Superintendent Competency Review

Domain I—Leadership of the Educational Community – Competencies 1 - 4

Competency 1 Area:

The superintendent knows how to act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner in order to promote the success of all students.

Acting with integrity, fairness and ethics is crucial for a superintendent because just one “unfair” decision or a lack of judgement that compromises integrity will prove to be detrimental as the community and school staff will lose confidence in the superintendent.  Activities 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 all addressed Competency 1. I assisted the superintendent in redesigning our current evaluation tool for administrators. The evaluation instrument keeps the playing field level without any bias built in.  I interviewed a retired principal from our district that spoke of treating everyone fairly, which does not always mean treating everyone the same, but treating them according to their needs. It is important to never stray from policy as once you start making exceptions, you become “unfair”.

My staff recently completed a survey and the results demonstrate that I do what I tell them I am going to do. (#31)

Competency 2 Area:

The superintendent knows how to shape district culture by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the educational community.

My activity #1 specifically addressed this competency as I was part of the leadership team that analyzed the mission statement and vision statement and made alterations that fit our district better.  I attended the board meeting when the board members approved the new vision and mission statements, which was reflected in the community newspaper the next week.

Competency 3 Area:

The superintendent knows how to communicate and collaborate with families and community members, respond to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilize community resources to ensure educational success for all students.

Activity 25 was the interview with the Assistant Superintendent where we discussed the various means of communication to and from the public as as our public relations policy. The school district maintains a website that keeps the community informed of the various activites going on at the campuses and within the school district. The district also employs the use of a phone system that we use to inform parents of different events and/or emergencies within the district. All campuses instituted the use of Facebook and Twitter for to communicate with parents. The superintendent began writing a blog at the beginning of the school year and it has been very effective at answering many community members’ questions as the year has progressed. Our superintendent is very good about meeting the public, returning calls and answering email.

Competency 4 Area:

The superintendent knows how to respond to and influence the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context, including working with the board of trustees, to achieve the district's educational vision.

As part of Activity 33, I have attended every board meeting this year and have learned a great deal from our superintendent. The superintendent always provides more than adequate information related to items that are on the agenda and maintains “transparency” with the school board and the community.  He is very cordial to the local media that are always present which has benefited the district with the positive coverage we get.

DOMAIN II—INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP – COMPETENCIES 5 - 7

Competency 5 Area:

The superintendent knows how to facilitate the planning and implementation of strategic plans that enhance teaching and learning; ensure alignment among curriculum, curriculum resources, and assessment; use the current accountability system; and promote the use of varied assessments to measure student performance.

As part of Activity #34, I met the Special Education Director to discuss IDEA requirements and responsibilites that I have as a principal. As a former special education teacher, I for the most part, knew the requirements associated with IDEA and strive to ensure that we are always in compliance on my campus. The difficulty is that the requirements and terminology change enough that we are not always notified or aware of those changes.

Competency 6 Area:

The superintendent knows how to advocate, promote, and sustain an instructional program and a district culture that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

Activity #11 was the process of observing the use of technology in the lab within the district. The impact of the technology greatly depended on the teacher and their comfort level and understanding of the technology and the applications to the classroom. Some teacher simply used the technology as a means to transmit knowledge which those teachers that were more adept actually integrated the technology into the lesson where it was more than just a delivery device.

Competency 7 Area:

The superintendent knows how to implement a staff evaluation and development system and select appropriate models for supervision and staff development to improve the performance of all staff members.

I surveyed a broad spectrum of teachers to elicit recommendations for more effective and relevant professional development as part of activity #14. Most teachers asked for more training in the areas of technology and diverse learning communities. As our campus increases the use of technology as well as the number of devices on our campus, teachers are seeing the need and asking for more training to be more effective with their students. As a superintendent it is important to realize the needs of the staff as related to student performance.

DOMAIN III—ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP – COMPETENCIES 8 – 10

Competency 8 Area:

The superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology application.

Activity #24 was the interview of the district financial officer to get a better understanding of the budgeting process and this area is not only complex, but very vast. Upon further interview with the superintendent, he broke it down by saying “one had better overestimate projected expenditures and underestimate projected revenues. If you do this you should keep the district out of trouble”. This was a very elementary way to explain it, but the principle is sound.

Competency 9 Area:

The superintendent knows how to apply principles of leadership and management to the district's physical plant and support systems to ensure a safe and effective learning environment.

Activity # 20 had me to meet with the Director of Maintenance for the school district. He explained the basic roles and responsibilities in his position. His responsibilities are also vast and every aspect of the physical plant falls under his job description. It is important as a Superintendent to understand the role of the Maintenance Director as the operation of the physical plant and support systems are crucial to school operations.

Competency 10 Area:

The superintendent knows how to apply organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills to comply with federal and state requirements and facilitate positive change in varied contexts.

Activity #35 was dealing with issue and conflict resolution. I met with two parties ( a teacher and a parent) over an issue to attempt to resolve the problem. Both parties stated their view of the issue and the associated problems and we worked over several meetings to establish an acceptable resolution. Conflict resolution skills are vital when assuming the role of a superintendent as conflicts do and will occur.