With its award-winning superintendent leaving by year's end, the Menlo Park City School District (MPCSD) board opted on April 15 to start its search for his replacement with internal candidates. Superintendent Erik Burmeister also announced some leadership shakeups as he restructures the district before stepping away.

District administrators already have an idea of who they'd like to see take the helm. Over the last few days, four district principals, two other district leaders — Assistant Superintendent Jammie Behrendt and Executive Director of Student Services Stephanie Sheridan — and a parent recommended Kristen Gracia, the district's assistant superintendent of talent and technology, according to a meeting summary from Trustee Francesca Segrè. Gracia previously served as Oak Knoll School's principal.

The district plans to commence interviews next week, Segrè wrote.

Board members noted that the pool of qualified superintendents outside of the district has dwindled during the pandemic, as many have left the field, she wrote. And since the 2,700-student district is relatively small, past nationwide searches have attracted candidates with less experience.

The administration has sent out surveys that are due Friday, April 22, and is holding a Zoom town hall on the superintendent role at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30 (Meeting ID: 988 9220 9189). Trustees Segrè and David Ackerman will serve on the search subcommittee. Community members may also email comments to board@mpcsd.org.

Other leadership changes

In a recent letter to the community, Burmeister shared planned leadership changes throughout the district. The district is seeking a new principal and vice principal at Hillview Middle School, principal at Laurel Upper Campus and assistant principal at Oak Knoll School. There will also be internal shuffling of administrative roles.

"This sounds like a lot of change, and it is," Burmeister said. "I recognize that not everyone is comfortable with change; transitions involving critical leadership roles, especially all at once, can feel unsettling. However, I invite everyone to embrace the inspiration of the moment. The perspectives and gifts generated from these leadership changes will only strengthen our team and build MPCSD's capacity to serve our community."

Before the pandemic, the school board and Burmeister discussed a potential adjustment to the administrative structure at the two-campus Laurel School. Principal Linda Creighton has managed both campuses, but district officials now want to employ a different principal at each site. Linda Creighton will remain the principal of Laurel Lower Campus in Atherton.

Burmeister is recommending Hillview Middle School Principal Willy Haug for the position of director of technology and innovation. The district has gone two years without a director of technology or coordinator of technology, he said.

"Willy has served for over 20 years as a teacher, activities director, assistant principal, and principal all at Hillview," Burmeister explained. "It's a terrific opportunity for him to offer his incredible coaching, leadership, and instructional technology expertise to our dynamic team of technologists and educators."

There are other upcoming changes at the Menlo Park middle school. Assistant Principal Danny Chui will leave next school year to become principal of Mill Valley Middle School in Marin County.

"We will miss Danny's warm mentorship of our students and dedicated support of staff, but are thrilled for him that his dream of being a middle school principal is coming true this fall," Burmeister said.

Early Learning Center Director Jessica Mihaly, who helped found the preschool, will leave this at the end of the school year. He is recommending Oak Knoll School's assistant principal, Chana Stewart, to be the school's new leader.

"While relatively new to MPCSD, Chana joined our team with a wealth of experience in leading early learning initiatives in East Palo Alto," he said. "She'll be able to pick up where Jessica left off and assist MPCSD in creating and integrating the new transitional kindergarten program to our community."

Burmeister appointed Ellen Kraska as the permanent associate principal at Encinal School. She has served in an interim capacity this year during the extended medical leave of Jennifer Kollmann. The district plans to welcome back Kollmann in "a new capacity" upon her complete recovery.

The openings are posted on Edjoin.