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Superintendent Search

Dr. Kenneth D. Roumpos Chosen as Superintendent of Kirkwood School District

Photo of Dr, Kenneth Roumpos

At the regularly scheduled meeting of the Kirkwood School District Board of Education meeting, the Board announced unanimous selection of Dr. Kenneth D. Roumpos as Kirkwood’s next superintendent, with an official start date of July 1, 2025. He currently serves as superintendent of the Francis Howell School District in O’Fallon. Read more on our news feed

Timeline*

April 5, 2024: Dr. Ulrich announces he will retire after the 2024-25 school year. 

July 2, 2024 : Board of Education issues RFP for superintendent search firms

July 25, 2024: RFP submission window closed

August 12, 2024: Interviews with selected superintendent search firms. School Exec Connect is selected as the firm to conduct the search. 

September 9, 2024: Consultants Facilitate Planning Meeting with Board of Education

September 10, 2024: Consultants Advertise the Position, Recruit Candidates,

September 11, 2024: Job posting shared publicly 

September 23, 2024: Consultants (DR) Facilitate BOE Focus Group

October 23 & 24, 2024: Consultants Facilitate Community Engagement:

  1. Conduct Interviews with Focus Groups, Conduct Open Forum for Staff, Conduct Open Forum for the Community
  2. Collect Online Survey Feedback from Members of the School Community (available online October 14-October 21).

October 28, 2024: Consultants Present New Superintendent Profile to the Board

By November 2024: Consultants Interview and Vet Promising Candidates

November 11, 2024: Consultants Present Slate of 5-7 Recommended Candidates to the Board, Interviewing Workshop

November 15-16, 2024:  Board Conducts Initial Interviews of 5-7 Candidates

November 24, 2024: Board Conducts Second Interviews of 3 Finalists

Late November 2024: Board Selects their Top Choice and May Choose to Conduct a Site Visit or conduct reference calls. Board Negotiates Contract
with Selected Candidate.

By January 2025: Board Takes Formal Action on the New Superintendent’s Contract

July 1, 2025: New Superintendent Assumes Duties

*The Board reserves the right to change the timeline.

 

Superintendent to be Announced on Dec. 16

The Board of Education will announce and introduce Kirkwood Schools' next superintendent at the board meeting on Monday, December 16 at 6:30 p.m. We believe this next leader is the best fit for the candidate profile, which was developed with great input from students, staff, families and community members this fall. We utilized a national process and are looking forward to embarking on this next chapter. To view the livestream of the meeting on Monday, visit kirkwoodschools.org/virtualboe.

Superintendent Search Profile Report Available

Thank you, Kirkwood community, for helping shape the leadership profile for our next superintendent.

On October 28, 2024, the Board of Education received competencies and qualities that our search firm, School Exec Connect, will use to identify ideal candidates. The leadership profile was developed with input from parents, district staff, students, and community members through focus groups and an online survey. 

Kirkwood School Board Announces Community Engagement Opportunities for Superintendent Search

The Kirkwood School Board is seeking public input about the selection of a new superintendent to lead the Kirkwood School District. Findings will be used to develop a New Superintendent Profile that will be reported to the Board and utilized throughout the hiring process.  

In August, the Board selected School Exec Connect, an educational search firm, to conduct a national search for the next superintendent of the Kirkwood School District. The firm is assisting with staff and community engagement efforts on the search and has developed a detailed timeline to guide the efforts.

The general public will be able to provide feedback through a brief survey that will be posted on the Kirkwood School District website on Oct. 14. The survey will be available at kirkwoodschools.org/supsearch24 until Oct. 21. 

In addition to the survey, the public is invited to provide input on the district’s strengths, the district’s challenges, and the characteristics the next superintendent should possess in an open forum for community members on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6:00 p.m. at Kirkwood High School in the Keating Center. Attendees may park in the Essex parking lot.  

Additional details, the full timeline and updated information as it is available will be posted publicly at kirkwoodschools.org/supsearch24.  

Kirkwood School Board Selects Search Firm to Conduct National Search for Next Superintendent

The Kirkwood School Board has selected School Exec Connect to conduct a national search for the next superintendent of the Kirkwood School District. Dr. David Ulrich announced in Spring of 2024 that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year after five years as Kirkwood School District’s superintendent. 

“We are grateful to Dr. Ulrich for his service to the District and recognize the positive impact his leadership has had on moving our district forward,” said Nikole Shurn, President of the Board of Education. “As we look to identify our next leader, we want to ensure we utilize the services of an experienced firm with experts who can conduct an extensive search. Their assistance will allow us to meet our commitment to find the best candidate for Kirkwood Schools.”  

In order to select a firm, the Board of Education issued a request for proposals and interviewed three firms during a special meeting on August 12, 2024.  

The role of School Exec Connect will be to assist the Board of Education with a search plan and timeline. The proposal detailed their plan to develop a leadership profile, including utilizing an online survey. Additional details about the efforts to gather input from the staff, families, students and the public will be shared in the coming weeks.