New Jersey leaders begin search for new leader of Camden schools

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On Wednesday, New Jersey officials launched the search for a new leader to replace Katrina McCombs, outgoing superintendent of the Camden City School District.

According to a notice on the school district’s website, the New Jersey Department of Education has hired Illinois-based HYA Associates to lead the search. The firm was selected “in a competitive bid process that required multiple rounds of review,” the website said.

A community input survey is open to students, parents and staff until June 11. The district will concurrently hold focus groups June 2–12. A feedback report will be presented to the School Advisory Board the week of June 17.

Ronsha A. Dickerson, a Camden resident and executive director of the Camden Parent and Student Union, said the search process is leaning in the right direction.

“This is not a bad thing, but it should have been in place already,” she said, adding that the community has been calling for an open process for a superintendent search since 2013, when the state took over the school district. “Our main concern is to keep the process transparent for the community.”