1

Topic 1 Evolution of District Leadership-Overview

• Evolution of the Position

• Evolution of the Training Requirements

• Evolution of Responsibilities

• Evolution of Important Issues

• District Leaders Today

2

Evolution of the Position

• Schools first evolved to meet religious needs– Governed by clergy, church councils or town councils

• As towns grew councilmen were appointed to oversee schools

• Further growth usually resulted in specialization of councilmen

• School boards evolved from these specialized councilmen– Visited schools

– Provided pay for teachers

– Supplied equipment and meeting place

• School inspector emerged from these school committees– supervise schools

– keep official records

– select and assign teachers

– arbitrate boundary disputes

• As towns and schools grew the inspector job was given to one individual who often was paid (first superintendent)

• As complexity and scope of the position grew it evolved into a full time position

• The notion of scientific management enhanced the power of the position

• AASA started to form in the late 1880's- professionalization

3

Evolution of the Training

Requirements

• Education has become more important

• Certification requirements increased from 19 to 41 states between 1939 and 1955

• Establishment of CPEA (Cooperative Program in Educational Administration) by Kellogg Foundation - Evolved to UCEA

• Scientific Movement to Human Relations Movement to Instructional Leadership to Conflict Management

• Degrees Held by Superintendents

None

BS

MS

Specialist

Doctorate

Degree 1899 1923 1951 1982 1992

13

58

14

13

13

52

32

3

1

6

78

14

1

44

15

32

7

0

38

16

36

9

4

Evolution of Responsibilities

• Initially the board's right hand man

• Inspector of schools

• As power became centralized, then the advice giver to

BOE

• Scientific movement– advise on efficiency matters

– advise on curricular matters

– advise about personnel

– advise about facilities

• Human relations movement– concern for democratic administration

– schools were to transmit culture

– communications with school publics

• Instructional Leadership– Improve test scores

– Staff development

– Construction of elaborate curriculum guides

• Conflict Management– balancing special interest groups

– resolving conflict and power issues

– involvement with state and local politics

• Evolution dependent on district size and location

5

Evolution of Important Issues

• Supervision of instruction and curriculum (1800's)

• Increasing efficiency in the schools-scientific management (early 1900's)

• Democracy in the schools- policies of inclusion (mid-1900's)

– Brown case

– special education

– vocational education

– increased special interest group involvement

• Last ten years– Equity via school finance

– Who will determine policy - national, state, local

– School board relations

– Conflict among special interest groups

– Changing composition of SB

– Increasing, decreasing, shifting enrollment

– Demographic changes in district's students

– Erosion of middle class values

– Loss of public confidence• more active press

• less restrained press

6

District Leaders Today

• The Superintendent– Chief Executive officer of the school board

– Chief professional advisor to the school board

– Serves at the pleasure of the BOE usually via a negotiated contract

– Characteristics of Superintendents• mostly men but that is changing

• most govern very small school districts less than 1500 students

• most have been teachers, principals although not all

• Almost all have at least a master's degree--large districts have Ed.D or Ph.D.

– Preparation to become a Superintendent

7

Topic 2The Tasks of District Leadership-Overview

• Classical Categories

• Functional Tasks

• Organic Heath Functions

8

Classical Categories

• Finance

• Budgeting

• Business management

• Personnel administration

• Curriculum and instruction

• Policy development

• Community relations

• State and federal relations

• Site management

• Co-curricular activities

• Transportation

• Food management

9

Functional Tasks

• Symbolic responsibilities– establish value orientations

– signify what is important to the staff

– reinforce norms of expectations

– communicate the schools goals to the public and staff

• Personnel responsibilities– setting examples of behavior that is expected

– promoting staff development and innovation

– conduct wage, salary, and benefit negotiations

– mediate personnel problems--keep people productive

– evaluate principals and help them improve

• Structural responsibilities– establish and oversee curriculum and instructional

program

– search for efficient and effective processes in all areas

– maintain administrative support structure--buildings, books, boilers

– coordinate the systems various parts

• Political responsibilities– garner resources for the district

– maintain public support

– establish political support mechanisms

10

Organic Heath Functions

• Adaptation Activities--helping the district deal effectively with the parents, the community, and external change

