The Lawrence school board will interview two candidates for the position of interim superintendent: former Kansas Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker, left, and Lawrence Deputy Superintendent Anna Stubblefield, right.

The Lawrence school board will interview two candidates — one internal and one external — next week for the position of interim superintendent, board president Marcel Harmon announced late Monday.

Diane DeBacker, a former Kansas education commissioner and director of education research for the nonprofit research organization RTI International, will be interviewed at 6 p.m. June 13. Anna Stubblefield, who was appointed as the district’s new deputy superintendent last month, will be interviewed at 6 p.m. June 14.

A third candidate, who had expressed interest in the appointment through the Kansas Association of School Boards, has since withdrawn from the selection process, according to a district-issued news release.

Diane DeBacker

DeBacker would join the district after serving the last year and a half as director of education research for RTI International. Her roles there have included partnering with “K-12 leaders and education policy organizations at international, national, state and local levels to identify priorities for applied research and technical assistance,” according to the district’s news release.

Kansas Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker listens to comments from State Board of Education members in this AP file photo from April 9, 2014, in Topeka.

DeBacker previously served one year as senior adviser to the director general for the Abu Dhabi Education Council and as acting executive director of the P-12 Sector, advising the United Arab Emirates’ senior officials on educational issues, the news release said. DeBacker also served as the Kansas commissioner of education for four years, in addition to three years as the Kansas State Department of Education’s director of school development.

The news release also highlighted DeBacker’s experience as an administrator and instructor. According to the district, DeBacker has served as an adjunct instructor for Washburn University and Kansas State University, as well as in leadership positions at Washburn’s Kansas Competency-Based Curriculum Center and the Office Training and Assessment Center. Her work experience also includes two years as an associate superintendent in Tecumseh’s Shawnee Heights district, 10 years as a principal and assistant principal in Topeka’s rural Auburn-Washburn district and three years as a business-education teacher in Manhattan and St. Marys.

According to the news release, DeBacker holds a bachelor’s degree from Emporia State University, a master’s degree from Washburn University and a doctoral degree from Kansas State University.

Anna Stubblefield

Stubblefield has spent the last year serving as the district’s assistant superintendent of educational support, and earlier this spring was appointed to the new role of assistant superintendent of educational support and equity. Last month, the district announced her appointment to deputy superintendent.

Anna Stubblefield

In her role as deputy superintendent, Stubblefield will “support all department leaders and district initiatives while promoting effective communication and collaboration across all departments,” the news release said. As assistant superintendent, Stubblefield supervised administrator professional development and the district’s Leadership Academy, as well as the departments of finance, facilities and operations, human resources, and food services, printing and purchasing. For the last few months, she has also overseen the district’s teaching and learning division, as well as the district’s ongoing equity work.

Prior to her promotion to assistant superintendent, Stubblefield also served as the district’s division director of human resources and principal of Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, both for four years.

Her professional background also includes serving as a middle school assistant principal in the Blue Valley district, and also as a special education and English teacher, department chair and coach in the Center school district in Kansas City, Mo. Stubblefield has also held adjunct teaching positions at Baker University and MidAmerica Nazarene University since 2008, the news release said.

Stubblefield holds a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from the University of Kansas, an education specialist’s degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a doctoral degree from Saint Louis University, according to the district.

Search process

Both candidates will visit with district administrators and teachers representing the Lawrence Education Association during two meet-and-greet opportunities on the interview dates of June 13 and 14, according to the news release. Committees will then provide written input for the consideration of school board members when the board meets on June 20 to discuss and ultimately appoint an interim superintendent.

The board’s appointment of an interim superintendent arrives as current Superintendent Kyle Hayden prepares to step down from his leadership role and transfer to a new role as the district’s chief operations officer July 1.

As COO, Hayden will oversee bond construction projects, including budget management, as well as supervising and supporting the district’s facilities and operations department. His new role will also include capital improvement planning and budget management, as well as planning related to enrollment projections, building capacities, district property management and school boundaries.

The board will conduct a superintendent search in the fall, with plans to name the next superintendent by February 2018.