KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education has selected six possible candidates to fill its superintendent position.

The semifinalists are Johnny Edwards, Stephanie Jones, Thomas D. Rogers, Darrin Slade, Marcey Sorensen and Ty Weeks.

The candidates were selected from 37 applications which were reviewed by KPS board members.

Edwards is currently the assistant superintendent of operations for Portage Public Schools. He has over 20 years of experience in K-12 schools in the state. He spent 13 years as principal of KPS’s Loy Norrix High School as the director of secondary education and is a former middle school teacher, coach and athletic director.

Jones is a chief officer for the Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services for Chicago Public Schools. She has also spent time as a special education teacher at CPS and was a director of special services for another Illinois school district.

Rogers is an assistant superintendent for IZone 2.0/Priority Schools for the district office of Shelby County Schools in Tennessee. He has worked in public education for 20 years and has been a teacher and principal.

Slade is the deputy superintendent of Hazelwood Public School District in Missouri. He has also worked as an assistant superintendent of instructional leadership for Kansas City Public Schools. He has 16 years of experience as an elementary, middle and high school principal for District of Columbia Public Schools.

Sorensen is the chief academic officer for Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas. She has also worked in Madison Wisconsin as deputy chief of secondary schools and executive director of curriculum and instruction. She was previously a principal and teacher in Chicago Public Schools for 20 years.

Weeks is a superintendent of schools for Dearborn Heights School District No. 7 and has worked in the metro Detroit area for two decades as a teacher, professor, principal, advocate mentor, Title IX compliance coordinator and program developer for youth.

All six candidates will be interviewed via Zoom at special board meetings on April 24 and April 27. The interviews will begin at 6 p.m. each day in the KPS Administration Building at 1220 Howard St. in Kalamazoo.

Meetings are open to the public and will be livestreamed.

The previous superintendent of KPS, Rita Raichoudhuri, Ed.D., resigned in December in what the district called a “mutual decision.” She had been the superintendent of the KPS since 2020. Cindy Green, who worked as a KPS assistant superintendent for teaching and learning services is acting as interim superintendent in the meantime.