Ask Jeff Rose, who is not only juggling time between doing his current job and learning the ropes on the new one, but also — with his wife — selling their house, shopping for a new home in Canby and worrying that everything won’t be done in time to start their daughter in a Canby kindergarten come September.

Rose, 35, who was named superintendent by the school board last month, is director of school improvement in Portland’s Parkrose School District. He will officially take over in Canby on July 1.

He will be one of the youngest school superintendents in the state. Rose’s three-year contract with the Canby School District will pay him $120,000 the first year.

He and his wife have two children, a daughter, 4, and a son 2, and they live in southeast Portland.

Rose said that when he was first named the new Canby superintendent, he had the idea they could sell their house, buy the new one, pack up the family and settle in Canby in time to start the new job.

But with the economy the way it is, things haven’t quite gone according to plan, yet. He said Wednesday that the family’s Portland home had been on the market for two weeks and he was concerned because it hadn’t yet sold.

“I consider the process to be brutal,” Rose said. “We moved half the furniture and three-fourths of the kids’ toys into storage so that our house would look more spacious, and my wife and I have had a few midnight painting sessions, getting it ready. And it’s a bad time to sell.”

Rose said a real estate agent asked if they were sure they wanted to sell at this time, considering the market.

“But we are sure,” he said. “It’s a family priority, with taking this position and my daughter starting kindergarten in September and we want to start her in the school here in Canby where she will be staying all the way through.”

The problem is, like so many American families right now, the Rose family is not in the position to buy the new house until they sell the old one. Hoping for the best, however, they spend weekends in Canby neighborhoods shopping for their new home.

“We don’t know what neighborhood we’ll live in or what school our daughter will be in, so there’s some level of anxiety in making it smoother for the family,” he said. “It’s been two weeks today, and I’m already frustrated.”

Transition to the new position as superintendent is not so much frustrating as demanding, he said. He still holds a full-time job in the Parkrose District, and to be fair, he must focus most of his time on his job there. He has arranged his schedule, however, so that he has one full day a week — Wednesday — to devote solely to the Canby School District.

“The transition is overwhelming at times,” he said. “I’m trying to focus my Canby work to Canby days, and that’s been helpful.”

The goal, he said, is to meet as many people in Canby as he can right now.

Every Wednesday, Rose spends a few hours of the day introducing himself to staff and faculty members at one or two Canby schools.

Last week, he visited Canby High School in the morning and was off to Lee Elementary in the afternoon. The week before, he spent some time at Ninety-One School.

“My intent is to say, ‘Hi, I’m Jeff and this is who I am,’” he said. “Also, every time I come here, Deborah Sommer and I meet for a couple of solid hours, at least.”

He said the meetings are conversational — not an agenda of issues — so that way, the incoming and outgoing superintendents can cover a lot of ground in a more relaxed manner.

“The interview process was an intense experience,” he said. “I was trying to sell myself to Canby, but to have conversations in more authentic way with Deborah, I am now getting a chance to know Canby.”

But the question, “What’s going to happen when Deborah Sommer hands over the reins?” is one Rose gets a lot.

Faculty and staff want to know what changes he might have in mind. Parents are asking, “What are your plans for my kids?”

Rose said he wants to explore what might be the right ways to handle individual issues.

“I need to know the situation better before I think about changing things here,” he said.

So, how to get to know Canby? By talking to people. Rose said that’s how he first came into Canby when he was interviewing for the position — by talking to people and listening.

“But since then, talk has become more personal,” he said. “We have different community groups here and I’m trying to meet them all.”

Monday, Rose had lunch with parents and community members at the monthly superintendent luncheon, where he hoped to meet people he had not yet had the chance to talk with before.

“Things that worked, I want to make sure I am aware of, and things we determine to change to make better, I need to learn about,” he said. “So a lot of those things take lots of dialogue and process, before any changes take place.”

Rose said he was first drawn to Canby by the amount of pride and esteem this community has for education.

“I continue to marvel at that,” he said. “And this is what teachers tell me — how wonderful a place this is, and that’s something you can hang your hat on. We want to continue to nurture that and do what we can to meet the needs of different students.