ROCK HALL — At their meeting on Jan. 23, the Kent County Board of Education approved a contract with the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) for the purpose of conducting a search for the next superintendent of schools.

Dr. Karen Couch, the current superintendent of schools, has announced her plans to retire effective June 30.

As a first step in the search process, a stakeholder input survey was developed for staff, students, families and the general public.

The survey will remain open on the Kent County Public Schools through Sunday, Feb. 25. 

Hard copies of the survey are available upon request and at schools, local business and community centers.

Printable versions of the survey and promotional flyers are available at the bottom of the this page. Download and share them to help us get a wide community response!

They should be returned by mail to:

The purpose of the survey is to determine the strengths of the school system and the county as a whole, the characteristics the public believes a superintendent should possess and what challenges a new superintendent may face.

Once the survey information is reviewed, the Board will work with MABE to develop advertising, candidate criteria and characteristics and interview questions and to set a timeline for application review and subsequent interviews.

The Board intends to again seek stakeholder input as the process proceeds and to make a final decision on a new superintendent by the end of May.

For more information on the superintendent search process, visit kcpssuperintendent.org.

Any questions regarding the survey or search process should be directed to William Middleton, search consultant at MABE ([email protected]), or Joseph Goetz, president of the Kent County Board of Education ([email protected]).