Superintendent
Board of Education Appoints Dr. Ronald Taylor New Superintendent of Schools
It is with tremendous pleasure and excitement that the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education announces the appointment of Dr. Ronald Taylor as Superintendent of Schools, effective July 8, 2019.
Dr. Taylor was selected in a robust search process led by Dr. Bill Librera, our search consultant, from West Hudson Associates, which began in August 2018. The search included community meetings and a survey to craft a leadership profile, selection of candidates to be interviewed in a first round with the Board of Education, second round interviews with three finalists. Dr. Taylor emerged as the leading candidate, and subsequent in-depth interviews (including a conversation with the student representative to the Board), background and reference checks, and a site visit by two of the three Board officers confirmed the Board’s conviction that Dr. Taylor is the right educational leader for SOMSD.
Board of Education President Annemarie Maini said: “Dr. Taylor is an exceptional leader with extensive experience, proven results, and outstanding listening and communication skills. Throughout the search process, the Board focused on finding an educational leader who is unwaveringly student-focused and has a track record of results which match our immediate and long-term needs. Dr. Taylor will be an asset to our community as we work to deliver on major initiatives including a $145+MM bond, a complete elementary reconfiguration, and continue to move our district toward deliberate monitoring and oversight using QSAC.”
Dr. Taylor started his career as a kindergarten teacher. He was an assistant principal, as well as an award-winning principal, before moving to a Regional Superintendent role in Newark. He joined Willingboro as Superintendent eight years ago where his research-based, data-driven approach resulted in bringing academic and operational stability to Willingboro.
Dr. Taylor’s eight years of experience as the Superintendent of Willingboro have provided an excellent foundation for him to lead the work to address SOMSD’s current priorities:
- Infrastructure: Successfully led the implementation and completion of a $67 Million facilities bond referendum under budget and ahead of schedule.
- Schools Reconfiguration: Led successful implementation of reconfiguration of elementary schools.
- Preschool Expansion: Facilitated the creation of two District Early Childhood Development Centers using $4+ Million in competitive grant funding.
- QSAC Monitoring: Improved Willingboro’s performance by 55% points in Curriculum and Instruction and improved district operational processes.
- Equity: “ Ron Taylor is serving as a strategist on the NJASA Equity for Students Committee because of his courageous and effective efforts in addressing student equity matters in his School District” according to Dr. Kathleen Taylor (no relation) on behalf of the NJASA Equity for Students Committee. At Willingboro, he successfully implemented student Chromebook “1 to 1” initiative grades 3rd-12th.
More information about his experience in these and other areas is on his attached resume.
We invite the community to join us in welcoming Dr. Taylor to South Orange-Maplewood School District, and look forward to working together to build the infrastructure, systems and educational program which will help all of our students master the skills and knowledge they need to be successful. Dr. Ficarra, the Senior Leaders of Central Office, and the Board of Education are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to our new leadership.
We will be organizing a series of meet and greets between the Superintendent and community members to begin to build relationships and understanding. The first of these will take place on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 7pm in the CHS Library.
Update on the Superintendent Search Process
At the November 2018 meeting of the Board of Education, Elizabeth Baker, President of the Board of Education, provided an update on the Superintendent Search, including an overview of the Search Criteria which have been developed, with community input, in the following areas:
- Leadership
- Management/Operations
- Curriculum & Instruction
- Human Resources
- Community Engagement
The full PowerPoint, including search criteria and timelines, is available here.
The Board anticipates beginning interviews in January. Ms. Baker will continue to keep the community informed of the progress of the Search.
* * * * *
At the October 2018 meeting of the Board of Education, Elizabeth Baker, President of the Board of Education, provided an update on the Superintendent Search. Search Consultant Dr. William Librera met with many different constituents and constituent groups, and hundreds of community members completed the survey, to identify the skills and qualities which are most important for SOMSD’s next Superintendent. Dr. Librera has compiled all this feedback into a report the the Board, which will be used to help create a leadership profile.
* * * * *
In August 2018, the SOMSD Board of Education launched the search for our District’s next Superintendent, and hired Dr. William Librera of West Hudson Associates as the Superintendent Search Consultant to assist in the search process.
The Board chose Dr. Librera based on his expertise as an educational leader, and his two decades of experience as a search consultant, both nationally and within the state of New Jersey. Dr. Librera is a former NJ Commissioner of Education and served as Principal of Columbia High School from 1980-1983, before serving as Superintendent of four different school districts, including Montclair.
Over the next several months, the Board plans to engage in the following search process to hire a Superintendent:
September-October 2018: Development of a Candidate Profile, utilizing inputs from community, parent, and staff. The Board plans to finalize the profile and search criteria by the end of October, and share with the community.
November 2018: Place Advertising for Superintendent position in key publications and outlets.
Winter 2018-2019: Candidate Screening and Interviews, including reviewing resumes, screening and narrowing candidate pool, and conducting interviews of candidates.
Spring 2019: Final Selection of a Superintendent, including reference checks, community engagement and final selection. The Board’s goal is to appoint a new superintendent in Spring 2019.
The Board invites stakeholders to share your input to help the Board define the ideal candidate profile. In order to hear from a wide range of community members, three methods of soliciting input are being utilized:
- An online survey that will remain open through October 11. You can access the survey online by clicking here or via the link on the flyer below.
- Open community meetings, facilitated by Dr. Librera. Please see the flyer below for details.
- Forums for District staff and Columbia High School students to provide input, facilitated by Dr. Librera.
Please consider providing your input, digitally and/or in person. The SOMSD Board of Education looks forward to engaging with the public as it fulfills its most important role – hiring the next Superintendent. The Board will continue to report on the search process as it proceeds.
