Laconia School District looks to grow its own administrators

LACONIA — The challenge of attracting new leadership has led the city’s school board to consider a different approach, cultivating future administrators from among their existing employees.

The board will discuss the matter during its meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The meeting will be held at the district office at 39 Harvard St., and is open to the public.

Called the “Aspiring Administrators Institute,” the concept of training ambitious educators is something the district has pursued in the past, according to information included in the meeting’s information packet. In fact, past iterations of the program have resulted in eight building-level administrators and a union president.

Any current staff member who is not an administrator would be able to apply for the institute. The program would be instructed by school and community leaders who offer “experience-based learning.”

The goal of the program would be to gain an understanding of what it would be like to transition from a classroom teacher to an administrator who leads either as a building principal or from the district office.

A similar program, called “A System of Succession,” could be instituted to help current district administrators who wish to fill a higher position.

In a related subject, the board is also expected to continue its discussion about a search for a long-term superintendent. Former superintendent Steve Tucker resigned in late August, and Bob Champlin has been acting as interim superintendent.