As part of its superintendent search, St. Paul Public Schools district board members were provided with a leadership profile draft Tuesday for which they have until the middle of this month to give feedback.

BWP & Associates, selected by the district in July and hired to find the next superintendent, shared the profile as well as its findings from community forums and other engagement events.

The district is currently led by interim Superintendent John Thein, who assumed his role in May after then-superintendent Joe Gothard’s departure. Thein also served as interim superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools from 2016 to 2017.

Community members responded to online surveys with the strengths, challenges, qualities and characteristics they would want in a future superintendent.

The firm received nearly 3,000 responses through their engagement, with 120 from students and community feedback provided in English, Spanish, Hmong, Karen and Somali.Top preferred skills in a superintendent, according to the surveys, included an individual who has “community building skills to create strong relationships with students, staff and families,” and “ability to advance academic achievement and sustain … cultures, languages, and experiences.”

When asked to select the top three most important characteristics of a superintendent, those selected were commitment to the community, integrity and strategic vision.

Academic outcomes were considered extremely important by 67% of respondents and classroom experience was considered extremely important by 61%.

Building safe school environments was considered to be one of the top three most important issues or concerns for the district in the next five years by 57% of respondents.

That was followed by stabilizing public school funding and addressing enrollment growth or decline. Participants also indicated an interest in better district collaboration.

Online community surveys were available from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2 and the firm hosted in-person and virtual meetings with staff, community groups, high school students and public forums Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

Board members are expected to provide feedback or suggestions on the draft profile by Oct. 15. The board can then accept the final profile on Oct. 22. The deadline for superintendent candidate applications is Nov. 5.

BWP will review all applications in November and select candidates for a first interview. That same month, a superintendent search task force will be formed and will include SPPS board members.

The task force will complete first-round interviews in early December and present top candidates to the board on Dec. 10 during a regular board meeting.

From Dec. 16 to Dec. 19, the board will interview top candidates at public meetings. The board will deliberate on the final candidates and announce the new superintendent on Dec. 20. It will approve the superintendent contract in January and announce the new superintendent’s start date then.

To learn more about the district’s superintendent search, go to spps.org/superintendentsearch.