Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft,
On Tuesday (April 13), the board of directors convened for a special meeting during which the recommended applicants for executive director were presented by the School Exec Connect recruiters, as qualified candidates based on the board-approved executive director profile, developed through stakeholder focus group interviews held in early February. The position posting was shared internationally, through multiple recruiting networks, and with active recruiting by the consultants with guidance from the hiring committee. The board voted unanimously to proceed with interviews of the 4 candidates. The recording of the 4/13 board meeting is linked here.
The hiring committee interviewed the 4 candidates on Wednesday (April 14) and selected two candidates as finalists. We are pleased to announce that the finalists are Elizabeth Zehnpfennig, TCGIS Middle School Dean, and Dr. Kirsten Christensen, Professor of German at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. Please read their cover letters linked under their names, and you can view summaries of their professional and educational backgrounds here.
Finalists for the position of executive director are invited for in-person interviews at school next week. Dean Zehnpfennig will interview on Monday, April 20 and Dr. Christensen on Tuesday, April 21.
Each candidate will interview with the TCGIS stakeholder groups throughout the day, including special education teachers, education assistants, support staff, administrators, teachers, parents and the board of directors.
Stakeholder representatives will conduct the interviews and ALL members of each stakeholder group are invited to attend and observe. Interviewer notes will be electronically provided to the board of directors for review before the board’s interview. The daily schedule for candidate interviews is available here. Interviews will be conducted in person with masking and social distancing, with the evening interviews live streamed for all.
The candidates will be interviewed during special open session board meetings scheduled for 5:00 pm on Monday and Tuesday. The Parent Council/PTO interview will take place at 5:00 pm with the board observing, and the board will interview the candidate at 7:00 pm. These public meetings will be live-streamed on YouTube. The board will make the final decision at the Tuesday board meeting in open session. Candidates will be notified of our decision immediately following the board meeting. Agendas with links are on the school calendar, in the Elternbrief and shared below. The board may make a decision at the Tuesday board meeting in open session, or continue discussion in a subsequent open/public meeting, or decide to reopen the search as deemed necessary. Agendas with links are on the school calendar, in the Elternbrief and shared below.
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Special Board Meeting (Finalist interview): Monday, Apr. 19, 5:00 pm: Agenda - Join here
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Special Board Meeting (Finalist interview & Decision): Tuesday, Apr. 20, 5:00 pm: Agenda - Join here
Thank you all for your support and participation during this process. I especially thank teachers Katrin Zinnow, Kevin Eberhard, teacher board member Emily Albers, parent board members Rich Iwen, Richard Heid and parent board member and hiring committee chair, Dianne Bell for their significant contributions on the hiring committee, and Julia Henriksen for coordinating all of the interviews, logistics, and for creating a beautiful TCGIS recruiting brochure.
We can be very proud of the school we have built together, and that we are able to attract exceptional talent to lead our exceptional school in fulfilling our mission and vision.
Mit Blick nach vorne,
Julie Alkatout
Chair, Board of Directors
