Hello BISD Community, 

When the school board appointed Amii Thompson as Acting Superintendent in December 2023 (to serve through the end of the 2024-25 school year), we stated we would conduct a national search for a permanent superintendent in late fall 2024. 

It has now been nine months, and Superintendent Thompson has demonstrated that she leads with priorities focused on students and has successfully navigated district challenges with immense strength and grace. We want to be transparent in our appreciation for Superintendent Thompson and her positive changes to build meaningful relationships and create effective systems across the district. 

Additionally, we want to weigh the cost of an extensive superintendent search when BISD faces profound financial challenges. If, either way, our conclusion would lead to the same outcome, then a full search seems unjustified. This is where you come in. 

We will hold a series of stakeholder meetings to discuss what you are looking for in BISD’s permanent superintendent. We will use a framework developed by the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) to discuss the most important superintendent attributes. In addition, surveys will be open from September 27 through November 8 to collect feedback (staff survey; parents/guardians/community survey).  We will then evaluate how Superintendent Thompson's leadership skills align with the WSSDA framework and the stakeholder feedback. After this, we will take a board vote at the November 14, 2024, school board meeting to determine if we should hire Superintendent Thompson permanently in the position by extending her contract or if we should proceed with a broader superintendent search. 

Internal meetings are being scheduled for BISD staff, and an external meeting is open to the general public on November 7, 2024, at 5:45 p.m. in the BISD Board Room. All meetings will follow the same process and center around WSSDA’s eight standards, which are rooted in student-focused goals. 

The school board and I look forward to engaging with you in this important work. 

Sincerely, 

Mark D. Emerson Kelly Cancialosi

BISD School Board President BISD School Board Vice President
 

Please read through the WSSDA standards and consider where the qualities that are important to you best fit. For example, if you believe the next superintendent must prioritize strong relationships with the greater community, this would nestle under Standard 6, Meaningful Engagement of Families and Community. 

• STANDARD 1 — Mission, Vision, and Core Values: 

Effective educational leaders develop, advocate, and enact a shared mission, vision, and core values of high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student.     

• STANDARD 2  — Equity and Cultural Responsiveness:

Effective educational leaders strive for equity of educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. 

• STANDARD 3 — Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment:

Effective educational leaders develop and support intellectually rigorous and coherent systems of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. 

• STANDARD 4 — Community of Care and Support of Students:

Effective educational leaders cultivate an inclusive, caring, and supportive school community that promotes the academic success and well-being of each student. 

• STANDARD 5 — Professional Capacity of School Personnel:

Effective educational leaders develop the professional capacity and practice of school personnel to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. 

• STANDARD 6 — Meaningful Engagement of Families and Community:

Effective educational leaders engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. 

• STANDARD 7 — Operations Management:

Effective educational leaders manage school operations and resources to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. 

• STANDARD 8 — Collaboration with the Board:

Effective educational leaders develop positive working relationships and procedures that help the board of directors promote each student’s success and well-being.