The Broken Arrow Board of Education and the Oklahoma School Boards Association are finalizing plans for scheduled visits from the two “Finalists” for Superintendent of Broken Arrow Public Schools.

Dr. Diane Gross, Assistant Superintendent of Haysville Unified School District in Haysville Kansas will be in Broken Arrow Jan. 12.

Jarod Mendenhall, Assistant Superintendent of Union Public Schools, will be in the Broken Arrow School District Jan. 14.

The two candidates will visit several school sites, have lunch with student leaders at Broken Arrow High School, meet with various BAPS staff members and participate in an open public forum that allows the candidate to meet with the community in a casual setting.

This Public Candidate Introduction activity will be at Central on Main from 5 until 6:30 p.m. on both days (Jan. 12 for Dr. Gross; Jan 14 for Mr. Mendenhall).

The busy days will culminate with a Special Board Meeting (on Jan. 12 and Jan. 14) in which the Board of Education will go into Executive Session to conduct an additional interview of the candidate who is visiting the School District on that particular day.

Board members are also in the process of finalizing plans for visits to the Superintendent candidates’ home districts during the week of Jan. 4.

“The Broken Arrow Board of Education has been diligent in its extensive Superintendent search that has produced these two outstanding finalist candidates,” Dr. June Ehinger of OSSBA said. “The Board now wants to visit with people who know and work with the two candidates in their home districts and host the candidates in settings that give the finalists interaction opportunities with BAPS staff, students, and patrons of the district.” 

Dr. Gross attended NSU in Tahlequah, where she earned her degree in Secondary Mathematics and accepted a math teaching position in Manhattan Kansas.  She continued her teaching career in Wichita North High School teaching math and coaching soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball. In 1998 she accepted the Principal position at the Haysville Alternative High School in Haysville where she served until being appointed to Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction in 2001.  She has also served as Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services in Haysville, until being appointed to Assistant superintendent for Assessment and Data Analysis in 2008, her current position. 

Mendenhall has been in education since 1991 with more than 14 years of experience at Union Public Schools.  He began his career in the classroom as a history teacher and coached for six years at Union and Sapulpa Public Schools, then entered administration in Bartlesville as Assistant High School Principal.  In 1998, he moved to Union Public Schools and served as Assistant High School Principal and Intermediate High School Principal until he was appointed Executive Director for Curriculum Design and School Improvement in Broken Arrow where he served briefly.  In 2004 he returned to Union as Assistant Superintendent for Support Services, his current position.

Dr. Ehinger said the Board continues to follow a timeline that calls for the new superintendent to be named in February, 2010.