The First-Year Experiences of Successful Superintendents

By (author) Kerry Roberts, Shellie L. Hanna, Sid T. Womack

Publication date:

01 March 2012

Length of book:

140 pages

Publisher

R&L Education

Dimensions:

229x159mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781610487085

These qualitative case studies give the prospective superintendent a real-life look at life on the other side of the district CEO’s desk. Two dozen superintendents reflect upon their first challenges and growth opportunities that arose during that all-important first year. They tell it like it is, no sugar-coating. The experiences they listed, in each of the 13 chapters, are invaluable to new or beginning superintendents. This book is also helpful for the superintendent mentor as they assist new superintendents in being successful.

Your Authors3

Introduction 5

1. What Kind of People Become Superintendents?9

2. What the “Moving In” Day was like22

3. What Kinds of People Visit Superintendents Right Away?30

4. Discovery: The Real State of the Fiscal Union37

5. That First Board Meeting48

6. First Meeting with Supervisory Staff56

7. What was the first encounter with an angry parent or patron like? 65

8. School property and the “proprietary role”80
9. School bond elections84

10. First Significant Legal Challenge99

11. First Evaluation of Supervisory/Administrative Staff115

12. Trends in Academic Achievement the First Year(s)127

13. Knowing When It is Time to Move138

References157

The First-Year Experiences of Successful Superintendents by Kerry Roberts, Shellie L. Hanna, and Sid T. Womack is a must read for aspiring educational leaders who want to become superintendents and for novice superintendents. This book is written from a practitioner’s perspectives and includes professional day-to-day experiences of superintendents from conducting their first board meeting and to receiving their first formal summative evaluation. The reader is able to apply the contents of this book to his or her daily practices by engaging in reflective activities. Last, but certainly not least, this book addresses the personal characteristics and traits of successful superintendents. These personality traits are couched in the 4H’s of leadership. The reader will discover how the 4H’s of leadership such as hustle, heart, humor, and humility, illuminates the dispositions of successful superintendents.