District 13 begins superintendent search

The District 13 Board of Education outlined a five-year plan at a public meeting last Saturday that will include long-term, community-driven goals for the district as well as a timeline for hiring a replacement for Superintendent Adrienne Robb-Fund, who announced her retirement earlier this month, effective next June.
“It’s been a goal of the board to establish a long-term plan,” Robb-Fund said. “We’re very excited about it, and believe it will better educate all of the students in District 13.”
She said that the strategy’s scale is a first for the district.
Charles Fowler, president of School Leadership, the consulting firm hired to guide the effort, said he wanted to make sure that community members’ input was heard. “What we really want is to make sure that everyone that has a role in Valley Stream 13 is given a strong voice,” Fowler said. “We want to make sure parents, staff, board members and all of the taxpayers have a chance to let their voice be heard.”
School board President Joseph DiSibio said that the strategic plan would help ensure that the board is consistent and accountable in the future. “It’s important to get an idea of where the district will be in the next few years,” DiSibio said. “It helps us to stay focused on our major goals, and helps us navigate a changing landscape in a way that will take in the interests of everyone in our community.”
A survey was posted this week on the website SurveyMonkey.com, asking district residents to identify areas in which they believe the school district is succeeding, and areas where it needs improvement. The survey, whose respondents remain anonymous, can be accessed through the district’s website homepage, and will be active until Dec. 15. It asks users to identify themselves as a parent, staff member, board member or taxpayer. It then asks them to rate 27 facets of the district on a scale ranging from “very strong” to “weak,” and provides space to explain the ratings. It also asks for a list of three areas in which the district most needs to improve.