The Dearborn Board of Education has hired the Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI) to assist with the district’s search for a new superintendent. This page will be used to provide information and updates to our Dearborn Schools community about the search.
Numerous April meetings planned in superintendent search
The Dearborn Schools Board of Education will have a very busy April as trustees dedicate many meetings to the search for a new district superintendent.
Applications for the superintendent position close on March 27, 2026 at 4 p.m. The board has nine special meetings planned after that related to the search. Dates and times could be altered as the search progresses, so those interested in the process are encouraged to look for updates here. Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education meeting dates are also shown on the district’s digital calendar.
All meetings are planned for the Board Room at the Administrative Service Center, 18700 Audette St., Dearborn. Except for part of the first meeting, all of the meetings are open to the public.
On April 9 at 6 p.m., the board will meet to select candidates to interview. Trustees will go into closed session as the Michigan Leadership Institute provides trustees with information about the individuals who applied. The meeting will then return to a public session where board members will choose which applicants to interview and select which questions to ask all of the interviewees. The names of those who applied will not be made public unless they are selected for an interview. The Michigan Leadership Institute is the board’s search firm and consultant for the superintendent search.
On Monday, April 13, the Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting. That will be followed on April 14 to 16 with candidate interviews each night starting at 6 p.m. Tentatively, two candidates will be interviewed each evening. Each person would have up to 90 minutes to answer questions and talk with the board. That plan will have to be adjusted if the board opts to interview more than six candidates, either by shortening the interview time or adding another date.
On Saturday, April 18 at 11 a.m., trustees would meet again to select finalists to bring back for further consideration.
Finalists are expected to spend a day in the district tentatively on April 22 and 23. Those visits would include touring some parts of the district and meeting stakeholders. Public meet-and-greets would be held in the late afternoon to early evening for each candidate.
On April 24 at 6 p.m., the Board of Education is scheduled to interview the finalists, and then on May 4 at 6 p.m. meet to select who to hire. The district and the selected candidate would then need to negotiate a contract before the new superintendent is actually hired. The new superintendent is expected to start work on July 1, which is also the beginning of the district’s new fiscal year.
All of the meetings will be shown live on the district’s YouTube channel. The initial interviews on April 14 to 16 will be removed after that night’s meeting and not be reposted until all the first-round interviews are concluded. This is to keep the applicants with later interview dates from having easy access to the questions and answers of those who interview earlier. The other meetings, including the finalists interviews, will be shown live and still be available any time after the meeting for viewing later.
The Board of Education set all of these meeting dates during a special meeting with the Michigan Leadership Institute on Jan. 27, 2026. As the process continues, dates and times could change, especially as the board works to find times that also work for any candidates, both those who may be from the local area and those who need to arrange travel to attend from farther away.
See the Superintendent search timeline graphic
Previous superintendent search information
Applications officially opened for the next superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools on Feb. 20, 2026. The Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI), the firm leading the superintendent search, began accepting applications that day. Applications were accepted through the MLI website.
Earlier in February, MLI held 16 meetings to solicit feedback from different stakeholder groups, including two public meetings for parents, residents, and other interested community members. More than 100 people attended a meeting to learn more about the search process and offer insight on what characteristics they felt the next superintendent should have.
Michigan Leadership Institute also offered surveys in English, Arabic, and Spanish to allow those who could not attend a meeting in person to provide input. A total of 258 people completed a survey.
Applications to be the next superintendent were be accepted until March 27 at 4 p.m.
On April 9, the Board of Education is expected to meet to review the applications and select candidates to interview. Names of those who apply will only be made public if they are selected for an interview. Initial interviews are slated for April 14 to 16 at 6 p.m. each evening.
Community members who wanted to offer input on what characteristics the next superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools had two ways to share their thoughts in February. Two public community meetings were held on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, as well as separate meetings for different employee and stakeholder groups. An online survey was available in English, Spanish and Arabic until Feb. 16.
The input from the meetings and surveys was used to help write the job posting used to recruit candidates for the position.
The Board held a special study session on Jan. 27, 2026 to work with Michigan Leadership Institute to create a timeline and work out other details about how the search would be run.
Tues., Jan. 27 – Meet with Board of Education to review timeline, gather input, establish parameters of search
Feb. 2-16 – Collect stakeholder feedback to develop candidate profile; create and finalize job posting announcement. Stakeholder engagement will include meetings with different groups. A public meeting for parents and community members will also be held. (Date and time to be determined.) Online surveys will also be provided in English, Arabic and Spanish.
Feb. 20 to March 27 – Post position, place ads including national advertising, accept applications until 4:00 p.m. on Fri., March 27
Fri. March 27 at 4 p.m. – Job posting closes. Michigan Leadership Institute will conduct initial vetting of applications to determine if they meet the posting requirements. The names of those who applied are kept private unless they are selected for interviews.
Thurs., April 9 at 6 p.m. – During a closed session, MLI will present information about all applicants to the Board of Education. During the public section of the meeting that follows, the Board will select which applicants they would like to interview as well as what questions to include during the first round of interviews.
April 14-16 at 6 p.m. – The Board conducts first round interviews in person. Up to two 90-minute interviews will be held each evening.
Sat., April 18 at 11 a.m. – The Board of Education selects finalists.
April 22 and 23 – MLI will lead finalist Q & As with stakeholder groups. Finalists will also take district tours and participate in meet and greets.
Fri., April 24 at 6 p.m. – The Board conducts finalist interviews in person.
Mon., May 4 at 6 p.m. – Selection of superintendent
TBD – Board approves contract with new superintendent
July 1, 2026– New superintendent’s first official workday