednesday, March 21.
Hansford said the Facebook post for the jobs got more than 12,000 views, and that the positions were posted through the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents and the Association of School Administrators.
“The announcement has truly gone statewide, and there was a very wide net cast for people who might be interested in working for our district, and the response has been really good,” he said.
Hansford said that there may be some overlap for candidates for each position and that viable candidates could be interviewed twice. Two search committees that will include of Hansford and two teacher representatives from each school will review the applications and conduct the interviews.
“We’re going to have a diverse approach on the people that are looking at the applications and hearing the candidates in their interviews,” he said. “And we will make a decision as soon as we can make a good decision. I would like to make a decision for the April 9 board meeting, but I’m not going to back myself into a corner if I don’t feel like we have the right person at that point.”
Hansford also shared his seven qualifications for the positions that were most important to him: Innovation and efficiency; a history as passionate educator in the classroom or as an administrator; a history of being a champion for students and teachers; a clear understanding of the state’s accountability model; a commitment to developing kids not only academically but as people; a willingness to invest in the Union community; and being a passionate advocate for public education.
All the new positions will take effect on July 1.
