Birmingham Schools Administrator Named a Finalist in Royal Oak Superintendent Search

The names of the five were released Friday, including Jon Dean, assistant superintendent for .

Royal Oak Board of Education members agreed on the five finalists during a special meeting Thursday night after reviewing 32 applications for the position. The selected candidate will replace Superintendent Thomas Moline, who retires in June.

“For me, it was a couple of candidates who floated to the top and that was it,” school board President Gary Briggs said Thursday night. Briggs said he was very impressed by the quality applicants Miller received for the position.

On the interview list for the Royal Oak position in no particular order are:

1. Catherine Cost 

Current title: Assistant superintendent of Instructional Services for Farmington Public Schools

Residence: Northville

Education: Ed.D., education administration; Wayne State University. Ed. Specialist, education administration; Wayne State University. M.Ed, curriculum and instruction; Oakland University. B.A., mathematics; University of Michigan.

Professional background: Troy Athens High School principal, Farmington High School assistant principal and math teacher at Farmington Public Schools, Detroit Country Day and Saline High School.

What else: Cost was also in December.

2. Carl Weiss

Current title: Superintendent of Schools for Romulus Community Schools

Residence: Rochester Hills

Education: McREL, Balanced Leadership for School Administrators; Wayne County. Michigan Leadership Institute Superintendent Academy; Central Michigan University. Assessment Training Institute; Lewis and Clark College, Portland. Coursework in Education Administration; Madonna University. Bachelor of Science in Education; University of Michigan.

Professional background: Deputy Superintendent for Dearborn Heights School District #7, Director of Instruction for Lapeer Community Schools and taught physics, physical science and biology at Lapeer West High School.

What else: Weiss is also vying for for the superintendent’s job in Collier County, FL , according to news-press.com.

3. John D. Strycker

Current title:  Superintendent of New Lothrop Area Public Schools

Residence: New Lothrop (northwest of Flint)

Education: Ed.D., school administration/leadership; Walden University (anticipate summer 2011). Superintendents Preparation Series Academy; Michigan Leadership Institute. Educational Specialist Degree, school administration/superintendency; Saginaw Valley State University. Master of Arts, education; Central Michigan University. Bachelor of Science, industrial technology education; Ball State University.

Professional background: Superintendent Internship West Branch-Rose City Area Schools, Director of Facilities and Technical Services for Bay City Public Schools, Director of Technology and Information Systems Bay City Public Schools and Director of Technology for North Lawrence Community Schools.

4. Shawn Lewis-Lakin

Current title: Superintendent of Schools, Manchester Community School District

Residence: Chelsea

Education: Educational specialist, general administration and supervision; Wayne State University. Masters of Divinity, Divinity School Associates’ Scholar; Yale University, Yale Divinity School. Bachelor of Science Degree; Michigan State University.

Professional background: Chelsea School District Executive Director for Student Performance, Interim principal at South Meadows and Pierce Lake elementary schools in Chelsea, Chelsea High School Assistant Principal for Instruction and Monroe Middle School assistant principal.

What else: Lewis-Lakin was  in December. 

5. M. Jon Dean

Current position: assistant superintendent/executive director for human resources of Birmingham Public Schools.

Residence: Grosse Pointe Woods

Education: Enrolled in Ed.D. in Education Policy Studies Program, Cognate in Labor Relations; Wayne State University. Ed.S., educational leadership; Saginaw Valley State University. M.A., educational leadership; Wayne State University.

Professional background: Interim Human Resources Manager Birmingham Public Schools, Harlan Elementary School principal, Lindemann Elementary School principal (Allen Park Schools), Algonac Elementary School principal, Algonac and Osburn (Detroit Public Schools) high schools teacher.

What else: Dean, who handles human resources matters for Birmingham schools, has been a candidate for several other superintendent positions this year, including in the Traverse City,Riverview and Woodhaven-Brownstown districts, according to published reports.

Marie Miller, adjunct consultant for the Michigan Association of School Boards, which was hired by the district to conduct the search, said the candidates chosen by the board were very similar to the resumes she would have suggested based on the board's criteria. Board members said they were looking for candidates with strong community involvement, who are ethical, honest and have a high education level. The board was also looking for well-rounded candidates capable of handling the current challenges facing Michigan school districts, such as funding  cuts. 

What's next

Dean, Cost and Weiss are scheduled to interview April 11 and Lewis-Lakin and Strycker are to interview April 12. All interviews will take place during public meetings beginning at 6:15 p.m. on both dates at the . A second set of interviews is scheduled for April 20 and 21.

The deadline to apply for the Royal Oak position was March 25. A decision is expected by early May, with the new superintendent in place by July 1.

Stay with RoyalOak.Patch.com for more information on the candidates and the interview process.