The North Little Rock School Board has selected three top Candidates in its nationwide search for the next Superintendent of Schools. Ray and Associates, an organization specializing in national school executive leadership searches, reviewed applications from over 40 candidates from 22 states. The firm, with over 45 years of experience in the industry, created customized candidate profiles to help identify and recommended nine qualified candidates to be presented to the School Board. The search was further narrowed to five candidates to interview with the School Board.  

The District will be hosting a Virtual Community Forum with the three top Candidates for the position of Superintendent of the District on Monday, August 17th at 5:30 PM.   

The Community Forum will be held via Zoom beginning at 5:30 PM and will last between 45 minutes to an hour and will be moderated by Ray and Associates. The Zoom link is listed below:  

 Topic: NLRSD Special Board Meeting - 08-17-20 
Time: Aug 17, 2020 05:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/98082222730?pwd=RFRoeWVKY3p3YkpuM2htOXVoaFZCdz09
Meeting ID: 980 8222 2730
Passcode: 427765

Community Members will be able to join the Zoom link and directly ask questions to the three top Candidates.  Due to time constraints, not all questions may be able to be addressed. Should Community Members prefer to not ask questions, but simply view the forum, they will be able to do so via the Facebook Livestream on the NLRSD Facebook page.   

When joining the Zoom Call, all participants will be muted. We will begin by asking each Candidate to take a few minutes to introduce themselves and give an overview of their background within the realm of education. At the conclusion of the introductions, we will open the floor for questions from the community. When you have a question, you will message it to the Ray and Associates Moderator to create an order in which individuals will be called upon. When it is your turn to ask your question, you will be unmuted by the Moderator so you can pose your question for the group.   

Each Candidate will have anywhere between 3 and 5 minutes to provide a response, and for each question, a different finalist will be asked the question first to ensure there is equity in the Q&A process.   

 The three top Candidates come from a variety of experiences and backgrounds and are eager to meet with the Community and Board on Monday. They are:  

 Dr. Keith McGee, who currently serves as the Interim Superintendent for the North Little Rock School District. He received his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Arkansas Tech University in 2017.   

Mr. Greg Pilewski is the Deputy Superintendent for the Queen Anne's County Public Schools in Maryland. He will be receiving his Doctorate this month in School Systems Leadership with the University of Maryland.  

Dr. John Tharp is currently serving the Hamilton County Schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee as the Executive Director of Schools. Dr. Tharp earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.   

At the conclusion of the Forum, a Survey Link will be posted via the Zoom Chat and NLRSD Facebook page, and will remain open from 6:30-7:00 PM. We recognize that a 30-minute window is a short time frame for the survey to be open, however the intent of the survey is to hear from the individuals who just participated in or viewed the forum. The Firm will need to quickly compile and organize the data collected to allow the Board to view it prior to making their decision later that night.  Through the survey community members will be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Candidates as well as provide written comments to the Board.   

Should you have questions about the process, please email quinn@rayassoc.com



Dr. Keith McGeeMr. Greg PilewskiDr. John Tharpe