Do schools need superintendents? One Virginia leader explains the job.

The following is an excerpt of an Op-Ed published November 9, 2008 in The [Richmond, VA] Times Dispatch

As two of the four school boards in the metro Richmond area search for new public school superintendents, I have been asked to provide some perspectives about the role American of the superintendent in a modern school district today. I welcome this opportunity to share some thoughts about the complex nature of this key leadership position while noting that the relationship superintendents in Richmond enjoy as colleagues can be fairly characterized as a model of regional collaboration. The success of our relationship is found in how we share many common experiences and beliefs as the chief executive officers and chief educational leaders of the school districts and communities we serve.

How has the role of superintendent evolved through the history of public education?
Since its introduction in the early 1800s, the position has evolved incrementally, becoming more extensive, complex, and demanding. The phases of evolution have included emphases upon the superintendent as teacher-scholar, organizational manager, democratic statesman, applied social scientist, and communicator.

It is safe to assume that, today, all of these skills can be called upon any day of any year. Twenty-first century superintendents receive great scrutiny from parents, teachers, board members, and elected officials. …

How is a superintendent like a chief executive officer?
A school district is often the largest and most complex business in the community—transporting more people than public transportation, feeding more people than all the restaurants in the community combined, managing more square footage than most of the businesses in the community, and processing, literally, millions of e-mails daily. A school district is frequently the largest employer in the community. It is positioned, too, as the largest educational services provider—which is, of course, our central mission.

How is the superintendent a chief educational leader?
Effective superintendents view the position as a calling, not just a job. The opportunity to lead a school district stirs a passion. Few roles in our society offer this opportunity to help children plan for a future in which the ideals and needs of individual learners, this nation and, increasingly, our world, are advanced. …

How do you do what you do?
I perceive sometimes that others are glad that they are not expected to manage the complexities of an educational enterprise. Indeed, some acknowledge that the required time, energy, human process management, and ambiguity tolerance, particularly in politically charged and high-stakes testing arenas, would be extremely frustrating to them if they were expected to lead in the public domain. …

Finally—and most importantly—a superintendent, like any human being, relies heavily upon the love and support of his/her own family to strike a healthy personal balance while performing this 24/7 role.

How do you make decisions?
My favorite explanation of how decisions are made is that I rely upon faith, intuition, and a great staff to accumulate the best available data to make the right decisions at the right time in support of our children and colleagues. Effective decisions made for the long-term, though, must include the entire community's voice and a vigorous consensus if we want to truly make a difference in the lives of all the children whom we are called to serve.

Read the full op-ed by Stewart D. Roberson, superintendent of Hanover County Public Schools….

Source: The Times Dispatch, 11.9.08