A New Era for SUSD: Ensuring Success through Community-Driven Leadership
by Don Shalvey (This column was originally published at the news website Stocktonia) In June, optimism emerged in Stockton as the Stockton Unified School Board (SUSD) announced the appointment of new superintendent Michelle Rodriguez. The community breathed a collective sigh of relief, not just because the search succeeded in identifying a skilled and experienced leader for SUSD, but also because of how it was accomplished – through an inclusive, transparent, and structured process. Stockton’s recent history with superintendents is not a proud one. Since the resignation of superintendent John Deasy in 2020, the District has hired two separate interim superintendents, and one “permanent” superintendent who served just over one year of the identified contract. With the election of a new majority board this year came hope that the new board members would bring a new approach to the superintendent selection process – and that’s exactly what happened. The SUSD board hired the nationally-respected search firm McPherson & Jacobson, LLC in March. Once hired, the Stockton Unified School District’s board majority embarked on a structured process in its search for a new Superintendent, including forming a Superintendent Search Subcommittee and establishing a diverse stakeholder interview panel to ensure the voices and insights of community members were heard. As Bobby Bivens, President of the NAACP Stockton Branch shared, “This school board deserves great credit for selecting a firm, [...]