Position Title: Superintendent

Salary: $119,202 – $134,405

Closing Date: May 25, 2007

Downloads:

• Job Application
• Job Brochure

The Position

The Tehachapi Unified School District Board of Education seeks a committed, creative, visionary educational leader to serve as its superintendent and chief executive officer. The ideal candidate will possess superior interpersonal and communication skills that will promote effective interaction with the school board, staff and community members who want to be informed and vitally involved in the decisions and activities of the school district. A demonstrated collaborative and inclusive style is prerequisite, as is a demonstrated record of being courteous and forthcoming with all constituencies. The successful candidate will have a record of improving achievement for all students.

The board of education is interested in offering a multiple-year contract to the successful candidate and in working earnestly with that candidate to develop a long-term relationship as an effective governance team for the Tehachapi Unified School District and the Tehachapi community. Toward that end, the board of education and the new superintendent will participate in the California School Boards Association’s Single District Governance Service training in order to promote the goal of building a positive working relationship with the candidate selected.

The Community

Tehachapi is a mountain valley community that includes Tehachapi, Brite, Cummings Valley and Bear Valley Springs – offering marvelous, panoramic views of the vast plains and surrounding peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Tehachapi has been appropriately referred to as the “Land of Four Seasons” with pristine air quality. The winters are cool and snowfall is typically light. Spring announces its arrival with a stunning display of poppies, lupines and other wildflowers – complemented by thousands of daffodils that were planted by volunteers. Summers are warm and dry. And, in autumn, the colors of fall are abound.

Today, Tehachapi presents a family-oriented, rural-suburban atmosphere that sparks remembrances of an earlier time when life was more simple and peaceful. The city and outlining areas are growing and currently include approximately 30,000 residents. The area is divided into communities such as Tehachapi City, Sand Canyon, Cameron Canyon, Golden Hills, Alpine Forest, Cummings Valley, Bear Valley Springs, Keene and Hart Flat. Bear Valley Springs is a gated community with a golf course, tennis courts, swimming pool, equestrian center and shooting range, as well as campgrounds and lakes. The Resort at Stallion Springs is Tehachapi’s full-service resort with a championship golf course set amid ancient oaks and large granite outcropping, an outstanding restaurant and lounge, and a new recreational center that features bowling, volleyball, baseball and basketball facilities for family-style fun – both day and night.

The major employers in the area are: Edwards Air Force Base – where the Air Force Flight Center is located – Calavaras and Cal-Portland cement plants, and the California Corrections Institution which is located 15 miles southwest of the city. Highway 58 places Bakersfield and its year-round southern California weather 35 minutes away. Los Angeles is just two-hours away.

The Tehachapi area is also home to a sizeable population of arts-oriented people, including many painters who deal in every medium. The Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra offers several performances during the year – and a local attraction is the annual Fiddling Down the Tracks, sponsored by the California Old Time Fiddling Association. The well-known Tehachapi Mountain Festival and Rodeo is traditionally held on the third weekend of August, and include fun for the entire family with vendors, food and entertainment featuring local talent.

The median price of a home in the Tehachapi area is $250,000 and utility costs are less expensive than in the nearby urban areas.

The District

The Tehachapi Unified School District encompasses an area of 552 square miles, and offers an excellent and diverse education program to students living in the area. Student enrollment is approximately 4,600 students from kindergarten through adult education. The district employs 229 certificated and 245 classified staff members to serve the district’s students in three elementary schools – Cummings Valley, K-5; Golden Hills, K-5; Tompkins, K-5; one middle school – Jacobsen Middle School, 6-8; one comprehensive high school – Tehachapi High School, 9-12, and one alternative high school, Monroe High School, 10-12. The district also operates an adult education program.

Tehachapi is known for its excellent academic and athletic programs. Tehachapi high school’s API scores are one of the highest in Kern county, and other district schools perform at the upper range in the county. The high school offers an extensive variety of academic courses and extra-curricular activities; and the East Kern Regional Occupation program includes training in criminal justice, restaurant careers, media assistance and computer systems. Advanced placement classes enable students to earn college credit. Students have historically garnered honors in academic decathlons, mock trials, mathletes, and the robotic science settlement design competitions sponsored by NASA. The Space Settlement Design team has won two national first place awards and one national second place in the past three years.

