PRINCIPALSHIP AND SUPERINTENDENCY

Why, then, would anyone want to become a superintendent? Those who seek the job do so for the same reason they became educators in the first place—they care about kids and they want to help students achieve. Beyond that, the profession attracts individuals who see themselves, or are seen by others, as leaders. A similar rationale applies to why educators become principals. It should not be surprising, then, that being a principal is for many a significant step in the career path to the superintendency. Many superintendents admit that, as principals, they did not necessarily aspire to a new position. They were happy in their jobs until, often by happenstance, an opportunity came along that took them into either the central office or directly into the superintendency— which is what happened to me. I must confess that I never aspired to be a superintendent. My experience, however, convinced me that adequate preparation can go a long way to assuring success on the job. Today, many institutions are actively involved in the training of our educational leaders, and professional development is a key component of both the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the American Association of School Administrators. The career path for superintendents tends to differ according to gender and district size.

As a principal, you have the advantage of being close enough to teachers and students to best understand their needs and to personally observe the effectiveness of the programs being implemented. That is why, in this day of high expectations, growing accountability, and the need to do more with less, the principalship is the best training ground for the superintendency. For example, the challenges of making adequate yearly progress and closing the achievement gap are very much focused at the building level. Principals must learn to balance the accountability imposed on them by No Child Left Behind with the demands from staff, parents, and students. In the superintendent’s job, you will encounter the same demands, but in greater proportions.Interestingly, many superintendents do not realize how stressful the position is until they have left it. It’s not unlike the old biology class story about how a frog, if dropped into a steaming pan of water, will immediately jump out. But if the same frog is placed in a pot with water at room temperature, and the heat raised gradually, the frog would be cooked alive. Superintendents are like that frog. They don’t recognize the rising heat until they are either out of it or cooked by it. This is because superintendents have learned to deal with stress while continuing to be effective.

Communication. The superintendent must be an excellent communicator and adept at handling the media. It’s no longer sufficient just to plot a course that will adequately meet the needs of your students. You have to definitively convince the school community that your plan is indeed the best one. Because detractors will attack your ideas as ill-conceived, you also will need to put forth your best argument to the media. The people you deal with as principal at a PTA meeting are a very different crowd from the irate taxpayers—many without children in the schools—accusing the superintendent at a school board meeting of frivolously spending their hard-earned dollars. So, if you aspire to be a superintendent, get your communications and media training right now! Data-driven decision-making. Inundated with data, superintendents must learn to manage it, analyze it, and use it effectively. Interpersonal relations. Although the job unquestionably requires managerial skill, it’s the superintendent’s ability to lead people through change that will earn the respect of constituents, faith in his or her decisions, and the willingness to undergo change with some discomfort in the belief that things will improve in the long run.