QUINCY - The Quincy School Board is looking for district patrons who want to sit in on interviews of finalists for the district superintendent's job, although the community committee probably won't ask questions.

Current superintendent Burton Dickerson announced his retirement in December.

Dickerson said board members are looking for parents and other district patrons, employees, and possibly some high school students. Applications from interested people are being accepted now, Dickerson said.

People can apply by contacting Velma Flores at the district office, 119 J St. SE, or 509-787-4571.

The district website www.qsd.wednet.edu, has a survey for district patrons, looking for their preferences for the new superintendent. The survey asks patrons to rate the district's weakness and strengths, as well as challenges facing the district in the future. It also asks what personal and professional qualities district residents want to see in a new superintendent. It's available in English and Spanish.

People who don't have access to a computer can obtain a copy at the district office, Dickerson said. The survey will be on the website through Jan. 27.

Dickerson has been Quincy superintendent seven years, he said, capping a 35-year career in education. He spent 14 years in the classroom, mostly teaching sixth grade, he said, and 25 years in administration.

Education was the family business. "I kind of grew up in a family of educators," he said. His mom was a teacher, his dad was a teacher for a while, some of his brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles were and are teachers, he said.

When he was a kid he volunteered as a tutor, and "I learned that I liked helping other people with their schoolwork," he said.

A native of southeastern Washington, Dickerson said he started out teaching in New Mexico, then came back to Washington, teaching nine years in Walla Walla. Teaching sixth grade isn't for wimps, but "I always enjoyed that age level," he said.

He had the chance to fill in for the principal occasionally, he said, and "I found I really enjoyed the administrator's role." When the superintendent's job opened in Dixie, he applied for and got it, he said.

Whether it was in the classroom or the office, education was a good career, he said. Teachers and administrators don't get to see pupil progress every day, but when they do see it, it's very rewarding, he said.

After three years in Dixie he went to Waitsburg (eight years) and Meridian, near Bellingham (seven years). Then he got the job in Quincy.

Quincy is a good town, he said, a "supportive community." The teachers, aides and administrators care about the children in their schools and "strive to improve for the good of the students," he said. Parents in Quincy support their kids and work to help them succeed, he said.

Quincy is growing, and school enrollment reflects that, he said. Quincy does have some challenges, but it's important not to see those challenges as excuses, "but to see those as signals for us."

He said efforts at reform and improvement have "been kind of a way of life in the education system for years." Innovations have come and gone, but the emphasis on clear goals, higher expectations and more effective support for kids have been valuable, he said. "There's been an upward trend in terms of student academic outcomes."

Dickerson said he's not sure what the next step is going to be, although he's interested in using his education expertise to help other schools, he said.