How Important is certification to the school district?

To the editor:

Our school district is in search of a new superintendent. As a nationwide search is underway, I would like to take a few minutes to share some information with the public and the school board.

Deena Paramo, assistant superintendent at this time, has been attending many school functions recently and looks to basically be a shoo-in for the new superintendent’s position. From what I have observed, Ms. Paramo is being groomed for the superintendent position. She has attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies, received proclamations for Marmot Day and emceed for the honor band concert.

However, I want to remind the school board that Ms. Paramo is not qualified to hold the position of superintendent because she does not hold a superintendent certification. Certification means a lot to this district and other people have been fired over this one piece of paper. I understand the posted superintendent vacancy has allowed for this lack of certification.

I don’t understand how the district can say the top job of superintendent doesn’t need a superintendent certificate when a principal was fired for failing to renew his principal’s certificate on time. Are these two standards fairly applied to all levels of leadership? I think not. Let me share a recent occurrence in our school district.

Last August, Ms. Paramo was one of the instrumental people who made the decision to not allow a principal, whose principal certification had lapsed, to return to his position in the school district at Iditarod Elementary School. This principal, Ray Marshall, was fired from his position, even though his certification was renewed during the month of August. Mr. Marshall had worked hard over the last two years of his employment to create a cohesive and hard-working staff at Iditarod Elementary School. None of the information nor the pleas that the staff, parents and public shared with Mr. Troxel and the school board made a difference in his situation.

Now that Mr. Marshall has his updated principal certification, he was denied the opportunity to interview for his old position at Iditarod Elementary School, even though most staff members supported him being principal. Mr. Marshall’s application was screened out of the applicant pool at the district office. I wonder why?

So, as the school board considers candidates for the position of superintendent, they need to make sure the person is the most highly qualified for the job. It seems as though a piece of paper (certification) is critical to our district, just look what happened to Ray Marshall.

Chrispy Blackwell

Wasilla