Superintendent is the Hardest Job in the World

When does a school leader or superintendent have time to actually think?  I read , or more accurately browse a number of news sources each day; many related to K-12 education and many sources that are not.  I am fascinated with the job of superintendent because of its enormous complexity and skill the job requires to be reasonably successful (which is relative).  This is what leads me to write this post with a declarative statement: The position of Superintendent of a school district is the most difficult job in the world. I will share why from two perspectives.  First, the scope and scale of the issues involved, and second, in terms of the diverse interests of the many stakeholders that have a stake or interest in the district. The issues (not nearly exhaustive):

•     Reaching consensus on math and English standards

•     Helping homeless students

•     Poor use of data that could be useful intelligence

•     Pressure to close chronically low-performing schools

•     Regional economic pressures placing increased burdens on school districts

•     Sexting and the need to reduce pregnancies and the supporting services

•     Most effective path to college and career readiness

•     Motivating teaching staff to reach higher and improve student performance

•     Extreme funding constraints due to weak economy

•     Administrative staff unwilling to think in different ways and try new approaches

•     School violence and safety for teachers and students

•     Determining which school intervention option is most effective

•     How to implement the school intervention option

•     Accelerating the pace of technology use and adoption in the classroom

•     Facilities planning and maintenance with declining enrollments

•     Generational divide with Gen-Y (20s) and Boomers (60s)

•     Non-renewal of staff and recruiting more committed people

•     Competing and/or cooperating with charter schools

•     Responding to natural disasters (depending on your region)

•     Disconnected parents and horrendous family situations caused by poverty

•     Dilapidated school facilities and no financial support to change

To be sure, everyone has a solution for each topic listed.  There are many more to be sure.  Next, I will share a graphic of the diverse of stakeholders that a superintendent must address or at a minimum keep in mind:

If you are a superintendent reading this or not, and things are well under control and your district is thriving, then that is great for you!  However, for the vast majority of LEA’s across the country and the world for that matter, this is not the case.  Working collaboratively with the Board and doing so effectively is hard enough; add a few legislators to the mix with varied motives and “concerned” community members, and this is enough to keep one up late with many strange conversations well into the evening.

We have an exciting and down to earth approach to help organize, prioritize the thinking so you can execute on these issues, combined with tools and techniques to get district leaders the help they need internally from their key administrators.  Moreover, this is a broader holistic conversation with concrete tools and a solid framework to keep you clear and in sync with the stakeholders around you.  Let’s talk soon!