Canadian superintendent candidate faces roundtable

Hailing from Alberta, Canada, superintendent candidate Heather Henderson-Hill made another appearance in Douglas County Tuesday afternoon in the school board's second attempt to fill the top spot in the district.

This time, the deputy superintendent of Chinook's Edge School Division faced a three-hour roundtable interview with 20 school board members, principals, teachers and other staff.

Henderson-Hill is one of two candidates invited back for further investigation after school board members failed to build consensus around the initial finalists: Mary Bull and Dave Jensen.

Lisa Noonan, chief academic officer of Washoe County Schools, is scheduled to be interviewed 2 p.m. today at Douglas High School. An informal meet-and-greet is 1 p.m.

On Tuesday, Douglas assistant superintendent Lyn Gorrindo asked Henderson-Hill what she considers her "non-negotiables" concerning curriculum, instruction and assessment.

"It's absolutely essential we follow the curriculum, and that teachers are well-versed in the curriculum," Henderson-Hill said.

She said instruction must be differentiated to meet kids where they're at and to help them move forward in the 21st century. But curriculum can only be integrated with the right professional development and training of staff, she said.

"The requirement that people learn, develop and create instructional strategies that work best for students in the classroom," she said.

Michele Baugh, a secretary at the district office, asked Henderson-Hill how she would handle pressure from special interest groups to change current policy or practice.

"It's important policy not be broken," Henderson-Hill said, "but if there is a flaw in a policy, we need to go back to the starting point, to look at it and seek information."

Directly involved in human resources, Henderson-Hill said she understands that if she adjusts policy for one person, the decision will come back to haunt her. She said she is capable of making firm decisions, while at the same time leaving the door open for appeal to the board.

Zephyr Cove Elementary School teacher Brenda Chapman inquired if Henderson-Hill supports using student achievement scores in teacher evaluations.

"The bottom line is that it plays a piece," Henderson-Hill said. "It's part of it, but certainly not the entire part."

She said there are two aspects to working with teachers: supervision and evaluation.

"The bigger piece for me is that supervision piece," she said. "Ensuring we provide support, we don't want to set people up for failure."

Baugh also asked Henderson-Hill about her experience with "significant" budget cuts.

"The most important thing in my mind is what the value of something is to the student in the classroom," Henderson-Hill said. "If it doesn't have value, then we need to have a conversation why it's a budget expenditure."

Henderson-Hill said her district is currently downsizing by about 16 teaches. This revelation prompted Douglas High teacher Cade Baligad to ask what specific areas they were cutting.

"Specifically, we didn't cut programs," Henderson-Hill said.

Rather, she said, reductions were based on class-size guidelines and the reconfiguration of certain schools.

Whittell High Principal Sue Shannon then asked Henderson-Hill if she had experience with "a variety of budgets."

In response, Henderson-Hill said she works with her district's main budget, comparable to Douglas County's general fund. However, in the case of Canada, funding comes from the provincial government.

"A number of people have also been great in terms of grants and getting extra dollars," she said. "I have to manage all different pieces, and I have experience with them."

School board members are scheduled to discuss and take action on final selection of the superintendent 5:45 p.m. Monday at Douglas High School. In the event one of the candidates currently under consideration is not selected, trustees may explore other options, including continuing the applicant search or hiring another interim superintendent.