District Administration - July/August 2011 - (Page 64)

LOOk, Listen, Learn The board works with the NSBA’s stateaffiliated associations to ensure goals and expectations are clear before a superintendent starts a job. In most cases, the school board chooses the new superintendent based on the recommendation of a private search firm or a state-affiliated school board association. Determine a Personal Legacy Several superintendents, including JewellSherman, agree that establishing a personal legacy—starting with answering the question “Who are you and what do you want to accomplish?”—is key. “The question is not what kind of superintendent will they see, but what kind of person will they see?” says Eric Becoats, who became a superintendent in July 2010 in the Durham (N.C.) Public Schools, which has 54 schools and 32,566 students. “My personal legacy is one in which I want to be very transparent, be open. I firmly believe you have to work hard, and in the end, you have to play hard, as well. Make sure the job gets done. My calendar of what I’m doing on a daily basis is on the district’s Web site. And you have to balance your work with your family life. That’s important. You can’t serve your community well if you’re not balancing your time.” Meria Joel Carstarphen started her superintendency in 2006 in the St. Paul (Minn.) Public Schools, which has 64 schools and 39,298 students, but is now superintendent in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. She recommends “soul searching and self-reflection on what made you the person you are today.” “As new superintendent, I wouldn’t enter a diverse urban school setting unless your core values and beliefs are aligned to a quality education for all students,” she says. “Be sure about the match between your core beliefs and the job that the board expects you to do, because it will be tested every day.” What is most remarkable about Carstarphen’s tenure in St. Paul is that after just three months on the job, she gained the support of the community to pass a 64 July/August 2011 Jordan High School science students in the Durham (N.C.) Public Schools show Superintendent Eric Becoats an experiment they are conducting during one of his visits to schools. $30 million six-year referendum, which spanned the longest period of time of any referendum the community had passed for programs and services for schools and students. The funds were designed to better prepare students entering first grade and to better prepare secondary students leaving high school. Carstarphen says she was successful in getting strong community support for the referendum because the district presented a clear message that conveyed what the community could expect if the referendum passed. Learn Your District, Community Some call it a “listening and learning tour,” which is exactly what it is. New superintendents starting out need first to listen to their staff and other stakeholders— from their administrative cabinet or staff and district-level leaders to business leaders and community members. But even before they start the job, Becoats advises, new leaders should study three important Web sites: the school district’s site, in part to review the “points of emphasis,” such as testing and demographics; the town’s “most visible blog,” particularly the debates; and the local chamber of commerce site for the community growth rate, largest employers and future building plans. Becoats says he enhanced the Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council, a group of representatives from 30 businesses who meet with the superintendent quarterly to discuss the ways businesses can support schools. When Becoats started his listening and learning tour, he held a series of town hall meetings. He suggests that such meetings be held in the cafeteria so community members are forced to sit at tables together. “I provided an open-ended question for which each table would brainstorm a list of responses,” he says. Jeffrey J. Smith, superintendent of the Balsz Elementary School District, a K8 district of 2,800 students in Phoenix, Ariz., with four elementary schools and one junior high school, says that when he started his first job as superintendent in 2008, he knew communication itself was not the only important feature, but that how ideas were communicated and with whom were also key. Staff members and community members, including parents, will often give their opinions about how to make things better in a district, he says, and it’s best to ask them, and other stakeholders, some important questions: What is your role in the district? What are the greatest strengths of the district? What are the biggest obstacles to success in the district? What do you believe we can do to make the district the best it can be? What is your one piece of advice for me? The last question, Smith says, catches people off guard. “The question leads to fascinating advice,” he says. “Some would say, ‘Trust your teachers. We have highquality teachers here, and they need to be respected.’ Or parents would say, ‘Preserve our neighborhood and community; schools are a part of that community.’ Others would say, “We have the best administrators; we need to support them.’ Those pieces of advice have carried me through.” Lay Out a Strategic Plan After a few months of collecting information, spend the next three months working with your leadership team to compile the feedback and to draft a strategic plan for the district, Becoats suggests. Set a date for the launch of that plan and make it a District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July/August 2011

District Administration - July/August 2011
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Facilities News
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
The Social Media Dilemma
Is Year-Round Schooling on Track?
After 50 Years, Ethnic Studies Still Controversial
Finding the Right Purchasing Solution
Look, Listen, Learn
Research Center
Supervisor’s Opinion
Going Mobile
Superintendent’s Insight
Books
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - July/August 2011