1. education
2. school

Marco Corsi - President| Tom Kosowski - Vice President | Karen Burmeister - Secretary
Randy Heuser | Johnny Holmes | Larry Harris | Dr Don Pratl
President’s Report – Marco Corsi
March 2015
New Superintendent
The Board of Education on Monday
March 16 voted to negotiate a new
contract with Dr Ty Harting
Dr John Byrne, our current administrative chief, is
retiring from his position as Superintendent. With
his guidance and the resources available to the
district, we found a great leader for our staff and
young adults. Dr. Ty Harting will soon negotiate a
contract for his duties as Superintendent starting July
Dr. Ty Harting with Board President Marco Corsi
1, 2015. Welcome.
The Board started the search process in July of last year at an all day Saturday meeting at the Administrative
Center to compile our first hand ideas for the next chapter in our schools. “What next?” seemed to be a common
point.
A search firm was needed to assess candidate interest and organize a detailed review process. Over the last 6
months with the help of ProAct Search, the Board of Education devoted a half dozen evenings to meet with focus
groups of stakeholders. Mayors, aldermen, trustees, professional staff and administrators provided guidance on
the state of the school district and future direction. Three evening open forums were held for our parents and
residents for input on our District direction. The Board then used the focus groups’ information to develop a
profile for what was to be “What Next” for our District.
With a heavy emphasis on student achievement and technology, we went to work accumulating interests from
an impressive group of superintendent candidates. ProAct Search was selected, from a team of qualified firms, as
the company to assist our search. The consulting fee for ProAct Search was less than $12,000 – very reasonable for
a District with a budget of $110 to $130 Million. Starting at the beginning of this year, we worked with ProAct
Search to finalize a panel of six candidates from a pool of nearly 70.
With the field narrowed to six, the Board really went to work interviewing two candidates a night. The interviews
consisted of initial questions and scenarios and follow-up questions. The Board determined our final step was to
challenge the final 3 candidates with our “What Next?” initiative.
The three candidates were asked to take a couple of weeks and prepare a presentation to the Board along with
assumptions and programs to support their thesis. On a very long Saturday, three candidates presented their
special reports and the Board was not disappointed at all. An impressive and diverse presentation from these
candidates brought the Board to the inevitable chore of picking just one. Here is how it went: After a quick
summary session at the end of that Saturday, the Board met again in a special meeting for the purpose of finalizing
our selection process. The special meeting brought out many points of interest, but our goal of student
achievement and technology still won over the day.
The whole process of getting to the final three, evaluating the special report from the finalist and discussions
leading to the ultimate selection took 7 night time meetings and 5 Saturdays. Thank you Board members, your time
requirements were great and your attention was indicative of your commitment to CHSD 218. Good work.
Superintendent Dr. Byrne issued the following, stating “The newspapers have covered the BOE’s decision to
approve Ty Harting to be the new Superintendent of Community High School District 218. I remember when the
BOE was discussing the process of searching for a new superintendent. The one goal they were most adamant
about was that “they must get this decision right.”
I absolutely think the BOE succeeded when they choose Ty
Harting. I am sure Ty will continue to make CHSD 218 a great place to teach, learn and foster success for all the
children of the District.
Dr. Harting is a product of Community High School District 218, has lived within the 218 boundaries for almost his
entire life.
In an email to the district, Dr. Harting provided the following:
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I am truly honored to be selected by the Board of Education as the next leader for Community High School District
218. I understand that there are significant expectations and challenges ahead of me, but I am excited about the
opportunity to serve. I believe passionately in this district – in the students, in the teachers and staff, in the
families, and in the communities that make up the 218 family. I believe very strongly that this is a special place
where special things can happen. I look forward to continuing the work of our current superintendent, Dr. John
Byrne, to push this district to new heights. We need to continue to raise the bar on our own expectations for what
we can achieve. That is the first step towards sustainable improvement in the academic achievement of our
students.
I am a truly a product of Community High School District 218. I have lived within the 218 boundaries for almost
my entire life. My father, Dick Harting, was a teacher at Eisenhower High School for 25 years. I am a graduate of
the school as well. My three daughters are also district graduates. My oldest, Abigail, graduated from DDE. My
younger daughters, Jalena and Carmel, both graduated from Shepard High School. Over the last 26 years, I have
also worked in all three high schools. I spent nine years at Richards as an English teacher, a dean, and a coach. I
was both an assistant principal and associate principal at Eisenhower, and I was the principal at Shepard High
School for 5 years. I have worked in the Administrative Center for the last 6 years. I strongly feel that my personal,
my educational, and professional experiences in the district give me a unique perspective on the needs of our
students and our schools.
I believe strongly in social justice and will push to make sure that an educational approach that focuses on social
justice issues remains at the top of any district agenda. We have an extremely diverse student population with a
significant at risk population and we need to look for ways to reach all of our students and communities. We need
to break out of the cycle of academic predictability that seems to be pervasive in so many of our schools across the
nation. District 218 students have as much potential as students anywhere. We need to create environments
where we acknowledge there are significant challenges but also understand that these are challenges we can
overcome. We can achieve our goals by working collaboratively with our Board, our teachers, and the
communities that we serve to close the opportunity gap that exists for so many of our students. Our kids deserve
it. Our communities deserve it.
In addition to addressing the cognitive needs of our students, we also must address the social-emotional health of
our students. We need to focus on student motivation and engagement and develop student voice. We need to
teach our students to be leaders and advocates for their own learning. If we can do that, student engagement and
then success will inevitably follow.
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