Clark County School District Superintendent Candidates Named

LAS VEGAS, NV - The four candidates who will interview for Clark County School District Superintendent have been named. The candidates are John E. Deasy, Donald T. Haddad, Shonda Huery Hardman, and Jesus F. Jara.

Current CCSD Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky is retiring in June.

Three candidates will be interviewed on Friday, April 13 at 9 a.m. and the fourth will be interviewed Monday, April 16 at 6 p.m. in the Board Room of the Edward A. Greer Education Center. Public comment will be allowed before and after the meetings.

The candidates' resumes

John E. Deasy

According to his resume, Deasy graduated from Providence College in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry education, and earned a master's degree in education administration from Providence in 1989. He's held a doctorate in education administration and policy from Louisville since 2004.

Deasy has held the role of superintendent in four different states - New York, California, Rhode Island, and Maryland. He most recently held the position at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in America, from 2011-14. Prior to that, his superintendent experience comes from Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland (2006-08), Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in California (2001-06), and Coventry Public Schools in Rhode Island (1996-2001).

He currently serves as the CEO of Reset Foundation, a group "devoted to improving the life trajectories of sentenced young adults." He is also Editor in Chief of The Line, founding partner of Cambiar, and executive coach of The Broad Center.

Deasy lists his highlights over the past five years as developing teacher and administrator evaluation models, pay for performance models, staff development and leadership training, development of data-driven system for decision making, and "collaborative use of student work as a means of assessment and implementation of well-researched whole-school reform initiatives."

Donald T. Haddad

According to his resume, Haddad graduated from Colorado State University in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in K-12 education. He earned a master's degree in administration, supervision, and curriculum development from Colorado University in 1993. He's held a Doctorate Of Education in leadership and administration from Nova Southeastern University since 2010.

Haddad is currently the superintendent of St. Vrain Valley School District, the seventh largest school district in Colorado. The district has 32,000 students enrolled and employs 5,000 people. Haddad first began working for the school district as a principal at Niwot High School in 2001 and climbing the district's executive ladder until taking over as superintendent in 2009.

Haddad has over 33 years of experience in preschool through high school education. In 2013, he was named the National Association of School Superintendents Superintendent Of The Year. Among his qualifications, Haddad lists having led successful ballot initiatives in 2008, 2012, and 2016 that provided money to local schools. Also among his qualifications, Haddad says that graduation rates increased and dropout rates decreased annually during his tenure.

Shonda Huery Hardman

According to her resume, Hardman graduated with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Howard University in 1996. She holds two master's degrees - one in education administration from Trinity College in 2001, and the other in urban administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University in 2004. Since 2010 she has held a Doctorate of Education from Harvard with a focus on urban superintendency.

Hardman currently lives in Las Vegas and travels across the country as a consultant for FranklinCovey coaching and training teachers and administrators on how to improve education and leadership. She has worked in education administration in four major metropolitan school district.

Hardman has held the position of Chief School Support Officer of the Houston Independent School District (2013-15), Chief of Schools in the Chicago Public Schools (2011-13), and Academic Superintendent and Assistant Chief Academic Officer in Boston Public Schools (2008-11). She has also been a principal, special assistant to the deputy superintendent, and a superintendent's intern in Memphis.

Among her qualifications, Hardman lists working with diverse socio-economic student populations, managing large budgets "with a purpose of aligning resources to student needs," and improving academic achievement for students with disabilities, English-language learners, and African-American males.

Jesus F. Jara

According to his resume, Jara graduated with a bachelor's degree in science, sports medicine, and exercise science from Barry University in 1996. He earned a master's degree in science education from Nova Southeastern University in 1998. He's held a Doctorate of Education in Education Policy, Leadership, and Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst since 2010.

He is currently the deputy superintendent of Orange County Public Schools in Florida, the ninth largest school district in America with 208,000 students. He has held the position he's held since 2012. Prior to his current position, he was appointed superintendent of Monroe County Public Schools by Florida Gov. Rick Scott in 2011 and held the position until taking over his current role.

Jara has spent his professional career in school systems in Florida and Massachusetts. He was the COO of Monroe County School District (2010-11), Executive Director of College Board Partnerships for The College Board in Florida (2006-10), Senior Education Manager for The College Board in Massachusetts (2005-06), and principal at the High School of Science and Technology in Springfield, MA (2003-05).

Jara has been recognized with the Educational Leadership Award from the National Association for Bilingual Education in 2014. Also in 2014, Orange County Public Schools received The Broad Prize.

Image via Shutterstock