– establishing monitoring mechanisms

– encouraging staff to find new techniques and curriculum

– participating in community activities

– increasing the district's flexibility

– finding funding for the school

– participating in community organizations

• Maintenance Activities--helping the district create and maintain the motivational and value structure

– myth building

– treating all staff equitably

– creating vision for the district

– helping the staff develop a common vision

11

Organic Health--continued

• Integration--helping the district organize, coordinate, and unify the parts and tasks

– increasing internal communications

– affording joint planning time

• Goal Attainment--helping the staff define objectives, mobilize resources, and achieve desired ends

– establishing curricular goals

– establishing quality control processes

– monitoring student progress

12

Examples of Superintendent Activities

• Keeping accurate teacher certification records

• Working with the math curriculum committee

• Hosting faculty parties before the winter break

• Giving presentations to Elks Club

• Encouraging cooperative planning between the elementary schools

• Examining individual staff workloads and distributing responsibilities appropriately

• Holding weekly meetings with local newspaper reporter

• Encouraging testimonials of the effectiveness of certain past district practices

• Encouraging parent-teacher cooperation and communications

• Establishing parent advisory boards

• Negotiate the teacher contract

• Oversee the production of district newsletter

• Having teachers exchange positions on a regular basis

13

Topic 3 The Promise of Leadership-Overview

• Historical Views of Leadership– findings on the traits of leaders

– findings on the style of leaders

– findings of behavioral studies of leaders

• Contemporary Views of Leadership

• Example of leadership research in teacher supervision

• Environment Shaping Views of Leadership

14

Historical Views of Leadership

• Great Man Characteristics– traits (tall, gender, race, intelligence)

– styles (consideration, aggressive, understanding)

– behaviors (patterns of behavior such as decentralization)

• Progression– examination of a small number of variables

– examination of multiple variables

– examination of variable interactions

– path-analytic studies employing many variables and linking relationships sought

15

Findings on the Traits of Leaders (1900-1960)

• In general, all leaders posses some common traits– intelligence

– dominance

– self-confidence

– high energy or activity level

• Some situations demand more or less of a large set of characteristics

• Other individuals other than leaders also possess many of these characteristics

• Leadership is moderated by the task at hand

• Interactions between traits and tasks are common

• Current research interest in determining what traits (and to what degree) are necessary but not sufficient for leadership

• Example: How much intelligence is necessary to lead a school system

– Minimal level is necessary

– More IQ may not be necessary

16

Findings on the Style of Leaders (1950-1970)

• Definition: actions, dispositions, or behavior patterns

• Heroes, Princes, Supermen

• Categories (examples)– high or low participative

– initiating structure or consideration

– democratic or autocratic

• Goal was to find the ideal style– mostly abandoned

– most effective leaders score high on all dimensions

– effective leaders have a repertoire of styles

– effective style related to the situation

– style interacts with group expectations

17

Findings of Behavioral Studies of Leaders

(1960-present)

• Many studies derived from the Ohio State Leadership

Studies using Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ)

• An attempt to operationalize the style dimension, that is, what one would do if they were high on consideration

• An attempt to link leader behavior to a variety of other variables (success, motivation, satisfaction)

• Most rely on questionnaire, self-reported data (triangulation is necessary for solid studies)

• Other problems– reputed or reported data

– lack of observational measures

– subjects were often lower-level positions

– frequent use of convenience samples

– endless replication of studies of same type

– Preferences and expectations for leader behavior vary as does impact of leadership

– Directional effects may be of importance. Who does the principal attend to and what are the reciprocal effects

– Attribution theory could be an important field of study in this area

18

Contemporary Views of Leadership (1970-

present)

• Most current studies are situational in nature. The attempt is to study leadership behavior in a very narrow context

• Fiedler's Leader Match concept (two dimensions)– Style of leader

• high task or high relationship

• viewed as an unalterable aspect of personality

– Degree of control of the situation• leader-member relationship

• task structure

• position power - reward or punish subordinates

– Task - oriented leaders perform best in either low - control or a high - control situation

– Relationship - oriented leaders perform best in moderate - control situations

High Task Best High Relational Best

Low Control

High Control

19

• Hersey and Blanchard (1988) viewed leadership in similar way

– Combination of task and relationship but two dimensional

– Situation determined by assessing readiness of individual or group to perform task

