Nate Parker, James Anderson selected as finalists to be next Adrian schools superintendent
ADRIAN — Two candidates remain in the running to be the next superintendent of Adrian Public Schools after the board of education narrowed its list of candidates in a special meeting Thursday.
Nate Parker, principal at Springbrook Middle School in Adrian since 2010, and James Anderson, principal since 2019 at Wayne Memorial High School in the Wayne-Westland Community Schools, are the two finalists. Anderson was one of two interviewees Monday, and Parker was one of two interviewees Tuesday.
Both of the candidates will engage with the public and the board of education once again next week. Second round interviews are to begin Tuesday with Parker and resume Wednesday with Anderson. Interviews are scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. both days, consisting of the finalists presenting in front of the public in the Adrian High School cafeteria and then responding to additional questions from the board.
Board members said it is certain Parker or Anderson will be a solid superintendent.
“We’re going to have an excellent superintendent when this is done,” said trustee Mike Buku during Thursday’s special meeting.
Feedback from the public, which is encouraged to participate and attend the meetings next week, will also be taken into consideration when the board makes its final decision.
“As a board, we want to hear your voices and we want your voices to be heard in return,” said trustee Tamaris Henagan.
Feedback forms, which were made available to the public during the five candidate interviews this week, were helpful in assisting the board as it selected its finalists, said board President Beth Ferguson. Feedback forms will be available during next week’s second round of interviews and during focus group meetings Tuesday and Wednesday when the candidates are to meet with prearranged Adrian constituents from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“These specific groups (of constituents) will meet with and talk to the candidate finalists for about 30 minutes each,” Ferguson said. “Any feedback from the public will be given back to the board, from what they learned about the candidate to how they feel this candidate may or may not lead the district.”
Board members overwhelmingly showed their support for Parker, with all seven members selecting Parker as a finalist. Vice president Jon Baucher, Henagan, Buku and Ferguson voiced their support for Anderson as a finalist, while secretary Michael Ballard and trustees Jay Marks and Rudy Flores selected William Patterson, the assistant superintendent of secondary curriculum at Jackson Public Schools, as their second finalist. Patterson interviewed on Monday.
For some members, selecting a second finalist came down to the slimmest of margins.
“I had a difficult time settling on one candidate for my second finalist,” Marks said. “They were all so close, and it really came down to splitting hairs at some points.”
With direction provided from the Michigan Leadership Institute and John Silveri, MLI’s regional president for southeast Michigan, the board was recommended to narrow its finalists field to two as the “ideal” number of candidates at this stage.
The board voted 7-0 to welcome Parker and Anderson as finalists.
“We are exactly where we want to be in this process,” Baucher said. “We brought in five very solid candidates and we ended the night with two solid candidates.”
After the focus group meetings, presentations and interviews next week, board committee members and certain Adrian schools central office staff will engage in site visits to “see the candidates in action on their turf,” Ferguson said. Site visits are scheduled for Jan. 18 and 19. If all scheduling goes according to plan, the board should make the decision on its next superintendent at its Jan. 24 regular meeting.
Current Adrian schools Superintendent Bob Behnke plans to retire March 31.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian Board of Education selects superintendent finalists
