Community meets 2nd 'super' finalist

SANDPOINT — After recently settling down in Sagle, Dr. Paula Vincent is ready to get back in and do what she does best, as her extensive background in education led her to become one of three finalists for the Lake Pend Oreille School District’s superintendent position.

Vincent said she and her husband came to North Idaho because of its beauty, and though she didn’t know at the time she would be applying for a superintendent job, it appealed to her for a couple of reasons. The first reason, she said, is the community’s “depth of concern” regarding a wide range of options for students matched her interests.

“That is what I have been about as an educator throughout my career, is trying to expand those opportunities,” Vincent said, adding that equity is important to her as well. “It shouldn’t matter where we live or what our circumstance is, we should have equal opportunity.”

Another reason, she said, is that the general attitude toward public education is of concern.

“Public education has been somewhat under attack, and it needs strong voices because it is so critical to the future of our country,” Vincent said. “So those are the reasons that I sit here today.”

Vincent was the second finalist for the position to meet with stakeholders during a community/parent “Meet the Candidate” forum at Sandpoint High School, moderated by Kendon Perry. Monday’s forum featured finalist Paul Peterson from Scappoose, Ore., and finalist Tom Albertson from Sandpoint will get his chance to address the community today. Each finalist is spending a full day meeting with different stakeholder groups, culminating in a dinner and interview with LPOSD board members. To assist with the search for a superintendent, LPOSD officials recently retained the services of consultants with McPherson and Jacobson, LLC, who ultimately reviewed, screened, and conducted background checks on 27 qualified applicants. LPOSD board members narrowed the applications down to the three finalists last week.

Vincent said she grew up in rural Oklahoma, and began her teaching career at the elementary level in Overland Park, Kan.

Before moving to Sagle about a year ago, Vincent served as the chief administrator for the Heartland Area Education Agency in Johnston, Iowa, from 2010-2017. Prior to that, she spent six years as the superintendent of the Clear Creek Amana Community School District in Oxford, Iowa, and six years as an associate superintendent for Cedar Rapids Community Schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

She holds a doctorate in educational planning, policy and leadership, a master’s in secondary and special education from the University of Iowa, as well as a bachelor’s in elementary and special education from McPherson College.

In answering questions posed by Perry, Vincent said compared to the school districts she has worked with that are similar in size to LPOSD, the district is “impressive.” However, there is always room to get better, she said.

“One of the statistics that really surprised me, with all of the great information I was reading about the district, I was surprised by the graduation rate,” Vincent said.

This is one of the first things she would look into as superintendent, she said, emphasizing the importance of a high school education. At Clear Creek Amana, Vincent said in order to personalize education for the kids, the district began to create an individualized plan for every student. The plans engaged families and students, and helped the educators to know who was learning and who was struggling, and what they needed to move on to the next level. And she said they couldn’t have done it without the parents.

After answering each of the nine questions, and asking the community members a few questions of her own, she departed to let the group provide feedback to Perry. A few of her strengths, according to the group, included her verbal and nonverbal communication skills, as well as her experience, leadership skills, and her knowledge of the district. The only concern surrounded how long she would stay in the position if she were to come out of retirement to serve as the LPOSD superintendent.

Albertson will get his turn to address community members from 1:30-2:15 p.m. today in the commons at Sandpoint High School. The board will then meet in executive session at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday to deliberate and make a decision.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.