– Low readiness calls for task - oriented leadership, high readiness calls for relational leadership

– Readiness levels can change with tasks and over time

High Task Clarity Low Task Clarity

Low Readiness

High Readiness

RelationalLeadership

TaskLeadership

20

Example Leadership Research

21

Environment Shaping Views of Leadership

• Limits on Heroic Leadership– diminished positional power

– organizations have become too complex to rely on formal authority

– special interest groups are actively petitioning leaders to exert influence

– Johnson "notions of heroic leadership are of little use"

– "Today's leaders must understand limits and potential of their position carefully balancing authority with their reliance on others, gradually building both a capacity and support for shared leadership and collaborative change" Johnson

• Limits on Trait Leadership– Context and times matter - behaviors in one setting may

not work in others, superintendents work in embedded contexts

– Concept of locale values and history

– Concept of local organization in which superintendents act

• district history

• constituents often determines who their leaders will be

22

Topic 4Understanding and

Managing Organizations-Overview

• Human Resource Frame

• Symbolic Frame

• Political Frame

• Structural Frame

• Linking Frames with Tasks

23

Boleman and Deal's Frames of Reference

• Simplistic solutions– One Minute Manager

– top management strategies

– In Search of Excellence

– Effective Schools Research

– Seven Habits of Effective People

• Complexity of Organizations– hectic

– rapid shifts

– decisions typically energize

– other loaded information systems

• Frames provide a way of looking at organizations and evaluating possible actions strategies

• Four useful frames– Structural Frame

– Human Resource Frame

– Political Frame

– Symbolic Frame

24

Structural Approach

• Based on the work of Industrial Psychologists Fredrick Taylor (1911): Urwick, Fayol, Gulick (1920-50): Max Weber (1947)

• Common set of beliefs in scientific management– specialization

– span of control

– authority

– delegation

25

Assumptions of the Structural Approach

– Organizations exist primarily to accomplish established goals

– For any organization, there is a structure appropriate to the goals, the environment, the technology, and the participants

– Organizations work best when environmental turbulence and the personal preferences of participants are constrained by norms of rationality

– Specialization permits higher levels of individual expertise and performance

– Coordination and control are accomplished but through the exercise of authority and impersonal rules

– Structures can be systematically designed and implemented

– Problems usually reflect an inappropriate structure and can be reached through redesign

26

Elements of Structure

• Achieving a balance between differentiation and

integration is a fundamental issue

• Differentiation/integration is reflected in the relations among four major elements

– Organizational levels• institutional level

• managerial level

• technical level

– Goals

– Roles• allocates activities and responsibilities across participants

• vary considerably across organizations of different sizes or locations

• as organizations become larger and more complex, specialization is higher and role structure more complex

– Linkages-- keeping organizations together• differentiation leads to interdependence

• types of interdependence: pooled, sequential, reciprocal

• interdependence increases as one moves from pooled to reciprocal

• the higher the specialization the more complex the interdependence

27

• Organizations attempt to coordinate and control in two ways

– Vertically through authority and rules (SOPs)• likely to be significant when environment is stable and the

task well understood

– Laterally, through meetings, task forces, special coordinating roles

28

Technology and the Structural Approach

• A major factor in influencing how and organization is structured

• Differ in their clarity, predictability, and effectiveness

• The clearer the technology, the more structure is tolerated

29

Environment and the Structural Approach

• Environment is everything outside the boundaries of an organization

• Different parts of the organization may face very different environments

• The degree of environmental dependence varies

• Organizations buffer the environment by– coding

– stockpiling

– leveling demand

– forecasting

– growth through the economy of scale factor

30

Structure, Technology, and Environment

• Effective organizations develop structures to match the demands of technologies and environments

• There is no best way to organize

• Structure depends on uncertainty– simple stable environment leads to a simple stable

structure

– turbulent environment leads to a differentiated, flexible structure

• The more diverse the environment, the more differentiation in structure is needed

• Bureaucratic organizations are most likely to be effective in relatively stable predictable environments

31

Typical Points of Analysis

• overlap

• gaps

• under use

• overload

• excessive interdependence

• excessive autonomy

• too many meetings

• too many rules

• diffuse authority

• too loose versus too tight

32

Practice

• For each innovation listed below, describe where it would fit into the structural frame of reference (not all may fit well)

