FOREST HILLS BOARD SELECTS JACKSON AS SUPERINTENDENT
Anderson Township – The Forest Hills Board of Education voted unanimously Monday, May 17, to hire Dr. Dallas Jackson as the district’s new superintendent. Dr. Jackson said he’s looking forward to being part of one of the most highly regarded public school districts in the state. “I’ve had a chance to meet some of the district staff and was quite impressed; I really look forward to working with them. I’m also very excited about the opportunity to build on the wonderful community support the district enjoys and look forward to meeting residents, business and community leaders, and the elected officials. There are many opportunities that exist to build community partnerships to enhance the educational experience for our students and the value of our community.”
Jackson, the superintendent of Miamisburg City School District, replaces Dr. John Patzwald, who is retiring in July after serving Forest Hills’ for 18 years. The district has been rated Excellent with Distinction or Excellent for nine years under his leadership. “We appreciate and value the work of Dr. Patzwald, who created an outstanding learning environment for our students, and his unwavering dedication,” said Board President Tracy Huebner. “His leadership has been instrumental in our students and district’s achievements. We wish Dr. Patzwald all the best in his retirement.”
“Dr. Jackson is truly focused on success for all students and has a proven track record of academic success. He also brings in-depth knowledge and experience of business operations, which will be invaluable in guiding the district through the challenges and opportunities facing our district.” Board President Heubner said, “He is truly the CEO we were looking for; his vision and leadership will advance our district to a new level.” Dr. Jackson will begin his new role August 1, 2010. His salary will be $147,500 annually, and his contract runs through 2015.
Jackson understands the issues facing students, parents, educators, and the community at large. “I believe that through strategic planning, community involvement, and collaboration, we can manage the challenges facing the district and realize the opportunities. We will build on the legacy of success the district has enjoyed, but there is another level. I believe Forest Hills can get there and I’ll work very hard to make sure that every child has the very best educational experience and to get us to that next level.”
Since 2006, Jackson has served the Miamisburg City Schools with 5,700 students and an Excellent rating on the state’s report card. He has worked in three other top performing academic Ohio districts, all rated Excellent with Distinction or Excellent: Sylvania City Schools, Elida Local Schools, and Worthington City Schools. He started his career as a 5th and 6th grade teacher, and served as an elementary and middle school principal and assistant superintendent. Jackson also coached high school football at Worthington for five years.
Jackson earned his bachelor’s degree at The Ohio State University, his master’s at Ashland University, and his doctor of education at Fielding Graduate University. He is married to Tammy with two children, who look forward to relocating to the district.
Hudepohl & Associates was retained by the Forest Hills Board to conduct the search for Patzwald’s successor. At the start of the search, Hudepohl interviewed Board members and 75+ stakeholders representing various internal and external groups, including school administrators and principals; PTA officers and various parent groups; township trustees; business and community leaders; past levy chairs, and former board members, among others. Each person’s unique perspective was heard in an effort to gain critical input to develop the position profile setting forth the selection criteria for the next superintendent and the recruiting strategy.
According to Gary Hudepohl, the search targeted over 300 Ohio and Midwest region top performing school districts. Advertising in Education Week was placed to reach a national audience. The firm conducted an exhaustive search, completing over 620 recruiting calls to targeted superintendents. Huebner said, “The Board is very pleased with Hudepohl’s management and leadership of the search, as there were over 30 applicants to consider.“ The Board held two rounds of interviews and the two finalists met with the school central office administrators and treasurer.
Posted 5/10/10: The Board of Education completed initial interviews for the Superintendent position and has identified two finalists. Both candidates will return to the District and re-interview with the Board the week of May 10th.
