Community Overview:
Located in the heart of the Delta, West Memphis features small town charm with the resources of a large metropolitan area. West Memphis is a charming city just minutes away from the cultural amenities of downtown Memphis. Our town offers a myriad of fun activities: hiking, biking, arts, gaming, and more! Recognized for its affordability and economic development opportunities, West Memphis is transected by two major interstates allowing for significant investment in commerce, agriculture and manufacturing.
Moreover, the West Memphis School District (WMSD) is 4 years into an 8-year revitalization plan that includes 10 campuses and investment of $120M into public school facilities. Whether you're looking for an outdoor place to play, concert, theater, or something else entirely, many exciting ventures await you in West Memphis, AR.
Position Overview:
The West Memphis School District (WMSD) seeks a strategic and transactional leader who is prepared to embrace and implement the community informed, 5-year strategic plan. The superintendent will have the opportunity and responsibility to lead and serve approximately 5,000 students and 600 staff while demonstrating ability to improve academic achievement, teacher retention, and strategic partnerships with a focus on student population growth, and effectively managing multiple stakeholder interests.
A successful candidate will effectively communicate the importance of vision, data-driven decision making, communication, purposeful change, maintenance of positive relationships, collaboration, systems management, instructional leadership, politics of leadership, and the importance of interpreting trends to make decisions for the future.
Moreover, the WMSD seeks a leader with demonstrated recent and relevant experience in:
- Strategic leadership on budget and finance
- Academic success and teaching
- Governance and board leadership
- Collaborating with families and community partners
- Attracting, retaining, and building capacity of a strong team
- Building a strong district culture focused on ethics and integrity
- Understanding the Arkansas education system and the LEARNS Act
An ideal candidate will be an academic visionary with exemplary ethics and integrity. The leader must also be transparent, compassionate, and collaborative while posing the ability to make difficult decisions that benefit the academic success of our students.
Qualifications:
- Current Arkansas Department of Education Licensure - District Level Administrator
- Teaching and school administration experience
- Advanced degree with a concentration related to education administration, business, finance, leadership, public administration, or policy
Preferred Qualifications:
- Visionary, strategic leadership with an unwavering commitment to excellence
- Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills
- Budget management competence, including controlling costs.
- Personnel leadership skills, including the ability to motivate and inspire, solve problems, mediate conflicts, manage organizational change, and provide constructive feedback while promoting a respectful work environment.
- District-level administrative experience
- Partnering with community members and local organizations in support of public education
- District experience with operations, including financial services, transportation, food services
- Experience working closely with an elected Board of Education
Applications open on July 22, 2024 at 9am central time and close August 9, 2024 at 11:59pm central time. Board interviews commence late August with the goal of naming the next superintendent on or before October 1, 2024 with a start date of no later than January 1, 2025.
All completed applications will be reviewed and scored using a rubric assessing minimum qualifications, preferred qualifications, written response to scenario, video response to scenario, and professional reference checks. The five candidates who score highest based on average scores from the application rubric will be invited to interview.
Salary: $185,000 -$215,000 (exact offer to be determined by scoring rubric)
Benefits: The superintendent shall have the same fringe benefits as other contracted full year employees, including vacation and personal days, and shall follow all personnel policies concerning these benefits. The Superintendent may transfer in sick leave days from another Arkansas school district as provided by law.
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Applications for employment with the West Memphis School District, or any subdivision thereof, are accepted without regard to sex, race or color, national origin, handicap/disability, age, religion, or political affiliation.
Conviction of a crime does not automatically bar any applicant from employment or other opportunities with the West Memphis School District.
Applications, once filed, may be subject to disclosure as a public record under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
Applications filed do not create a contract of employment with the West Memphis School District. Individuals hired will also be required to provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Qualified applicants with disabilities, as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, may request any needed accommodations to participate in the application process.
West Memphis School District Superintendent Application
Community Overview:
Located in the heart of the Delta, West Memphis features small town charm with the resources of a large metropolitan area. West Memphis is a charming city just minutes away from the cultural amenities of downtown Memphis. Our town offers a myriad of fun activities: hiking, biking, arts, gaming, and more! Recognized for its affordability and economic development opportunities, West Memphis is transected by two major interstates allowing for significant investment in commerce, agriculture and manufacturing.
Moreover, the West Memphis School District (WMSD) is 4 years into an 8-year revitalization plan that includes 10 campuses and investment of $120M into public school facilities. Whether you're looking for an outdoor place to play, concert, theater, or something else entirely, many exciting ventures await you in West Memphis, AR.
Position Overview:
The West Memphis School District (WMSD) seeks a strategic and transactional leader who is prepared to embrace and implement the community informed, 5-year strategic plan. The superintendent will have the opportunity and responsibility to lead and serve approximately 5,000 students and 600 staff while demonstrating ability to improve academic achievement, teacher retention, and strategic partnerships with a focus on student population growth, and effectively managing multiple stakeholder interests.
A successful candidate will effectively communicate the importance of vision, data-driven decision making, communication, purposeful change, maintenance of positive relationships, collaboration, systems management, instructional leadership, politics of leadership, and the importance of interpreting trends to make decisions for the future.
Moreover, the WMSD seeks a leader with demonstrated recent and relevant experience in:
- Strategic leadership on budget and finance
- Academic success and teaching
- Governance and board leadership
- Collaborating with families and community partners
- Attracting, retaining, and building capacity of a strong team
- Building a strong district culture focused on ethics and integrity
- Understanding the Arkansas education system and the LEARNS Act
An ideal candidate will be an academic visionary with exemplary ethics and integrity. The leader must also be transparent, compassionate, and collaborative while posing the ability to make difficult decisions that benefit the academic success of our students.
Qualifications:
- Current Arkansas Department of Education Licensure - District Level Administrator
- Teaching and school administration experience
- Advanced degree with a concentration related to education administration, business, finance, leadership, public administration, or policy
Preferred Qualifications:
- Visionary, strategic leadership with an unwavering commitment to excellence
- Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills
- Budget management competence, including controlling costs.
- Personnel leadership skills, including the ability to motivate and inspire, solve problems, mediate conflicts, manage organizational change, and provide constructive feedback while promoting a respectful work environment.
- District-level administrative experience
- Partnering with community members and local organizations in support of public education
- District experience with operations, including financial services, transportation, food services
- Experience working closely with an elected Board of Education
Applications open on July 22, 2024 at 9am central time and close August 9, 2024 at 11:59pm central time. Board interviews commence late August with the goal of naming the next superintendent on or before October 1, 2024 with a start date of no later than January 1, 2025.
All completed applications will be reviewed and scored using a rubric assessing minimum qualifications, preferred qualifications, written response to scenario, video response to scenario, and professional reference checks. The five candidates who score highest based on average scores from the application rubric will be invited to interview.
Salary: $185,000 -$215,000 (exact offer to be determined by scoring rubric)
Benefits: The superintendent shall have the same fringe benefits as other contracted full year employees, including vacation and personal days, and shall follow all personnel policies concerning these benefits. The Superintendent may transfer in sick leave days from another Arkansas school district as provided by law.
****
Applications for employment with the West Memphis School District, or any subdivision thereof, are accepted without regard to sex, race or color, national origin, handicap/disability, age, religion, or political affiliation.
Conviction of a crime does not automatically bar any applicant from employment or other opportunities with the West Memphis School District.
Applications, once filed, may be subject to disclosure as a public record under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
Applications filed do not create a contract of employment with the West Memphis School District. Individuals hired will also be required to provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Qualified applicants with disabilities, as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, may request any needed accommodations to participate in the application process.