– vocational education

– chronological grouping of children

– tracked curriculum

– guidance councilors

– department chairpersons

– carefully sequenced curriculum

– site-based management

– teacher strike of contract language

– extensive use of curriculum coordinators

– personnel policy manual

– career ladders for teachers

– higher teacher certification requirements

– competency testing of students

– parent choice in selection of schools

33

Mitzberg's Model

School BoardSuperintendent

Assistant Superintendent for Finance

Assistant Superintendent for Operations

Business ManagerDirector of Personnel

Director of Evaluation

Director of CurriculumDirector of Special Education Director of Food Service

Director of Buildings and GroundsCurriculum Coordinator

Building Principal

Assistant Principal for Student Services

Assistant Principal for Instructional Services

Lead Teacher Department Chair

Food Service worker

Special Education Teacher

Elementary Teacher

Secondary Teacher

CustodianSecretary

Strategic Apex

Operative Core

Middle Line

Technostructure Support Staff

Librarian Music Teacher

Art Teacher

Building Curriculum Coordinator

Director of Federal Programs

Director of Elementary/ Secondary Education

Figure 4-1 Mintzberg's Organizational Model Applied to School Districts Source: Modification of Figure 1-3, page 18, Henry Mintzberg, Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983.

34

Possible Organizational Structures

Operating Core

Strategic Apex

Middle Line

Strategic Apex

Support Staff

Technostructure

Operating Core

Strategic Apex

Support StaffTechnostructure

Middle Line

Operating Core

Strategic Apex

Support Staff

Technostructure

Middle Line

Operating Core

Figure 4-2c Professional Bureaucracy Figure 4-2d Adhocracy

Figure 4-2b Machine BureaucracyFigure 4-2a Simple Structure

Figure 4-2 Pictoral Representations of Mintzberg's Structural Models Source: Hemry Mintzberg (1983). Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Pages 159, 170, 194, 225, and, 262.

35

Deciding What Different Structures to Employ

• Goals of the Organization– Simple goals dictate simple structures

– Clear goals dictate simple structures

– Complex, uncertain goals demand more sophisticated and decentralization

• Environment of the Organization– Large organizations tend to need more structure

– Unstable environments require less structure

– Availability and dependability of resources points to more structure

– Different products result in more units in organizations

– Hostility results in more centralization

– Diversity in environment leads to decentralization of units

36

• Organizational age and size– The older the more formalized

– Structure reflects the age of founding

– The larger the more elaborate the structure

– The larger the larger the average size on the units

– The larger the more formalized its behavior

• Technical System– More regulating the more formalized and bureaucratic

– More technical the core the more elaborate the structure

– Automation increases the organic nature of organization

• Power– Greater external control more centralized and formal

– Greater power needs of members greater centralization

37

Managerial Levers

• Important issues for superintendents as they try to lead through the formal structure

– What is the right balance between centralizing and decentralization, standardization and variation

– How to organize the central office

– How to select and supervise the principals

• Letting Go While Holding On– Vertical and Horizontal coordination a big concern

• Meetings

– Principals alone

– All administrators

– Central office staff only

• Ways of obtaining general understanding, obtaining feedback, incorporating values

• How do you have meetings when administrative staff is large

– Planning Ahead• Long and short range plans

• Linking building and district plans

– Leading the Way With Values• Vision is important here

• Symbolism is essential

38

Managerial Levers - continued

• Making Downtown Efficient and Responsive– Central office is superintendent's right hand

– Quality of central office staff

– Superintendents have greater opportunity to rearrange and hire here

• Building experience vs.. expertise is an issue here

• What to do with the leftovers is a problem

• Connecting the Central Office to the Schools– Increasing the direct connections to the guts of the

school

– Making sure helpful advice and expertise was present in central office

– Halting rule generation in the central office

39

• Choosing and Guiding Principals– Selecting principals

• who makes selection

• to what extent are parents, teachers involved

• what is the role of the board

– Supervising Principals• Direct supervision may increase connections to the power

base in the schools

• Favors may be more easily exchanged through direct connection

• Communication is better enhanced through direct supervision

• How many principals can a superintendent supervise?

