KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Public Schools announced Dr. Darrin Slade as the district's new superintendent Thursday.
The board selected three finalists for the position in April: Dr. Stephanie Jones, Dr. Darrin Slade and Dr. Ty Weeks.
The KPS Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Dr. Slade as its new superintendent.
"The board understood how important hiring the right person for our next superintendent was for KPS. We valued collaboration with our stakeholders as we made a decision of this magnitude. On behalf of all trustees, I'd like to thank everyone who applied to be the leader of KPS as well as everyone who attended the interviews in person, viewed them online or attended candidate response sessions. The feedback was very helpful. We are confident that Dr. Slade is the right person to take KPS to the next level and to help all of our students fulfill their promise," Board President TiAnna Harrison said.
Right now, Dr. Slade is the deputy superintendent of the Hazelwood Public School District in Missouri.
He has 30 years of experience in education, with 16 years of experience as an elementary, middle and high school principal for the District of Columbia Public Schools.
Previously, Dr. Slade served as the assistant superintendent of Instructional Leadership for Kansas City Public Schools, where he supervised principals, instructional programming, school climate and strategic planning.
The board held a meeting on Monday to interview its three finalists.
"My duty in this life is to provide support to and bring compassion for the needs of students. That's what drives me. I look at all students like they are my own," Dr. Slade said during Monday's interview.
Dr. Slade replaces Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri, who stepped down from the position in December 2022.
You can watch the full KPS special board meeting below:
