The District 58 Board of Education is pursuing a thorough search to identify the next superintendent of Downers Grove Grade School District 58. Please follow their progress below.
What’s new?
Dr. Kevin Russell, a veteran educator with nearly 20 years experience as a teacher and administrator, will serve as Downers Grove Grade School District 58’s next superintendent of schools, effective July 1, 2019. The District 58 Board of Education unanimously approved Dr. Russell’s five-year District 58 superintendent contract during a special meeting on April 1.
“We are proud to appoint Dr. Kevin Russell as superintendent of District 58. Dr. Russell began his career as a social studies teacher right here at O’Neill Middle School, and we are excited to welcome him back as superintendent,” said Board President Doug Purcell.
What’s completed?
Sunday, March 17 at 12 p.m.: Discussion of appointment (closed session)
Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m.: Second round/final superintendent interviews (closed session)
Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m.: Second round/final superintendent interviews (closed session)
Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m.: First round superintendent interviews (closed session)
Thursday, March 7 at 6 p.m.: First round superintendent interviews (closed session)
Tuesday, March 5: District 58 Board met with BWP consultants in closed session to receive BWP’s 4-6 recommended applicants. The Board reviewed all applications and prepared for the interviews.
Week of Feb. 27: BWP & Associates created a District 58 superintendent candidate profile. They also conducted screening interviews with 10-12 candidates. They intend to recommend 4-6 applicants to the Board.
Late February: BWP reported that 930 community members completed the superintendent search survey. View the survey results. The survey results and focus group discussions are helping BWP & Associates and the Board of Education better understand the qualities the community seeks in its next District 58 superintendent.
Wednesday, Feb. 20: BWP and the Board held several stakeholder focus groups in the afternoon and evening to gain additional community feedback. Meetings with targeted groups (including board members, teachers, central administrators, principals, staff, union leadership superintendent’s community advisory council members, and board candidates) took place between 2-7 p.m. Individual invitations were sent for these focus groups. A general community-wide focus group took place from 7-8 p.m.
Feb. 11-20: BWP offered a stakeholder survey to gain input regarding what the community seeks in a superintendent. District 58 communicated the survey broadly, and 930 stakeholders participated. The District also directly emailed the Spanish version of the survey to all Spanish-speaking families.
Monday, Feb. 4, 2019: The Board and BWP met to plan the superintendent search timeline, meeting schedules and related details. Listen to meeting audio.
Late January 2019: BWP posts vacancy notice and begins nationwide search for District 58’s next superintendent.
Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019: The Board of Education held a special open meeting Wednesday, Jan. 16 to interview four superintendent search firms: BWP & Associates; Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates; Illinois Association of School Boards; and School Exec Connect.
After the interviews, Board members held an open discussion regarding each firm’s approach and which would be the best fit for District 58. They unanimously selected BWP & Associates‘ search proposal, subject to attorney review. The District’s attorney has since reviewed and approved the proposal. Listen to meeting audio.
Monday, Jan. 14, 2019: The Board discussed the proposed superintendent search process and timeline during its regular January business meeting. The Board aims to hire the new superintendent in March, which is a rigorous yet achievable timeline. However, Board members said that their top priority is identifying a highly-qualified candidate who meets the individual needs of the District 58 community. If such a candidate is not identified by March, the Board will continue to search. View the Board’s discussion.
Friday, Jan. 11, 2019: Board members received proposals from four executive search firms:
- BWP & Associates
- Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates
- Illinois Association of School Boards
- School Exec Connect
Friday, Dec. 28, 2018: District 58 sent a request for proposals to four qualified executive search firms that specialize in superintendent searches. The District requested that proposals include an introductory letter, scope of services, qualifications, detailed project description (i.e. hiring process approach) and pricing. Proposals were due Jan. 10.
Friday, Dec. 21, 2018: Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli announced that she accepted a superintendent position for Wilmette District 39 and will resign from District 58 on June 30, 2019.