GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) -- The Grand Rapids Board of Education has created a desired candidate profile for the next superintendent of GRPS, using feedback provided by more than 1,700 scholars, families, staff, and community members over the past two months.
Throughout August and September, GRPS hosted 20 focus groups, four in-person town halls, one virtual town hall, and an online survey to gather feedback from our community on the qualities that are most important in our next superintendent.
The Board of Education met on September 21 to review the feedback and select a candidate profile. The qualities selected based on community feedback are:
- Listens to understand, builds consensus, and acts decisively.
- Possesses strong communication and leadership skills, knowledge, and sensitivity required to respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by a diverse student body and community.
- The ability to work effectively with community partners and policymakers.
- Has a strong moral compass that is rooted in justice and equality.
- Has experience recruiting and maintaining exceptional staff for the district and schools.
- Experience with effective management that will benefit the long-term financial health of the district.
- Is strongly committed to a scholar centered philosophy in all decisions, in order to promote a healthy and safe learning environment.
- Commitment to both academic and extracurricular programs.
- Experience leading diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and commitment to working with all genders, races, and socio-economic group.
- Promotes a positive and professional environment that includes mutual trust and respect among faculty, staff, administrators and Board.
- Demonstrates a deep understanding of special education that meets the individualized needs of each student.
- Has classroom experience in a K-12 setting.
“We really appreciate everyone who took the time to weigh in and share what they’re looking for in our next superintendent,” said Board of Education President José Rodriguez. “It was great to hear from so many people across our community. Your input helped us build a candidate profile that reflects what matters most to our scholars, families, staff, and community. Thank you for being part of the process!”
Community Engagement
The focus groups brought a diverse range of voices from across our community to the table to share feedback and perspectives. Participants included GRPS families, with dedicated sessions for Spanish-speaking families, Parent Action Leaders (PALs), and families of scholars receiving Special Education services. We also engaged leaders from local nonprofits, foundations, universities, early childhood education organizations, and faith communities. Additional focus groups included members of the Superintendent’s Scholar Advisory Council, teachers, support staff, and administrators, as well as local lawmakers and community elders.
In-person town halls were held in each quadrant of the city, including one session conducted in Spanish. We also hosted a virtual town hall to provide an additional opportunity for community members to participate. All town halls offered live interpretation in Spanish, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili, to help ensure community members could fully participate and share their feedback.
A total of 1,421 online surveys were completed, providing valuable feedback on the qualities community members believe are most important in our next superintendent. Respondents were also given the option to share their racial demographic. Among those who responded, 49% identified as White, 15% as Hispanic, 15% as Black, 8% as multiple ethnicities, 2% as Asian, and 1% as American Indian. An additional 11% chose not to provide a racial demographic.
The board carefully reviewed the survey data by racial demographic to ensure the candidate profile reflected the top themes and priorities identified by each racial group.
Community Feedback
In addition to identifying qualities for the next superintendent, community members highlighted several strengths of GRPS:
- Dedicated Educators: Deep community pride in building teachers, support staff, and school principals.
- Specialized Theme Schools: High value placed on Montessori, IB, dual immersion, and CTE choice options.
- Wraparound Community Care: Strong appreciation for KSSN social workers and community partners.
Key challenges identified included:
- Central Admin Disconnect: Perception of top-heavy administration at Franklin Campus detached from schools.
- Staff Turnover & Compensation: Non-competitive teacher pay driving talent loss to neighboring districts.
- Special Education Failures: Severe IEP and 504 compliance gaps due to staffing shortages.
There were also ideas presented for the future of the district:
- Resource Reallocation: Shift dollars out of central office overhead directly into classrooms and teacher salaries.
- Frontline Consultation: Consult teachers and families before introducing new software or curricula.
- Two-Way Communication: Establish authentic, transparent feedback channels with non-English families.
Key Themes for the Next Superintendent
Community feedback also highlighted three broad areas of focus for the next superintendent:
Turnaround Leadership
- Urban Track Record: Documented gains in 3rd-grade reading and math in high-need urban school systems.
- Courageous Management: Willingness to make tough staffing decisions when performance fails students.
- Trackable Milestones: Commits to 3-5 year measurable academic turnaround goals.
Advocacy & Resources
- Cross-Sector Funding: Proven record of securing dollars from state lawmakers, philanthropy, and business.
- Political Intelligence: Navigates complex urban school dynamics and community politics effectively.
- Statewide Presence: Strong legislative advocate for urban district funding reform.
Multicultural Focus
- Closing Gaps: Demonstrated outcomes for Latine, Black, and English-Learner scholars.
- Language Programs: Deep expertise in dual-language immersion and ELL pathways.
- Authentic Engagement: Culturally responsive communication with diverse urban families.
Superintendent Search Timeline
- October 4: Application deadline
- October 24: Virtual screening of candidates
- October 26: Board of Education selects finalists
- October 28: Superintendent finalists tour the district and meet with stakeholders. The Board of Education conducts final interviews and selects the next superintendent.
You can follow updates on the search for our new superintendent at grps.org/supsearch.