Superintendent Interview

The superintendent for our district was hired in May 2013.  He was a retired superintendent that came out of a 8 year retirement to fill an interim position for Seymour.  After working with us for most of the year, he decided to apply for the permanent position.  During our interview on June 21, he often compared the current roles and responsibilities of a superintendent to his past experience.

Our interview took place this week because Mr. H. was on vacation.  We met in our corporation's board room.  Since I provided a copy of the questions to Mr. H. before he left on vacation, he was prepared and our interview time was spent in a focused and productive way.

There were many things that Mr. H. shared that stood out to me.  Below are the five questions that I selected:

2.  What are the positive aspects of being in a leadership position, like Superintendent?

Mr. H. used a visual to help describe the positive aspects of being a superintendent.  The principals in a district were the ships' captains.  Principals direct the individual ships and are on deck to make the day-to-day decisions that drive education for each ship.  The superintendent, then, is like the fleet admiral charting a direction for all of the ships in the fleet.  He said that in his role, he is the one that studies the wind, current, and weather to make decisions for the fleet and he must stand ready to adapt quickly.  He sees the best part of his job in the working with others to chart this course.
He said it is the teacher that had the immediate, direct impact on the individual child.  It is the principal that impacts the children and staff in a particular building.  The superintendent has the opportunity to impact not only the children, staff, and school as a whole but the superintendent can also impact the community and political structure that shapes policy and educational law. 

3.  What are the negative or difficult aspects of being in a leadership position?

Time.  Mr. H. shared his frustration with time.  He forgot the time commitment involved in being a superintendent for a district.  He said it is not a 9 to 5 job.  It is more like a 5:00 am until the last bus is in on any particular day.  This bus could be an activity bus getting in at 11:00 pm or it could be the bus that took a group of students on an overnight journey.  The superintendent is always on call during this time.
He cautioned me that it does not matter the length of a day.  To many constituents, it only matters what time you arrive in the morning.  He gave the example of working on negotiations with teachers until the wee hours of the morning and then getting to work at his regular time.  He said in his experience, it does not go over well for the superintendent to arrive at 10:00 am. 

4.  What do you believe are the attributes of a good superintendent?

Mr. H. found the following attributes necessary for an effective superintendent:
Being a people person, building relationships
Flexibility
Adaptability
Being a good listener
Patience
Being a good negotiator, finding the middle ground

7.  How should a superintendent evaluate the effectiveness of communication strategies in the school district and encourage the engagement of the community to benefit all students?

As far as communication strategies, Mr. H. admitted he was old school.  He likes to talk with folks face to face.  He would rather write things on a board and discuss them than put it down in an email.  Communication strategies, in general, were an area that Mr. H. has found the most challenging since his last superintendency eight years ago.  With the widespread use of email and voice mail in the school environment, superintendents are at the mercy of the next call (since he now carries a phone with him), voice mail or email.  He called these tools, on-demand interruptions.  He said these technology tools moved his communication to the individual level, every hour of every day, weekends included.  He finds it a very great challenge to keep up with all this communication along with all of the other demands on a superintendent's time.

He said the community is interested in seeing the superintendent at events, all events.  He communicates with students, teachers, parents and community members while visiting a classroom, watching a game, attending a concert, or standing in line at the concession stand.   This visibility is important in another way.  It helps the superintendent understand what is going on and how things work throughout the district.  Based on the content of these interactions, Mr. H. evaluates how well he is communicating the school's mission, vision, and plans.

10.  How does a superintendent promote and sustain a district culture that emphasizes student learning and professional development?

Mr. H. pulled this question out immediately.  He said he found it interesting that I would even ask this question since it should be a given.  After a bit of thought, he said he could see how this gets pushed down the priority list just by the sheer number of items on a superintendent's plate.  Mr. H. said the challenge here is to create a culture in which learning and professional development are priorities.  Most times a superintendent enters a district as a change agent for the culture.  This is not something that happens overnight.  It takes years and it takes a lot of relationship building to accomplish.  The school board plays a crucial role in the development of a school culture that emphasizes learning and professional development.  Seymour Schools has a seven member board that is elected and we experience a 2-3 person shift every two years.  It is a challenge to keep a consistent focus toward a positive culture.  Strategies that Mr. H. uses involve providing information to various stakeholders and then working with them to do the right thing.  He said, "You identify the various agendas and then work to find common ground."

As Director of Curriculum for Seymour Schools, I find myself working very closely with the superintendent in our district.  This interview provided a rare opportunity for a conversation about philosophy, ideology, and the job in general.  His parting advice to me was as follows:

"In my career, I've seen some really good people lose their jobs as superintendent.  You have to understand that superintendents can do all the right things for all the right reasons and still lose a job due to the particular politics of a given situation. So prepare.  How does a superintendent prepare?  By surrounding themselves with competent, passionate people and then relying on them to do their jobs.  Superintendents make decisions based on input from others, the facts as known, and solid judgment."