Overall
this was a tremendous learning experience for me because I did not know how
much my Superintendent does outside the district to advance the needs of the
district. This was the answer that stuck
out the most to me, regarding budgets and needs. He feels it is necessary to be aware of all
tax rates and how they impact the district.
One of the things he does is attends all the tax meetings in Johnson
County. By his own admission he is the
only Superintendent in the county that attends these meetings. It seems to serve him well as he is aware of
issues before they become regulation and he can go back to the district and
meet with the CFO to see how they will adjust what we are doing. This stuck out to me because this is not
something he has to do but definitely something that helps our school district
know what is happening and how it affects us.
As a leader I want to go above and beyond with things like this to show
care and concern for all aspects of the district.
The
second response that stuck out with me dealt with building relationships with
the school board. These are people you
have to work with to advance the district.
However, they are also the people who decide your future when they are
dealing with your contract, so it doesn’t hurt to make an investment in a
positive relationship. One thing he has
done everywhere he has been is to make weekly visits to the homes of the board
members and leave them a packet of information of what is going on in the
district. He cautioned me to balance the
positives with some negatives. It is
unrealistic to believe that they think everything is going well every week and
they will hear through gossip some of the happenings of the district so be up
front and honest with them regarding events.
I am not sure if this is an activity that will work in larger districts
where everything is spread out more as he said it takes about a half a day
Friday to do this. I would like to see
if this is a feasible activity for me as a Superintendent in working to build
positive relationships with others.
Next,
my Superintendent talked to me about having proper support for the needs of the
district. He visits all campuses daily
and takes a minimum of 20 pictures a week.
This could include areas that need to be addressed or areas of
achievement. It is important to share
our successes with everyone in the school district. Likewise, when there is a pressing need in
the district having photographic evidence of the need can help convince others
of the need. I know a lot of people see
his constant visits as a pain, but it is clear that this is a way he can keep a
good handle of what is happening. In
addition, I think it helps keep people on task and completing their jobs as no
one wants to go a few weeks without addressing a concern of his. I am working with him now on identifying some
pressing areas of need within the district and developing plans to adequately
address them.
The fourth response that stood out to me was
dealing with how to remain ethical. I
don’t say this was stuck with me because he said it is difficult to remain that
way. It had to deal with how he has to
deal with educators who do not follow the code of ethics. He has had a growing number of instances
where educators have used work email to communicate in some inappropriate
manner with others and have had to be confronted. With increasing technology comes increased
responsibility and it is critical that there are clear policies in place. He also let me know that when they are
confronted and angry it is often best to try and get them to resign and sign
then so, but often times their anger overcomes the sensible decision. As a leader I know this will often be some of
the more uncomfortable positions to be in, but we must always put students
first and hold our staff to a high standard of behavior and when they don’t
meet the expectation we have to be willing to part ways with them.
The
final thing that stuck out with me and it was not necessarily one of the
questions, but came up in our conversation was how to handle social
relationships with people you work with.
He said it is often difficult to maintain relationships with people you
work with outside of work because they may try to use that to their advantage
or it will appear to others that they receive favoritism. This is hard since you spend so much time
with these people during the week and they often come to know you very
well. He recommends limiting personal
relationships and interactions outside the workplace. As a people person who enjoys helping others
this may be hard for me at times but I know it will be for the best of my long
term success. I am glad I have a
Superintendent who is willing to take the time to help me improve and advance
my career, I know he was busy but this activity was a great help for me as I
begin this program.
