By Susan Ladika

Working to ensure there are enough prospective superintendents ready to step in to vacant roles is a key concern at the AASA National Conference on Education.

“We’re going to need to fill the pipeline in the near future,” said Robert McCord, associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a presenter Thursday at the full-day Aspiring Leaders Forum, a newly introduced program at the national conference.

Seasoned superintendents met with up-and-coming young leaders from around the nation to discuss scenarios superintendents are likely to face – from how to get a job possibility to developing an entry plan when moving into a troubled school district.

Becoming a superintendent is “an increasingly challenging leadership opportunity,” said Paul D. Houston, AASA’s executive director. “These are jobs that are really from the heart and soul.”

Even sitting at an assistant superintendent or deputy superintendent’s desk for years doesn’t necessarily prepare someone for the top job. “The world looks entirely different,” Houston said.

Christine Johns, superintendent of Utica Community Schools in Sterling Heights, Mich., tried to give the aspiring superintendents a taste of the real world by describing her experiences being courted by another school district.

She described doing due diligence, such as searching newspaper articles about the school district and getting a feeling for the dynamics of the community.

Session attendees then broke into small groups to discuss how they would conduct such due diligence, and presented their thoughts to the group. Denise Wickham, director of curriculum and instruction at the Ceres Unified School District in Ceres, Calif., said it’s crucial to determine “not only if we are going to fit in with the board, but if the board is going to fit with us.”

Johns said she ultimately pulled out of the job interview process at the other district. “Something didn’t feel right.”

In another exercise, Kenneth Burnley, senior resident fellow at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a former superintendent, gave the gathering three scenarios he himself had experienced when taking over troubled districts in various parts of the country, and asked them to devise an entry plan if they were in a similar situation.

During the course of the day, participants were also scheduled to discuss topics such as working with power brokers in their community, and how to establish moral leadership, as well as hearing presentations on compensation considerations and working with a headhunter.

Bobbi Zigrang, principal of Arrowpoint Elementary in the Hazelwood School District in St. Louis, Mo., said she aspires to become an assistant superintendent. “I feel like a sponge, absorbing all the information and ideas and strategies.”

Reprinted with permission from The Conference Daily , AASA, 2.14.08