The finalists are:
Dr. Dallas Jackson, Superintendent Miamisburg City Schools (5,700 students), Miamisburg, Ohio; appointed in 2006. Dr. Jackson has over 30 years of public education experience; and in addition to Miamisburg City Schools, has worked in three other top performing academic Ohio districts, all rated Excellent with Distinction or Excellent: Sylvania City Schools (7,650 students); Elida Local Schools (2,800 students); and Worthington City Schools (9,600 students). He started his career as a teacher and taught 5th and 6th grades for 16 years; served as an Elementary and Middle School Principal for eight years, an Assistant Superintendent for four years; and since 2006, as a Superintendent. He also coached high school football at Worthington for five years. Dr. Jackson and his wife, Tammy, have two children attending Miamisburg schools.
Mr. Scot Prebles, Superintendent of Granville Exempted Village Schools (2,570 students), Granville, OH; appointed in 2006. Mr. Prebles has over 25 years of public education experience; and prior to being appointed as Superintendent of Granville, worked at four other Ohio districts, Worthington City Schools (9,600 students), Wilmington City Schools (3,250 students), and Kings Local Schools (3,650 students), all rated Excellent with Distinction or Excellent. He started his career at Edgewood City Schools (3,500 students) working primarily as an Industrial Arts Instructor. He has been involved in coaching athletics for 11 years. Mr. Prebles served as a High School Principal in two districts and Director of Secondary Education in Worthington for three years. Mr. Prebles and his wife, Leah, have two children attending Granville schools.
The Board is expected to make its selection of the next Superintendent and then approve a contract at the next Board meeting, May 17th.
Posted 3/22/10: Hudepohl & Associates continues its recruiting calls to identify and actively recruit top superintendents that meet the district’s selection criteria. Superintendents of approximately 270 Ohio districts rated “Excellent With Distinction,” “Excellent,” and districts that have shown significant academic improvement in the past three years have been targeted. In addition, superintendents leading academically high-performing districts in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have also been targeted.
Approximately 400 recruiting contacts have been completed as of March 19th and recruiting activity is expected to continue through mid-to-late April. During the month of April and early May, applicants will be evaluated against the selection criteria set forth in the Position Profile to identify the most qualified applicants. The search is on plan and the Board expects to interview candidates in mid-May.
Posted 2/26/10: Hudepohl & Associates has met with over 75 stakeholders representing various groups in the District and community. Information collected at these meetings was used to develop the Position Profile. For a copy of the position profile, please click here.
The position has been posted on the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) and Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) career web sites. Advertising has been placed with Education Week to reach a national audience and will run in its March 10th publication and will be posted on its career web site.
The firm has started making recruiting calls targeting superintendents in high performing schools districts in Ohio that are rated
Excellent with Distinction or
Excellent. They are also identifying high performing districts in other states. Recruiting calls will continue throughout the remainder of February and into March to recruit the top superintendents that meet the selection criteria outlined in the Position Profile.
Posted 1/18/10: The Forest Hills Board of Education has hired
Hudepohl & Associates of Columbus, Ohio to manage the search for the district’s next superintendent. The search process and strategy are designed to name a new superintendent by the start of the upcoming school year.
Representatives from the firm are interviewing Board members to hear each member’s unique perspective on the position. In addition, they are also scheduling meetings with various stakeholders in support of the Board’s commitment to community engagement. These stakeholder meetings (typically small groups of 4 to 8 people) will include a review of the firm’s search process and the opportunity for each participant to share their insight and perspective on topics such as the key challenges and opportunities in the district, and attributes of a successful superintendent. The meetings are expected to be completed by mid-February.
Information collected from these meetings will be used to develop the position profile, which includes an overview of the district, the superintendent’s key responsibilities and objectives, minimum requirements and preferences, and the key attributes for success. The profile will be approved by the Board and is used to market the position. It will also be available on the district’s web site.
Once the profile has been approved, Hudepohl will begin the active recruiting of candidates, which generally takes a few months. Selected advertising and web postings will also be placed to support the firm’s primary strategy of “active recruiting of passive candidates,” recruiting people who are not actively looking for a job change