4 Board-Savvy Superintendents on Preparing Superintendent-Aspirants to Take the Helm
A few years ago a really bright and thoughtful superintendent almost 18 months into her first superintendency reached out to me for help. In our first two-hour coaching session, I learned that, in her opinion, she was handling her first …
Superintendent-Aspirants Should Know How to Use Board Spear Carriers
The September 21,2020 post at this blog (https://boardsavvysuperintendent.com/david-schuler-on-preparing-aspiring-superintendents-for-the-top-spot/) features my video interview with Dave Schuler, Lead Teacher of AASA’s Aspiring Superintendents Academy and former AASA Chair, who discusses the mission, goals, and accomplishments of the Academy. Dave and …
Even Superb Performance Won’t Save a Badly Eroded Board-Superintendent Relationship
When I walked in Rich’s office for our weekly project review meeting, I found him slumped at his desk looking distraught. When I asked him what’d happened, he just said “take a look,” handing me a form. It was the …
A Compelling Case for Board Engagement In External Relations
In my workshops for school board members, superintendents, and superintendent-aspirants – including the one I presented at the 2022 AASA National Conference on Education, I make a point of discussing the creative, productive role that board members can play in …
Superintendent Leadership on the Governance Front: An Emerging New Model
Over the course of my 35-plus years working with superintendents and their school boards, I’ve conducted hundreds of one-on-one interviews with superintendents, preparing for retreats and educational workshops. One of my standard questions relates to processes superintendents have put in …
Creating Board Development Champions
My February 25 post described two vehicles for developing your board’s governing capacity that we discussed in my pre-conference workshop at AASA’s National Conference on Education in Nashville. Both the daylong retreat and the task force that holds five or …
2 Powerful Board Development Vehicles: a Hot Topic at my 2022 NCE Workshop
“The Superintendent as Board-Developer-in-Chief” was one of the five presentation/discussion modules in the pre-conference workshop I presented on February 16 at AASA’s 2022 National Conference on Education in Nashville. Over the course of 45 minutes or so, workshop participants were …
Beating the Odds: Transforming the Culture of the Ithaca City School District
Kudos to the Board, Superintendent and Cabinet of New York’s Ithaca City School District for beating the odds by carrying out a successful decade-long cultural transformation initiative, which Board Vice President Sean Bradwell and Superintendent Luvelle Brown describe in the …
Blazing a Trail on the Board Engagement Front in Colorado’s Thompson School District
As my recent video interview with Board President Barbara Kruse and Superintendent Marc Schaffer indicates, Colorado’s Thompson School District is blazing a new trail in the area of board member engagement. Like many districts around the county these days, the …
Transforming Annual Budget Preparation Into a Higher-Impact Leadership Tool
I’ve never come across a superintendent who wasn’t pretty much an expert in the art of annual budget preparation by the time she first takes the helm of a district. This isn’t the least surprising when you think about it. …
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