SAS Pudong Middle School

TO:                  Parents, Teachers, and Friends of Shanghai American School

FROM:            SAS Superintendent Search Committee

SUBJECT:       Superintendent Search Update

In response to the many questions we have been getting over the past few weeks, the Search Committee is providing this briefing as to the current status of our search for a new Superintendent, an exciting and critically important process that will shape the direction of the Shanghai American School for the foreseeable future.

Let’s start with a word about the process itself, which we hope to make as clear and as transparent as possible to the community.  As many of you know, the SAS Board of Directors has contracted with Search Associates, a well-respected, U.S.-based organization that over the past twenty years has successfully placed several dozen headmasters and superintendents in international schools around the world.  The founder and chief executive of Search Associates, John Magagna, is personally involved in SAS’ search for a new head, including individually screening each applicant before her/his application materials and references are presented to the Search Committee.  Following our own review of the candidates’ files, the Search Committee then informally contacts selected applicants via telephone to roughly determine their suitability for the Superintendent’s position.  The Search Committee then checks the references of each candidate we are considering (again via telephone) and utilizes direct video conferences for more formally vetting candidates that will eventually form our “short list.”  Finally, we will fly each of our short-listed candidates to Shanghai for a series of individual meetings and interviews that will guide the Board toward its ultimate decision.  It is important to realize that final meetings and interviews with each of our short-listed candidates will involve the entire SAS community, so all stakeholders will have the opportunity for input into the selection process.

The Search Committee is still in the early stages of this process.  Search Associates has forwarded us the files of several promising candidates, and we are currently engaged in the first round of telephone calls to these persons and their references, which we hope to have completed by November 15.  We will then follow up with the video conference calls and hope to have our short list of candidates by the end of the month.

Thank you for articulating your questions and voicing your concerns.  Please be assured that the Search Committee members are listening and working hard to provide the Board of Directors with the information it needs to make this vitally important decision.

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