In June I blogged about the hiring of our new Superintendent. At the time, because of the short time frame we had, we assumed we would hire an “interim superintendent” for a single year and then go out for a broader search for a permanent Superintendent. Well, we got lucky and found someone in Dr. Craig Baker who could have been that permanent Superintendent. I am extremely excited about everything that Dr. Baker has accomplished in the last five months, and it quickly became clear that he is the right person to continue to lead this District. That sentiment is universally shared among administrators, teachers, other employees, parent leaders, and other community members. He has quickly established himself as one of the best superintendents in the entire area.
Last night the Board agreed that it will forgo a new superintendent search and instead work with Dr. Baker to extend his contract. Despite the monumental issues that we face, he has done an incredible job and accomplished so much in such a short period of time. A natural leader, he is a thoughtful, out-of-the-box thinker. He is a great communicator, and he works as hard as anyone I’ve seen. It’s been a pleasure to work with him, and look forward to his making a giant difference in San Carlos for years to come.
So how long is Dr. Baker going to stay before seeking greener pastures? I noticed our last Superintendent (can’t remember) as well as the one before, Dr. Wool both said they were retiring. Turns out Dr. Wool is alive and well as a Superintendent in Walnut Creek, and what’s his name is Superintendent in Redding. So much for the excuse “I’m going to retire to Shasta and do some fly fishing”
Just like many other jobs, I believe it’s fairly typical for a Superintendent to stay in a job around 5 years or so, but to be honest I don’t have any statistics on that. Patty Wool was superintendent for 7 years in this District, and when she left is wasn’t due to retirement. Steve Mitrovich did intend to retire, and his new position near Mt. Shasta is only part-time.
As for Dr. Baker, I suspect his new contract will be for another 3 years or so, but that of course needs to be finalized. It’s my hope — and I suspect his intent — to stay for at least that time period and maybe more. But of course everyone has personal circumstances and wants to grow in their career, so it’s unrealistic not to assume that there will be change at the top eventually. It’s our job to do what we can to hire the best person and give he/she the best tools and support to be successful and stay for as long as possible. So far, with Craig Baker, I’m very optimistic that will be the case.
It is unrealistic to expect superintendents to stay in their jobs for a while. I don’t know the circumstances surroudning Wool but Mitrovich did intend to retire but the Superintendent/Principal of the Pacheco School District near Redding ended up taking on the Superintendent part of the job because the Supt/Prin could only work part time due to medical disability pay. So Mitrovich ended up taking on the3 Supt part. Hardly a big career move for Mitrovich. It is a tiny two school district.
I am so impressed with what Dr. Baker has done so far for our district. I only wish he was here last year as I believe we would have had a very different outcome to the Kindergarten over enrollment issue.