Parents would like to see a variety of qualities in the next Watertown superintendent, including being a good communicator, a teaching background and embracing Watertown’s culture.

The parents and residents came to the forum at the Watertown Middle School Thursday night to talk about their wishes for the next head of schools with Glen Koocher, the School Committee’s search consultant and executive of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

Parent Kate Coyne said she would like to see a superintendent with good leadership skills.

“Part of that is communication skills,” Coyne said. “Also, know what the right things are to delegate to sub-managers. ... They should be transparent and accountable.”

Lowell parent Elisa Stevenson said she hopes for someone who has experience as an educator.

“I want someone who has been a principal, someone who has been a teacher,” Stevenson said. “Particularly in Watertown, someone who knows the community and knows Massachusetts ... someone who is practical and grounded.”

Hosmer parent Rena Baskin said the new superintendent should know about and embrace the diversity of the Watertown schools.

“I forget how many languages are spoken at my son’s school, but there are people form around the world,” Baskin said. “There is a real sense of the world in Watertown.”

Perhaps the most important quality, Coyne said is that the new superintendent care about kids.

Parents had a number of areas where they would like to see the schools improved, or enhanced.

• Music and fine arts
• Science in the elementary schools
• Teach leadership skills
• Community service as part of the curriculum
• Foreign language lessons in the elementary schools (parents mentioned Spanish and French as ones they would like taught)

When he met with teachers and administrators in similar forums, Koocher said he heard similar comments.

“There is general concern about the economy and how it affects kids,” Koocher said. “There is an unusual amount of self-esteem. Watertown feels good about itself.”

The Search Process

Koocher has already received about 10 applications, which may be a good sign for the attractiveness of the Watertown position.

“I usually expect 80 percent of the applications to come in during the last five days,” Koocher said. “This is higher than normal.”

Parents can still submit their opinions through the survey on the Watertown Public Schools website (http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EFRBRKPVM), Koocher said, but he will likely stop compiling answers to the survey on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Next Steps

Applications are due Feb. 16, Koocher said, and soon afterward, the Superintendent Search Committee – made up of parents, teachers, administrators and residents – will look at the resumes and choose several to bring in for interviews.

The first round of interviews will be done in closed session, Koocher said, to protect the privacy of the applicants. The search committee will then send a short list of finalists to the School Committee. The finalists will be interviewed in public by the School Committee.