CRANFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS: SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH
CRANFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS: SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH
Thank you for visiting the Superintendent Search portion of the Cranford Public School District website. The Cranford Board of Education will provide regular updates here regarding progress on the search for Cranford's next educational leader. As we go forward, you will find key dates and announcements posted on this page throughout the search. The Board is committed to transparent communication with our school stakeholders, while keeping all confidential information completely confidential.
The Board has approved Kathleen Helewa Educational Consultants, LLC to facilitate the search process. Ms. Helewa comes to us with distinguishing and extensive experience in conducting many successful superintendent searches throughout New Jersey. Ms. Helewa is pleased to answer any questions regarding the process. She may be contacted via www.khelewaconsulting.com/contact.
Thank you for your support of the Cranford District Board of Education in this important undertaking. Our Board is dedicated to hiring an exceptional, inspiring, and experienced educational leader for this wonderful community. We are excited to begin partnering with you in the search for our new Superintendent of Schools!
The Cranford Board of Education has several exciting updates on the progress of our Superintendent Search!
Our Community Input Session on June 26 was well attended and sparked lively, informative conversations. The Superintendent Search Input Survey closed on July 16 with 305 respondents to our closed- and open-ended questions. The full results of the survey and input session have been shared with the Cranford Board of Education in an internal document, and provide valuable insights to help formulate interview questions, and to identify the best fit for Cranford Public Schools. Thank you to all who gave their time and energy to assist us!
We are pleased to report that twenty-three highly qualified candidates have applied for the position of Superintendent of Cranford Public Schools: four current Superintendents, six Assistant Superintendents, five candidates who serve in district-level director positions, six school principals, and two candidates who hold other positions in public education. Fourteen candidates have earned doctorates.
To see the full candidate pool report, please visit: https://www.khelewaconsulting.com/cranford-candidate-pool-report
From the pool of applicants, eight impressive candidates have been selected for first-round interviews, which will be held during the week of July 28. Second and third-round interviews with the candidates who advance through each round will be held in early and mid-August.
Please continue to check this page for updates as the Cranford BOE moves through the search process. We appreciate your support during this immensely important endeavor!
JUNE 19, 2025
Dear Partners in Education,
As many of you are aware, Dr. Scott Rubin has announced his retirement in May and will be leaving the Cranford Public School District at the end of 2025 after nearly nine years of distinguished service. Under Dr. Rubin’s leadership, our Cougars climbed to new heights as he led our District with vision, innovation, transparency, and unwavering commitment to our students’ success and well-being. We are grateful for Dr. Rubin’s dedication to Cranford and for the authentic relationships and collaborative partnerships that have flourished here during his tenure. He will be greatly missed.
It is now the Cranford Board of Education’s duty to find a successor who will continue to build on Dr. Rubin’s legacy. To guide the process of finding an outstanding leader for CPSD, the Cranford Board of Education will be partnering with Kathleen Helewa of Kathleen Helewa Educational Consultants to assist with the superintendent search. Ms. Helewa has facilitated over 30 superintendent searches across the State and is highly respected in the field of public education in New Jersey. We look forward to working with her, and she with us.
The Cranford Board of Education is committed to a comprehensive and transparent search process. Although the new superintendent will be hired by the Board, the CBOE will partner with students, parents, families, administrators, faculty and staff, and community members as essential partners in the search, without breaching confidentiality.
To that end, Ms. Helewa will be conducting a live input session at 7pm at Cranford High School on Thursday, June 26. She will outline and answer any questions about the search process, and will field questions to participants in order to gain your view on what the Board should be looking for in its next superintendent. (This session will not be a meeting of the CBOE and school board members will not be present.)
As per the request of the Board, Ms. Helewa’s firm will offer a community-wide input survey for all of our stakeholders. All contributions to the survey will be anonymous and presented to the Board in full. This input, and the perspectives gained from the live session, will be of crucial importance in every step of the search process. More information on the survey will be forthcoming shortly.
We sincerely hope you can participate in one or both of these opportunities to provide us the information we need to make the best selection for the CPSD.
To keep everyone informed throughout this process, we invite you to regularly visit this website. This dedicated webpage will delineate all steps, activities, and news items relating to the search as they occur. Information will also be shared via email, social media and local media.
Thank you for your support of the Cranford Board of Education and your ongoing engagement as we undertake this important task together.
Warm regards,
Kurt Petschow
Board President