City Seeks Schools Chief With Vision

Three Finalists Offer Diverse Choices, Skills

Eric Williams was 22, a new teacher in Fairfax County, when he witnessed what some educators never see: the convergence of a lesson plan with real life.

President George H.W. Bush had agreed to speak to his U.S. history and government class at James Madison High School in Vienna.

"That was powerful," recalled Williams, now 42. "Talk about making it come alive for kids. That was a teacher's dream."

Williams and the two other men whom the Alexandria School Board has spent the past few weeks scrutinizing for the superintendent's position followed varied paths into education and now serve in communities that look little alike. One runs a struggling urban school district in New Jersey that has more than twice as many students as Alexandria's. Another leads a Virginia district a quarter the size of Alexandria's, so small that he can go on home visits to meet parents. Williams's district in Florida, where he is an assistant superintendent, is larger than either of the other two.

The challenge for the School Board -- the most difficult any board faces, education experts say -- is deciding on the person best suited to lead and on what that leadership should look like.

A school board needs to base its decision on where its community has been and where it wants to go, said Anne Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association. A bridge builder who is good at calming the waters might fit one district perfectly, she said, but not another that is looking for a risk-taker to shake up the status quo.

"No matter what the skill set, that is not the same kind of person," Bryant said. "It is important to look at the culture and climate within the district and within the community to ensure that they match the future superintendent's skills and attributes with that direction."

With the r¿sum¿s weeded down from 65 and interviews with finalists complete, two School Board members and a city resident visited the school districts of the three candidates recently, interviewing key members of each community.

"We want to know about the bad as well as the good," said School Board Vice Chairman Charles H. Wilson, who was among those making the visits. "We want to know how well they work with the community, who likes them and who doesn't."

Each candidate has his own strengths. Wilson said the board is looking for one who has it all: expertise in instruction, the ability to connect to the entire educational community and a vision to ensure the district gets the most for its money, especially in the face of uncertain financial times.

"We have three finalists who can all be good administrators, but we're trying to figure out which one will be a good administrator as well as a great instructional leader with vision," he said.

Candidate Michael Glascoe's mother tells a story of when he was in the first grade in D.C. public schools and would sometimes stop by the teacher's desk, drop a penny on it and say, "Mrs. Simms, that was a good lesson today."