KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Today the second candidate in Kalamazoo Public School’s Superintendent search will be interviewed, and a final decision could come tonight.
Dr. Efe Agbamu, the Assistant Superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools in Minnesota, will be in town for an open house and her last interview.
The open house will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the KPS Administration Building on Howard Street. The public is invited to attend to submit questions and provide feedback to the Board of Education. The interview will then take place afterwards at 6:20 p.m. It will be livestreamed on the Public Media Network.
On Monday, finalist Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri toured the school district and had her last interview. She is currently the Executive Director of the Early College & Career Education at Chicago Public Schools in Illinois.
Dr. Raichoudhuri had a chance to visit classrooms and while she said that class sizes were larger than she was used to in Chicago, she was impressed by how engaged they were in the learning experience. She also amazed by how clean the hallways were.
School trustees could choose their new Superintendent once everything wraps up tonight.
The search process began after former KPS Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice was named the Michigan State Superintendent of Education in May. For now, deputy Superintendent Gary Start has been serving as the Interim Superintendent for KPS.
Six candidates were chosen last month and the board began narrowing down their options through video and in-person interviews. A video of all of the candidates can be found here.
Below is a short bio of the final two candidates:
- Dr. Agbamu is the Assistant Superintendent of Schools at St. Paul Public Schools in Minnesota. She has a background teaching in both K-12 and higher education, and over 16 years of administrative experience. Dr. Agbamu currently works to provide organizational oversight as Assistant Superintendent of Schools supervising 15 K-12 schools and holds a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership.
- Dr. Raichoudhuri is the Executive Director of Early College & Career Education at Chicago Public Schools in Illinois. She has a Doctorate Degree in Urban Education Leadership and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Raichoudhuri’s educational career has spanned 16 years including classroom teaching, building level principal and central office roles.
More information about the entire selection process can be found here.
(John McNeill contributed to this report)
