I was intrigued by Karen Rue’s Board-Savvy Superintendent column, “Ways for a Board to Show Its Accountability” (September 2021). I reached out to the author about her use of district effectiveness reports to help school board members feel more connected and knowledgeable about the day-to-day operations in the district. She provided expert guidance.
The DER format provides an in-depth, picturesque example of how to communicate with both the board and the public. Our district currently uses a balanced scorecard, but the DER gives a superintendent the opportunity to tell a story that is both memorable and impactful. A lot of school system work is filled with educational jargon and can feel abstract, but DERs allow for the superintendent to inform the board regularly regarding a host of compelling topics that matter to the board’s constituents. It is a chance to help your board members look good.
You can never communicate enough, and the DER is a strategy to improve relationships and trust in board-superintendent governance. I thank Rue for sharing this useful method.
CRAIG LOCKHART
SUPERINTENDENT
DOOLY COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
VIENNA, GA.
Valuable Accountability Tool
Transitioning into a school district as a new superintendent can be challenging despite a robust entry plan. I found
Karen Rue's Board-Savvy Superintendent column quite valuable. Creating a formal process to provide the school board and the community with a standard and consistent update on how each department is doing is invaluable. In my view, this tool will be beneficial when developing future goals, programs and budgets.
Thank you to Rue for sharing a description of district effectiveness reports.
PHILLIP J. POTENZIANO
SUPERINTENDENT
BRUNSWICK SCHOOL DISTRICT
BRUNSWICK, MAINE
Relocation Advice
Max McGee's article,
"So You Want to Relocate?," (September 2021) made me remember those positive interviewing experiences where candidate and school board came to be comfortable with each other, to like each other and to begin developing a feeling that they can become a team to serve students.
McGee provides concise tips on applying and interviewing for a new superintendency. Most importantly, he encourages candidates to be their authentic selves. The leaders whom school boards want to see in interviews for the superintendency are individuals who want the job and show it; who believe they can serve their students, staff and communities; who carry a fierce desire to serve; and who value teamwork and give full credit to others.
Importantly, leaders genuinely like people – you must let yourself like the board and let the board like you. Let the board feel comfortable with you. McGee asks the candidate to be a positive presence. Part of the authenticity is letting oneself smile, making eye contact with each board member and showing one’s humility.
His advice comes from a broadly experienced educator and someone who is a proven connector of candidates and school boards.
ANTHONY PRZEKLASA
PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF LEADERSHIP
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY
RIVER FOREST, ILL.
The Seven R’s Reverberate
“The Seven R’s of Collaborative Leadership” by Nathan Quesnel, Robert Villanova and Mark Benigni in your September 2021 issue was well done and on point.
The seven R’s are important factors to consider in superintendent and school board leadership, especially during the past 18 months. Their article clearly identified those seven areas, and they resonated with me as a superintendent. The last school year was the most difficult in the past two decades — just keeping the school district moving forward and not shutting down.
Two of their points — clarifying roles and identifying responsibilities — are the ones most impactful for me. Whether in a global health pandemic or not, the roles and responsibilities for the board and superintendent are critical in moving a district forward. The authors remind us of this well. The COVID-19 pandemic was an accelerate for all parts of life. So if there was a strength in your district, it got stronger. If there was a weakness, then ….
The statement “Is this conversation about our students, their leaning and their safety” resides as the heart of the article and one that will forever be a part of my leadership strategies. We all should live by it.
Reflection and resilience are the trademarks of good collaborative leadership as the authors point out. Well done.
JOSEPH P. MACARY
SUPERINTENDENT
VERNON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
VERNON, CONN.
Homerun on Goleman Interview
Julie Vitale hit it out of the park in her Thought Leadership Series interview with Daniel Goleman (“The Emotions of Leadership,” October 2021). The fact that CASEL (which serves as the foundation for many districts’ current work in social emotional learning) was developed in 1994 shows how Goleman's work has stood the test of time.
I was also happy to learn that his groundbreaking book Emotional Intelligence has a newly published 25th anniversary edition.
Vitale also pulled the interview together impressively well in the SA Extras video.
SUZETTE LOVELY
RETIRED SUPERINTENDENT
CARLSBAD, CALIF.
Native American Nicknames
Thank you to education attorney David Rubin for sharing his thoughts in his Legal Brief column
“The Legal Frontier of Native American Team Names” (September 2021).
Our school district in Illinois just changed from the Chiefs to the Ravens. We kept some of our branding that included a single feather. It is an acknowledgement of the respect we have for the Native Americans who lived in our area as well as our current and future recognition of diversity, equity and inclusion.
NANCY WAGNER
SUPERINTENDENT
RIVER TRAILS SCHOOL DISTRICT
MOUNT PROSPECT, ILL.
State of the Superintendency
I enjoyed all of the articles on the state of the superintendency in the
September issue of School Administrator. As school board president at the time (it’s a term-limited role that ended in November), I had many conversations with our superintendent regarding the stressful situations he was facing every day. I encouraged him to continue a positive outlook for the sake of all students.
TERRE DAVIS
SEARCH CONSULTANT
T D & ASSOCIATES
WESTCLIFF, COLO.
Missed Advice on Air Quality
I am a loyal and long-time reader of
School Administrator, a big advocate of AASA and an active sponsor of the association for many years with multiple companies. In your August 2021
"Spending Wisely" cover story, I find myself disappointed in the scope of recommendations provided.
We all want students to recover their interrupted learning. No question! However, according to the U.S. Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control, a key mitigation and forward-looking strategy is actually to improve the indoor air quality in our schools. For the first-time, schools can use their federal funding for capital projects related to HVAC systems and equipment important to the improvement of indoor air. This is important because HVAC, ventilation and indoor air projects frequently get shoved to the end of the line.
The Government Accountability Office looked at what school-based projects school districts most frequently delay. In a June 2020 report, the GAO indicates more than 50 percent of all schools delay HVAC repairs with HVAC projects representing the largest area of delayed maintenance in schools.
Districts use antiquated systems with a band-aid approach to repairs when they have a unique opportunity to effect change. It’s not just the GAO. It’s also multiple impartial agencies: the CDC references IAQ in regards to ventilation, the EPA’s COVID -19 strategies for K-12 schools focuses on IAQ, and the Department of Education stresses the importance of clean air to battle the spread of the coronavirus. In a guidance document on the appropriate use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, the Education Department devotes a page to all of the ways local education agencies might improve IAQ.
As the preeminent magazine for K-12 leaders, you disappointingly overlooked an important method to improve educational outcomes.
EDWARD BONESSI
NATIONAL ENTERPRISE MANAGER FOR K-12
CARRIER CORP.
MILFORD, CONN.
Correction
Matthew Montgomery, whose blog excerpt appeared on the Best of the Blogs page in November 2021, is the superintendent of Lake Forest Districts 67 and 115 in Lake Forest, Ill. The magazine had published his previous position.
Letters should be addressed to: Editor, School Administrator, 1615 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Email: magazine@aasa.org