40

Human Resource Frame of Reference

• While rationality is a central motif in the structural perspective, the interplay between the organization and people is the focus of the human resource frame

• HR frame assumes that people are the most critical resource in an organization

• Built around several assumptions– organizations exist to serve human needs

– organizations and people need each other

– when the fit is poor, the organization and individual will suffer

– when the fit is good, both will benefit

41

The Fit Determined by Needs

• Maslow- hierarchy of needs concept– physiological

– safety

– belongingness and love

– esteem

– self-actualization

• McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y– Theory X - subordinates are passive, resistive, have little

ambition, prefer to be led, self-centered, do not want to risk change

– Theory Y - task is to arrange conditions so that people can achieve their own goals by directing their efforts toward organizational goals

– Theory X relies on external control: Theory Y relies on self-control and direction

42

• Argyris - people develop in particular directions as they mature

– Trends• passivity to activity

• high dependence to independence

• narrow range of skills to diverse range

• short time perspective to longer perspective

• low levels of self-awareness to high levels

• concern for self to concern for others

– Employees will resist if there is a basic conflict between organization and employees

• physical withdrawal

• psychological withdrawal

• movement to another position or job

• formation of political groups to address unbalances

43

Inappropriate Manager Responses

• Strong dynamic leadership

• Tighter control

• ”Human relations" programs

• Selling management philosophy

• Pseudo participation

• Communication programs

• Attempts to implement Human Resource Management programs

– Job enrichment and job enlargement

– participation management or quality circles

– organizational democracy

– organizational development programs

– Theory Z implementation or Deming's philosophy• lifetime employment

• subtle evaluations and infrequent promotions

• generalized career paths

• collective decision making

• collective not individual effort

44

Political Frame of Reference

• The political frame views organizations as "alive" political arenas that house a complex variety of interest groups

• Assumptions of the political frame– Important decisions involve the allocation of scare

resources

– Organizations are coalitions composed of a number of individuals and interest groups

– Interest groups differ in their values, preferences, beliefs, and perceptions of reality

– Differences are usually enduring and change slowly

– Organizational goals and decisions emerge from ongoing bargaining

– Power and conflict are central features of organizational life

– Goal development in public agencies typically results in a confusing mix of statements, many of which are in conflict

45

Power and Decision Making

• Structural - managers make decisions, monitor implementation, evaluate results

• Human Resource - little emphasis on power but rather how it impedes the integration of the organizational and individual needs

• Political Frame - focuses on situations of scarce resources and incompatible preferences and how groups use power (may not be a win/win situation available)

• Forms of power– authority

– expertise

– control of rewards

– coercive power (withholding of services)

– personal power

46

• Role Conflict Analysis (Gamson, 1968)– Focuses on two main players in organizations

• Authorities - make binding decisions, but are the target of influence

• Partisans - targets of control but agents of influence

– Social control is essential to managers because their capacity to make decisions depends on it (undermines position)

– Partisans may or may not have an interest in maintaining existing power structure - it depends on how much trust is involved

– Zone of independence - areas which few people have a vested interest

47

Symbolic Frame of Reference

• Departs significantly from a world of rational thought

• Major assumptions of the symbolic frame– Importance of an event is derived not from what

happened but the meaning of what happened

– Meaning is determined by the ways that humans and groups interpret what happened

– It is often difficult to know exactly what happened in an organization, why it happened, or what will happen next

– Ambiguity and uncertainty undermine rational approaches

– Humans create symbols to reduce the ambiguity, resolve confusion, increase predictability, and provide direction

• Centers on the concepts of meaning, belief, faith

• Played out in the form of Myths, Metaphors, and Scenarios

• Myths and tales makes it easier to develop internal cohesion and a sense of direction but can be resistant to change

48

Linking Frames with Organizational Health

Symbolic Political StructuralHuman Resource

Goal Attainment

Integration

Adaptation

Maintenance

a b c d

e f g h

i j k l

m n o p

49

Topic 5Educational Leadership-

Overview

• Crafting a Vision

• Leading Reform

• Promoting Change

50

Crafting a Vision

• "The critical point is that a vision articulates a view of a realistic, credible, attractive future for the organization"

• Need for a Vision– Can focus the efforts of others as they determine what is

important and what is expected

– Provides the bridge to the future

– Requires the leader to ground personal values in context and expressing them in practice

