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On becoming an effective superintendent

A Reflective Essay for the topic: THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
Rossel Navarro || Technology In Livelihood Education
DepEd- Teacher I

A Superintendent is the highest position in a Division or group of schools - in this case

the Division of Zambales. Every province may have a qualified “one great leader.” The vastness
of his or her role encompasses to drive the whole division. And, unlike a principal’s task, the
responsibilities of a superintendent is more enormous than what one would normally expect; To
carry out the substantial duties of the role of a top CEO, who also acts as the top senior leader of
a school district, one must have exceptional traits, abilities, and competence. A strong
communication skills and awareness of the larger picture of everyday operations, for instance,
are essential.
The desire to be a Superintendent can be affected by so many factors. However, based on
The Council’s Snapshot (2012) quoted by “The Journal for Leadership and Instructions (Spring,
2015)”, the top five influences for those applying for the Superintendent position are driven by :
(1) on-the-job experience, (2) mentoring from associate professionals, (3) academic preparation,
(4) encouragement from colleagues, and (5) encouragement from family. Any one of these
reasons can influence the decision to take the mantle of leadership of a Superintendent. And
depending on how deep one’s desire is, would either make or break an aspiring Superintendent’s
motivation especially when the realities of the responsibility and accountability comes in. But
more than motivation, it is best to be self-aware. An aspiring Superintendent must know
him/herself both as a leader and as an individual - this is where IQ meets EQ. IQ or Intelligence
Quotient may really be useful at some point especially with all the mathematical solving and
theoretical memorization, etc. . But when the pressure builds up, Emotional Quotient/Intelligence
keeps a person standing against all odds. “Emotional Intelligence begins with knowing oneself
including emotions, personal values, biases, perceptions, strengths, weaknesses, and career
goals. (Goleman, 1995)”. We are then left with the question of qualification of a Superintendent;
In that essence, educational background, grades, the school graduated from, etc. would more or
less fall on the Intellectual category requirements. And so, let us look into the more “less
obvious” makings of a Great Superintendent.
What Does it take to be a Great School Superintendent? A list was created by a non-
profit organization - Great School.org - is a good place to start. According to their list, the
essence of becoming a great superintendent can be summed up into Seven Attributes:
First, “A clear vision for the district.” A strong indication that the superintendent is
performing his duties to the best of his ability is the presence of a clear vision for the
organization, particularly in the field of education, and the ability to work together with the
board members to ensure that the objectives and goals are met. No matter how challenging it
may be, achieving the vision and goals will be in the best interests of the entire organization, the
students, and the community. This is what author and professional executive trainer, Stephen
Covey, identified as “Keeping the End in mind”. Establishing one’s purpose and intended result
will be the basis of all preparations and activities.
Second, “An instructional leader.” The Superintendent starts from the bottom up - from
entry level teacher up to division level leader - for the purpose of understanding how to really
"succor the needs" of actual students in the classroom - and not just mere numbers on file reports
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and records. Being a leader means not just seeing the things that are lacking or source of
problems, but to be able to provide the best practices and recommendations to resolved these
existing issues which will then lead to maximizing both student achievements and support
needed by teachers within the district.
Third, “An Effective Communicator.” As a Superintendent, one’s presence is expected
to be felt all throughout his/her Division; this means that apart from clear communication already
established via exiting modes of communication of written and verbal nature - whether
electronically or physical letters, memos and files, etc. - he/she must constantly make him/herself
“visible” as much as possible. Attendance and taking opportunities to communicate during
public meetings and school events must be done with utmost order of priority and importance.
And by so doing, the Superintendent not only succeeds to state his/her messages but also gets to
observe the actual reaction of his/her listeners through both verbal and non-verbal cues.
Fourth, “A Good Manager.” For the Superintendent, to be a manager means not to do
everything but to be able to empower, delegate, and direct administrators, i.e.principals, OICs,
and teachers to accomplish goals, ensure sustainability and progression of projects, and evaluate
performances. He/She may serves as the initiator or as the organizer of collective ideas and
actions gathered from various sources, and also be able to motivate others to contribute within
his/her division.
Fifth, “A Good Listener.” As some anonymous philosopher stated, we have two ears to
listen more and a mouth to talk less. This was further expanded with the idea that our ears form
the two halves of a heart (shape) which meant that we are suppose to listen more and
contemplate what we heard in our hearts before saying anything with our mouth. But whether it
is as a philosophical saying or as an actual psychological analysis, the idea is very clear
“Listening is a Skill.” And as a leader of his/her Division, a Superintendent must be competent
with his/her listening skills; he/she must listen to various viewpoints of key people that will help
him/her resolved any issues on a contingent or immediate need, as well as for long-term
resolution. However, let us not forget that to be a Good Listener also means being wise in
choosing the people to listen to. It is the same as reading books, always keep good wise books [or
people] around you and you will be wiser and more enlightened; Otherwise, always keep reading
bad books or surrounding ourselves with “toxic people” who only sees problems but never any
solutions or good things at all, and they will just drain the life in you.
Sixth, “He is not afraid to take risks or make a commitment.” This aspect of a
Superintendent deals with his/her decision-making skills, goal-setting mindset and preparations,
as well as his/her accountability towards these actions. It may not be all, but most of the
activities involving the Division would require time, effort, and money; hence, although a
Superintendent should not be afraid of taking risks and making necessary commitments, all of
these actions must me carefully analyzed, prepared for, and should be scheduled in order of
priority and importance. Bold but not over- bearing would be another way to sum up this
attribute. For example, If a Superintendent goals his Division to be one of the top groups with
students of high GPA bearer in the region, then such goal must not just exist on paper; there must
be a basis that this is attainable and that setting supporting projects on each school in the
Division can really help achieve such goal. To put it in the context of Sports, Raising the bar
must also account for the capability of the athlete and not simply the goal the coach wish to
establish.
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And, last but not the least, “Flexibility.” A Superintendent must be resilient. He/She
need to be able to make a “life out of the job;” Change is constant: There’s the job politics - new
and old board members and other contradictions or similarities they bring or keep with them;
changes or delays in sources of funding - often hitting school needs and that of teachers; and, so
many factors from weathers to people that will always be there to make things work either for
the worst or the best. A Superintendent must learn synergy and use the collective strength of
everyone involved rather than simply being confrontational and forcing people to follow by
making them feel inferior than you - which is a common approach by individuals in leadership
positions who fail to motivate and encourage voluntarism among his/her subordinates and
treating them as equal or as colleagues.
The aforementioned list may or may not be conclusive. But truth be told, to have all such
attributes on a Superintendent would take years of related experience and background. And that
is also one of the best reason to look at the Superintendent position as more of a journey rather
than a simple position to choose on application. After all, a Superintendent is still like a teacher.
“The personal challenges include the willingness to give up time spent outside the office.
Accepting a superintendent’s position may interfere with an individual’s personal life. (Brunner,
2008)” ; Needless to say, all the said attributes above relates to all leadership positions in
general. Leaders are not made by people who focuses on the glory of heading people. Leaders
are born out of hardship and humility. And they, the true leaders, understand that real failure lies
in not doing something they are capable of and in thinking that they are no longer capable of
learning new things even out of failure. And if a teacher is said to be the noblest of all
profession, then what more the leader of the teachers and their principals, that is the
Superintendent?