CAMBRIDGE — The Dorchester County Board of Education has begun the search for a new superintendent, and on Feb. 22, the entire community has the chance to help guide the search process.

The Maryland Association of Board of Education (MABE), which the Board has hired to conduct the superintendent search will hold Stakeholder Input Sessions at two locations: the cafeterias of both Cambridge-South Dorchester High School and North Dorchester High School at:

• 4 p.m. Employees

• 6:30 p.m. Parents and Public

The 6:30 p.m. sessions will be for the entire community: parents, students, business leaders, community leaders, public officials, and other interested people.

At all of the Stakeholder Input Sessions on Feb. 22, participants will be provided a brief presentation about the superintendent search, will participate in group discussions, and will be asked to answer three questions:

1. What do you feel are the most positive things about Dorchester County and the Dorchester County Public Schools?

2. What characteristics and qualifications do you feel a superintendent should possess?

3. What challenges do you think the new superintendent will face?

Can’t make it to a session?

Submit your input by Feb. 24, to kblumsack@mabe.org. Input may also be mailed to Kathryn Blumsack, MABE, 631 Ridgely Ave., Suite 300, Annapolis, MD 21201, to arrive by Friday.

The Board will use responses to these questions to shape the recruiting process for a new superintendent. The position of superintendent for Dorchester County Public Schools will be advertised starting in March, with applications due by March 27, 2017.

In April, 2017, applicants will be reviewed, ranked, and screened, with some candidates having an initial, standardized interview for the post. Once the search has narrowed further, a smaller pool of candidates will have a second, more open-ended interview. After this second interview, there will be a few finalists, each of whom will spend a day in the district. Focus groups from within the school system and from the community will have the opportunity to meet with each finalist.

The Board’s goal is to choose the top candidate for superintendent by around the middle of May, and vote to appoint the chosen candidate. The new superintendent would start work on July 1, 2017, when current Superintendent Dr. Henry V. Wagner Jr., has retired.