Who’s going to replace Bill Hite? Philly superintendent candidates are expected to be announced Friday.
Members of the public will be able to meet superintendent candidates in sessions next week, the school board announced Thursday. Finalists' names have not yet been made public.
With the clock ticking on the end of Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.’s tenure in Philadelphia, officials are set to announce this week three finalists for who will replace him.
Members of the public will be able to meet superintendent candidates in sessions next week, the school board announced Thursday.
What’s not yet clear is who those candidates are. Sources with firsthand knowledge of the search process told The Inquirer that none has local ties.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, each candidate will participate over the course of a day in roundtables with parents, students, teachers, and principals, culminating in a town hall. The roundtables will be livestreamed; the town hall will take place in person, and those interested in attending must register.
The three finalists were whittled down from a list of more than 400 candidates, the school board has said. Of that group of 400, 21% had Philadelphia School District experience; 64% were working in school administration or working in districts with similar demographics to Philadelphia’s.
Most of the larger candidate pool were candidates of color — 64% identified as Black, 14% as Hispanic, and 7% identify as white. About 14% chose not to identify. About 70% were men.
Members of the public have said they want candidates who are experienced educators, veteran leaders who have experience working with diverse communities.
A new superintendent is expected to be named this spring; Hite has said he will stay through the end of the school year, before taking jobs as CEO of KnowledgeWorks, an education nonprofit, and teaching and mentoring aspiring superintendents at Yale University’s business school.