Superintendent as Civic Leader
Embracing a new, more realistic vision for leadership of public school systems in a politically fragile time.
Recently, we’ve been talking with superintendents, including newer ones, who are trying to redefine the job for themselves, and they are experiencing success as a result . . . Instead of the long-standing and prevailing view of superintendent as “lead teacher,” they see themselves as key civic leaders, guiding their communities toward a shared vision of success for their children, communicating in ways that build trust, mending fissures where they can and paving the way for positive change. They say it is demanding work, but more rewarding when reframed in this way.
We believe the time is ripe for a new vision of the superintendency. We have three big ideas we believe are necessary to make the shift.