The state sponsored digital high school program has brought every room at the high school online. Monroe high school, along with Tompkins, Golden Hills and Cummings Valley elementary schools also have access to the Internet. The commitment by the board of education, the administration, the teachers and the community ensures that the Tehachapi graduates will be technologically ready for the academic and business world of tomorrow.

The 2006-07 general fund budget for the Tehachapi Unified School District is $37,000,000.

Selection Criteria

The following criteria represent standards to be used in the evaluation of applications and in the selection of the superintendent.

Professional Experience and Preparation

• Experience as a district-level administrator, preferred
  
• Five years of classroom experience, desired
  
• Experience as a K-12 site administrator, required
  
• California Teaching and Administrative Services Credentials or eligibility for California certification, required
  
• Master’s degree from an accredited institution, required

Personal Characteristics

• Able to build a climate of trust and respect
  
• Visible, accessible and approachable – welcomes involvement in schools and the community
  
• Creative, innovative thinker and problem solver
  
• Places students needs first in the decision-making process
  
• Possess a collaborative, inclusive leadership style; involves staff and community in the decision-making process
  
• Able to delegate in a clear, concise manner without micromanaging and able to hold staff accountable for the results
  
• Possess strong interpersonal skills and communicates regularly and openly with all segments of the district and community
  
• Demonstrates an unwavering sense of ethics, including honesty and fairness
  
• Possess an open communication style which provides an opportunity to give and receive feedback

Professional Skills and Abilities

• Is student-centered and promotes the belief that all students can learn
  
• Possess the skills to articulate a vision of what the district can become and the leadership to realize that vision through working with others
  
• Experience in developing a comprehensive strategic plan for the district
  
• Able to work with the board toward the development of a cohesive, effective governance team
  
• Set clear expectations and hold staff accountable for their performance
  
• Demonstrated success in working with a board of education; ensuring the board receives appropriate, accurate information, advice and recommendations for the efficient operation of the district
  
• Understand district finance and budget systems and is able to hold staff accountable for the budgetary process
  
• Possess a proven record of enhancing academic excellence and ability to select and lead a highly qualified teaching, support and administrative staff in promoting instructional excellence and curriculum improvement in order to provide an appropriate, high-quality program for all students

Application Procedure

All applications will be held strictly confidential. Each applicant is requested to follow the procedures listed below. Those applicants wishing additional information should contact the CSBA adviser at (916) 669-3297. For duplication purposes, please do not bind application materials.

Applications are to be sent to:

Tehachapi Unified School District
c/o Jennifer J. Looney, Adviser
California School Boards Association
3100 Beacon Blvd., Suite Tehachapi
West Sacramento, CA 95691

All applicants must provide the following items by the closing date, May 25, 2007 (5:00 p.m.), to be considered:

• A completed Application Information Form. (Please complete as instructed; do not complete by stating “see attached résumé”.) The Application Information Form and brochure may be downloaded via CSBA’s Web page at www.csba.org/es
  
• A personal letter of application stating reasons for interest in the Tehachapi Unified School District superintendent position
  
• A résumé providing biographical background information about educational preparation, experience and achievements
  
• A placement file and/or five (5) current letters of professional references describing the applicant’s performance in previously held positions

It is the applicant’s responsibility to arrange to have placement papers or reference letters forwarded in time to meet the May 25, 2007 (5:00 p.m.) deadline. Additional brochures may be requested by calling the CSBA 24-hour Brochure Request Line at (916) 669-3296

Selection Procedure

A professional screening committee will evaluate the qualifications of each applicant. The board and the screening committee will use the described criteria during the screening, interviewing and final decision-making process. After receiving and studying the report of the screening committee, the board will select and interview the top candidates.

The board will select candidates for the final interviews, conduct the interviews and select the superintendent. Any applicant who contacts a board member with the intent of influencing the board’s decision will be disqualified.

Travel expenses for those candidates selected for the initial interview will be the responsibility of the candidate.

Salary and Contract Terms

The Tehachapi Unified School District Board of Education will offer a salary of $119,202 – $134,405 (competitive and negotiable) to the successful candidate, based on that individual’s experience and qualifications.

It is the candidate’s responsibility to provide the district with employment eligibility and verification of citizenship in compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

Board of Education