What is the Role of the Superintendent?
PUSD Superintendent Dr. Brian McDonald stepped down last spring, and Dr. Elizabeth Blanco is serving as the district’s Interim Superintendent while the School Board undertakes the process of recruiting and interviewing candidates for the position. The Board has hired an executive search firm, Leadership Associates, to assist in finding and vetting suitable candidates, but the Board also is taking steps to receive input from students, staff, parents, and the community. These steps include an anonymous online survey, and two community forums scheduled for Nov. 29 and 30.
The survey, which is open until 4 pm on Nov. 17, includes questions that ask respondents to rank the experience, leadership, and personal characteristics that they want to see in the next Superintendent. It also asks several open-ended questions. Students, staff, parents and community members are being given a chance to have a voice – not just to check some boxes on a set of multiple-choice questions, but to express in their own words the factors they want the search firm and the Board to consider in finding PUSD’s next Superintendent.
But what is it that Superintendents do and how do their actions and decisions impact the quality of education our students receive? Here are the basic elements of the Superintendent’s role:
The Superintendent is hired by, reports to, and is evaluated by the School Board, which is made up of representatives elected by voters in the community. While the Superintendent answers to the Board, they must work together to establish a clear vision and goals for the district.
The Superintendent is an instructional leader – someone who understands the conditions and practices required to ensure that all students are learning and achieving their potential.
The Superintendent leads the district’s management team, including administrators responsible for academics, facilities/operations, finance/budget, and services. He or she is responsible for communicating a common vision, setting goals, monitoring progress, evaluating the performance of department administrators, and creating a positive organizational culture.
The Superintendent sets goals that are bold, and isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions. When there are difficult decisions to be made, the Superintendent’s leadership can mean the difference between a decisive course of action that maximizes benefits to students and merely “kicking the can” down the road until a crisis cannot be avoided.
Although PUSD has been quite successful in launching innovative programs and attracting grant funding for academic initiatives, it is likely that a combination of demographic trends and state budget fluctuations will pose challenges for the next Superintendent. As you think about our district’s (and our community’s) strengths and challenges, consider which leadership qualities might best be suited to maximizing those strengths and meeting those challenges.
To also help you think about the most important qualities for our next Superintendent, here is a list of standards for the Superintendent developed by the California School Boards Association.