GCISD President Resigns, New Supt. Hired in Colleyville, Texas for LocalNewsOnly.com

PRESS RELEASE

Singer named to top job in GCISD

The Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved the hiring of Dr. Kevin P. Singer, 46, as the new superintendent to lead the state-rated "exemplary" district. The announcement ends a six-month search that started with the retirement of Dr. Jim Thompson last December.

Dr. Singer met with central administration staff earlier in the day before returning to Shawnee Mission, Kan., where he is currently associate superintendent of curriculum and instructional services for the Shawnee Mission School District. He has held this position since 1993. The district has about 31,000 students and 56 campuses. He will officially begin duties on July 1.

Last week, trustees Barb Keeney, Tim Raine and Fiona Sigalla made a site visit to Dr. Singer's district and spoke with administrators, principals, teachers and staff at two central administration buildings and two campuses. They also spoke extensively with board members.

Trustees praised his selection as someone who is nationally recognized for his curriculum excellence, and who brings significant knowledge about Texas finance and operations. Dr. Singer has audited more than 10 districts in Texas. He is also experienced in wealth equalization laws of public school districts. The state of Kansas has similar laws to Texas' "Robin Hood Plan."

"The accolades I heard about Dr. Singer were second to none," said 2000-2001 Board Secretary Barb Keeney, whose responsibilities in the process included contacting more than 70 individuals who know Dr. Singer, either personally or professionally. " We believe we left no stone unturned in the selection process. We conducted more than 20 hours of interviews and five hours of deliberation," she said. "As a board member, I looked long and hard at what the stakeholders said they wanted in a superintendent, and Dr. Singer most clearly represented those characteristics."

Trustees also led a standing ovation for the efforts of John Bailey, who has led the district as Interim Superintendent over the past six months.

The 2000-2001 Board Vice President Mark Born credited Bailey for his leadership, strong communication skills, and his willingness to step in and continue the district in its exemplary path of achievements for students and staff.

"John has proven himself to be a man of integrity and a visionary whose interest is always on 'what's best for the kids.' He has provided this district with much-needed stability during this interim period, for which we should all be grateful," said Born. "John has persevered during the challenges of revising middle school attendance boundaries, recent board elections, and the superintendent search process itself. Yet he has gone forward with the budget planning, construction projects and the day-to-day management of GCISD during this time. We are fortunate and honored to have a man of his character and leadership during this year."

Additional background about Dr. Singer was also noted at the Board meeting. He has served as a classroom teacher in kindergarten, first and sixth grades, as well as middle school social studies. He was a principal for nine years and has held district administrative positions for 10 years. He received a bachelor's degree at Washburn University, and his master's degree and doctorate in education from the University of Kansas.

In his current position as associate superintendent in curriculum and instructional services, Dr. Singer is responsible for curriculum and instruction, staff development and assessment. Shawnee Mission is a high performing school district that has experienced strong academic improvement during the past eight years. During his tenure in Shawnee Mission, the district increased from 25 to 44 National Merit Finalists, from a composite score of 22.8 to 23.4 on the ACT, and a composite score of 1152 to 1185 on the SAT. Dr. Singer is responsible for implementing a Summer Academy for teacher training, an Advanced Placement Institute, and a mentor program for first year teachers.

Dr. Singer is certified as a senior lead auditor with the International Curriculum Management Audit Center. In this capacity he has led or participated in 21 curriculum management audits in school districts across the country, with 10 in Texas alone. Singer has an extensive background in providing consulting services on school improvement for several years.

He has served as a consultant in 14 states and with the Ministries of Education in Moscow, Russia and Bermuda. He is an evaluator and improvement facilitator for low performing schools in California, and has served on North Central and Quality Performance Accreditation review teams.

Dr. Singer currently serves on the board of directors for Junior Achievement of Middle America and the Curriculum Management Services, Inc. He is a past member of the Kansas Drug Awareness Resistance Education board and was the educational liaison to the Shawnee Mission Head Start board of directors.

He has been active in a number of educational leadership positions having been the National Congressional Liaison for the Kansas Association of Elementary School Principals, the Congressional Contact Person and the political action district coordinator for the Kansas-National Educational Association, a member of the legislative committee for the United School Administrators, and president of his local teachers association.

In January 2000 Dr. Singer was named "Outstanding Curriculum Leader of Kansas" by the Kansas Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. He has also been recognized with the "Above and Beyond" award by Junior Achievement of Middle America and was a "Shawnee Mission Administrator of the Month."

Dr. Singer's annual salary will be $150,000, plus a $10,000 performance bonus tied to annual goals.

Dr. Singer and his wife Sally, a registered nurse specializing in oncology and neonatal intensive care, have three children, ages 17, 15 and 10. Dr. Singer expressed enthusiasm about the new opportunities in the Grapevine-Colleyville community.

"I am excited about joining a premier district in Texas and look forward to meeting the entire community of staff, teachers, parents, and students," he said. "It is a career opportunity of a lifetime and I am eager to get started."