The Revere Board of Education (BOE) held several focus groups to help gauge the community’s opinions on the district’s ongoing superintendent search.
Following the resignation of district superintendent Dr. Michael Tefs in January of 2024, the Revere BOE began its search for a new executive, a position that will need filled upon the expiration of Tefs’ contract in July.
As a part of the BOE’s search, the district hired Summit Educational Service Center (Summit ESC), a group that, according to their website, “provides effective, efficient, and economical services which districts might have difficulty providing on their own.” Summit ESC will assist Revere’s BOE in spreading the word about the open position, as well as researching community perspectives and conducting the first rounds of candidate interviews.
Summit ESC began their research into the Revere community with a series of focus groups that served to gather community opinions pertaining to a new hire, the group gathering people from across the school district in order to ensure that voices from across the area were heard.
Courtney Stein is a member of Revere’s BOE, and will decide Revere’s next superintendent through her judgment, coupled with that of her fellow board members. Stein explained the importance of a community voice in the process.
“We’re hiring a superintendent for all of Revere. It will need to be someone who is going to be a part of the community, and a part of every student’s educational life. So we want to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of students, teachers and parents collectively. Knowing what the community wants makes sure that we’re meeting all of its needs, and building a better district,” Stein said.
Stein is a relatively new member of Revere’s board, having been elected to the position in March of last year, but her experience throughout the varied levels of the school system make her an invaluable part of the hiring process. Throughout her career Stein has served as a teacher, parent and now administrator, giving her experience in each level of education. She explain how her experience has already aided in the search.
“My role as a board member is to put the whole district first, but of course I think of my daughter, and all the other kids that I know through her when making decisions too. But I also know what it’s like to be a teacher, and so I always put myself in their shoes too. Really just having those experiences helps me make more informed decisions, taking earlier parts of my life and applying them to my current one,” Stein said.
As the superintendent search begins to wind down, the Revere community can expect to hear the results of the BOE’s process in the coming weeks. Stein explained how the final stages of the process will play out.
“We are just beginning our first round of interviews, so we would like to then narrow it down to our finalists, and on April 18th, there will be an opportunity for focus groups to come in and meet our finalists. So we intend to have finalists here at the high school for the community to come in and kind of meet them, and give us another chance to hear feedback,” Stein said.
League of Leaders is a group that combines representatives from every student group at RHS into one cohesive group, a system established to promote communication and school spirit. While League of Leader’s traditionally deals with issues within RHS, this focus group allowed its impact to reach into the future of the district.
Zach Olechnowicz is a senior at RHS who serves as the League of Leaders representative for the Varsity football team. Due to his involvement in League of Leaders, Olechnowicz had the opportunity to participate in the focus group, thereby representing his own voice, but those of his teammates as well. Olechnowicz explained the importance of a student voice in the hiring process.
“Having League of Leaders representatives attend the meeting ensured that every group in the school had the opportunity to share their feelings. Each part of the student body having a representative at the meeting definitely helped to make every voice heard, and gave a lot of different perspectives,” Olechnowicz said.
Another far-reaching voice represented at the focus group was that of Rowan Klein, the class council treasurer for the class of 2025. Through his attendance, Klein not only carried his own feelings, but also those of his entire grade. Klein explained his feelings toward the process, and his appreciation that the student voice was considered.
“The fact that they asked for students to lend their opinion at all was really cool to me. The idea that they were taking the thoughts of the student body into consideration was awesome, and to think that my thoughts could actually impact the future of the district was special,” Klein said.
Using the thoughts of the community as a whole, the BOE plans to select the district’s next superintendent by the end of the month.