• vision is required to get the job

• execution of vision is required to keep the job

– If leaders do not express a vision, constituents will often infer them

– Often brings direction to existing visions

51

• Crafting a Vision– Situating a personal vision in the local context

• most leaders modify vision based on what is in the community

• some leaders use vision to sell themselves but make future difficult

• "you have to articulate visions that you believe in, ...but that the community is ready for and ones that make sense to the community"

• "a leader must be able to see what kind of flowers will bloom from this plant in this environment"

• in many cases the process seems as important at the product

• What works– Vision is clear and coherent

– Addresses important needs

– Shaped to fit context

– Championed by leaders

52

Crafting a Vision - continued

• Independent Visions: Do they Work?– May allow vision to be clearer, more coherent, and less

affected by political agendas

– May expedite its implementation

– Can create over-reliance on superintendent

– What happens when superintendent leaves?

– Communities vision may not coincide with the superintendent's

– May cause resentment, resistance, and backlash

• Collaboration?– Superintendents may be portrayed as indecisive and lose

support

– May be criticized as politically unwise

– Severity of problem may dictate collaboration necessary

– People can become more vested

– Helps provide feedback

– Can help accommodate opposing views and resistance

• Communicating a Vision– Must be understood, meaningful, and constituents must

know how it applies to them

– Small number of things and stay with over a long period of time

– Need to be able to translate into practice

– Practice what he or she preaches

53

Class Discussion

• What is the superintendent's vision in your school district?

• How did this vision come about?

• Was it imported or evolve locally?

• To what extend did the superintendent use "a vision" to obtain the job?

54

Leading Reform

• " It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

Many opportunities but also many solutions

• A superintendent has to judge which reforms are right for his or her district

• There are also important questions about what is the right process

• Problems– "many teachers and principals have been numbed by

a decade of urgency"

– "teachers and principals often resent becoming agents of someone else's career advancements”

55

• Success as reformers– Constituents must be convinced that the proposed

reform is worthwhile and locally warranted

– Strategy for implementation must be viable

– Teachers and principals must believe that the superintendent is credible, trustworthy, and ready to see change through

– "Constituents weigh the difficulty of what they are being asked to do against what they perceive to be the credibility and trustworthiness of their superintendent

– Superintendent must assess• Schools' strengths

• Pressing needs

• History

• Who has power and influence

• Who must be convinced

• What are prevailing beliefs

• What are the structures that make reform possible

56

Reform Decision Model

Value of Change

Support for Change

Internal Belief in Own Skills

Evaluation of External

Conditions

57

Making Actual Decisions

Expected Benefits

Expected Effort

Support No Support

High

Low Low

High

58

Promoting Change

• " Ultimately, superintendents are dependent upon teachers, principals, and others in the schools"

"It is not passive compliance but active, collaborative leadership among educators that improves schooling"

• First teachers and principals must be convinced that the superintendent can take care of the basics

– Sufficient funding

– Sound facilities

– Adequate supplies

– Protection from outside forces

• Secondly, they will look for more in the superintendent. Actual change is then possible

• Encountering Indifference and Skepticism– Teachers rarely think about the superintendent's priorities

– Principal is father figure with superintendent a remote grandfather

– Teachers often believe they would thrive if only the central office would leave them alone.

59

Leadership that Transforms

• Two types of leadership– Transactional Leadership - an exchange system

– Transformational Leadership - governed by ideas and values that are shared

– When transformational leadership is achieved the focus is changed from maintenance to improvement

• Getting the Basics Right– Mastering money and community support

– Shielding the schools from the external world

– Channeling dollars to the classroom

• Moving Beyond the Basics (Transformational Leadership)

– Being seen and getting involved• ceremonial

• social

• substantive

– Being and Educator first• symbolism is important

– Giving Respect and Earning Trust• historic low value placed on teachers cause problems

• Superintendent must praise but point out problems as well

– differentiated praise and acceptance is important and difficult

60

Benefits of Transformational

Leadership

• Generally new attention to systemwide concerns and a readiness to rethink priorities and try new practices

• Getting Teachers to See Beyond the Classroom– " When a superintendent gains educators' confidence

and shows confidence in them, they tend to assume a broader perspective on their work and show more interest in districtwide initiatives"

