St. Paul district asks community what it wants in a superintendent

As the St. Paul school district looks for a new superintendent, district leaders are hoping its community input process can also rebuild public trust.

The school board fired former leader Valeria Silva in June after a contentious vote. It plans to have a new superintendent in place by summer.

To give the community a voice, the district scheduled four meetings at St. Paul high schools in December and January. Groups can also request their own meetings, whether at a nonprofit, a parent group or other gathering. An online survey is open through Jan. 23, with plans for a second survey after the first one closes.

The input effort is more extensive than what's typical for a school district superintendent search. It also stands out because a group of parents, staff and others designed it.

"The board really is trying to listen to all voices, and some of our quieter voices in St. Paul Public Schools, too, you know, not just the louder voices or not just the voices of those who have a little bit more power or more privilege," said parent Pangjua Xiong, who is part of the planning group.

The district is partnering with Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the state Bureau of Mediation Services to run the input sessions. So far, a couple dozen meetings with specific community groups have been scheduled, and the survey had about 900 responses as of Wednesday.

A meeting at Central High School on Wednesday drew 43 people, in spite of snow that made travel a little treacherous.

"I look for someone who is able to connect with the students on a personal level, and someone who can listen to the whole community and not just be stuck in their own ideas," said Central freshman Afiya Ward, who came to the meeting with her father.

Still, St. Paul's effort faces a common hurdle: contacting families who aren't familiar with how education systems work.

"It takes someone within that community to say, 'Hey I want to request a group. I want to request materials and I want to request a facilitator,'" Xiong said.

Even though meetings are offered in multiple languages, Xiong said she worries the process isn't totally accessible.

Online survey responses have also been almost entirely in English. However, the district's list of outreach meetings includes the East African Community Association, the Karen Organization of Minnesota and a Latino community group. Meeting requests are accepted until March 3.

"We're building a structure that we will continue to use. We're building capacity with our groups and understanding how to communicate with them and how to hear back from them," board chair John Schumacher said.

The partnership with Mitchell Hamline and the Bureau of Mediation Services includes a second phase after the superintendent search. Details aren't set, but the idea is to address big challenges like the district's academic achievement gap.

Afiya Ward's father, Roi, said he's looking forward to continuing the conversation.

"It's great that we're doing this for the superintendent search," Ward said. "I think we need to do this more in the schools, during the school day and get the perspective of our students that are actually getting this education."