• Helping Teachers and Principals Invest Wisely

• Enabling Collaborative Risk Taking

”Superintendents need to first address basic needs then prove to be attentive, well informed, responsive educators who respect teachers and principals and win their confidence by engaging in meaningful discussions about their schools"

61

Topic 6Political Leadership-

Overview

• Political Contexts and Constituents

• Politics of Equity, Equality, Liberty, and Excellence

62

Political Contexts and Constituents

• "Today superintendents can no longer rely primarily on the authority of their position to run schools...politics pervades virtually every aspect of public education"

• Politics has increased due to– Relatively fixed fund sources but increased demands for

services

– Increased conviction that schools are not doing their job

– Increased diversity of community

– More challenge of authority structures from special interest groups

• Need for superintendents to be political– Build coalitions that support schools, staff, and programs

– Obtain funding

– Solicit views, orchestrate deliberations, and reconcile differences

– Allocating resources among programs and schools

• Operating in the Political Landscape– First interpret the local political context

– Reconcile their own leadership style with the political realities

– Establish own power base

63

Types of Political Contexts

• Partisan Politics– Distinct political groups compete over educational issues

– Leadership in this system calls for• Effectively representing the interests of the partisan

majority

• Lobbying to secure the needed votes

• Serving as mediator in reconciling differences

• Participatory Politics– Group membership is fluid and alliances are ad hoc

– Leadership in this system calls for• Inclusionary decision-making

• Devising coherent solutions - not just solutions

• Patronage Politics– Resources distributed on the basis of personal

connections, special interest groups, race, ethnicity, neighborhoods, friendships, etc.

– Leadership in this system calls for• Brokering agreements that advance the interests of all

children

64

Working With School Boards Under Political

Contexts

• Establishing workable boundaries between the BOE and central office

• Avoiding destructive public conflict

• Framing problems that lead to solutions

• Promoting orderly and constructive decision making

• Converting political opponents into allies

• Fostering collaboration among adversaries

65

Politics of Equity, Equality, Liberty, and

Excellence

• Dimensions– Equality - all parties get the same

– Equity - all parties get in accordance with need

– Liberty - maximize opportunities and choice

– Excellence - producing winners

• Questions– Difference between superintendent and BOE

– Difference between superintendent and community

– Difference between BOE and community

– Difference among BOE members

– What happens to balance when state adds mandates

– How is balance re-established after turmoil

66

Equity, Equality, Liberty, and Excellence

Model

EqualityEquity

Auto ShopEMH

Special Ed Parents

Alternative HS teachers

ExcellenceLiberty

Superintendent

Honor RollElectivesComprehensive HS

Advanced Biology

Cafeteria Curriculum

Allocation of funds per pupil

Football

Common Textbooks

Band Boosters

Taxpayers Association

?

67

Topic 8Toward a New Definition of the Superintendency

• "The capacity to bring about change and the capacity to bring about improvement are two different matters"

• Reasons to Consider Change– Where the organizational environment is no longer stable and

predictable– When student diversity increases– When social and political environment is dynamic, turbulent,

unstable– When expectations of staff no longer match reality of the situation

• Teaching Mission of the Superintendency– Primary mission of the superintendency– Effective superintendents were eager to learn and adapt lessons so

other could understand and find meaning– Effective superintendents modeled teaching and learning– When supt. gained respect from staff for their knowledge and

advice, the staff was ready to entertain other ideas– Supt. helped the staff see how all the parts fit together and were to

work– Supt. won public 67 through their teaching of the community– It was through the teaching and learning experiences that change

occurred in the schools

• "This study suggests that superintendents capacity to lead rests in part on their own moral purpose, their commitment to education, their ability to teach, and their courage to stand up for what they believe"

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Topic 9Practical Considerations-

Overview

• Employment Process

• Board Relations

• Working With the Central Office Staff

• Union Relationships

• Community Relationships

• Relations with Building Administrators

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Employment Process

70

Board Relations

71

Working With the Central Office Staff

72

Union Relationships

73

Community Relationships

74

Relations with Building Administrators

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Topic 10Life as a District Leader-

Overview

• Preparations

• The In-between Person

• Cultural Expectations for Central Office Staff

• Your Private Life

• Dealing With Stress and Surviving

• Surviving and Prospering in a Fish Bowl