Election Time is Near: Use these Guidelines to help form Questions for the Candidates

How Do You Create a Great Superintendent?

For Boards of Education & the Communities at Large

Standard I: Leadership and District Culture

Indicators: A Superintendent should know and be able to:

•   Formulate a written vision statement of future direction for the district.
•  Demonstrate an awareness of international issues affecting schools and students.
•   Promote academic rigor and excellence for staff and students.
•   Maintain personal, physical, and emotional wellness
•   Empower others to reach high levels of performance
•   Build self-esteem in staff and students 
•   Exhibit creative problem solving
•   Promote and model risk taking
•   Respect and encourage diversity among people and programs
•   Manage time effectively
•   Facilitate comparative planning between constituencies
•   Conduct district school climate assessments
•   Exhibit multicultural and ethnic understanding
•   Promote the value of understanding and celebrating school/community cultures

Standard 2: Policy and Governance

Indicators: A superintendent should know and be able to:

•  Describe the system of public school governance in our democracy
• Describe procedures for superintendent-board of education interpersonal and working relationships
• Relate local policy to state and federal regulations and requirements
• Describe procedures to avoid civil and criminal liabilities

Standard 3: Communications and Community Relations

Indicators: A superintendent should know and be able to:

• Articulate district vision, mission, and priorities to the community and mass media
• Demonstrate an understanding of political theory and skills needed to build community support for district priorities.
• Understand and be able to communicate with all cultural groups in the community.
• Demonstrate that good judgment and actions communicate as well as words
• Develop formal and informal techniques to gain external perception of a district by means of surveys, advisory groups, and personal contact.
• Communicate and project an articulate position for education
• Write and speak clearly and forcefully
• Demonstrate formal  and informal listening skills
• Demonstrate group membership and leadership skills
• Identify the political context of the community environment
• Formulate strategies for passing referenda
• Persuade the community to adopt an initiative for the welfare of students
• Demonstrate conflict mediation
• Demonstrate school/community relations, school business  partnerships, and related public service activities
• Identify, track and deal with issues
• Develop and carry out internal and external communication plans

Standard 4: Organizational Management

Indicators: A superintendent should know and be able to:

• Define processes for gathering , analyzing and using data for informed decision making
• Demonstrate a  problem-framing process
• Define the major components of quality management
• Develop, implement, and monitor change processes to build capacities to serve clients
• Discuss legal concepts regulations, and codes for school operations
• Describe the process of delegating responsibility for decision making
• Develop a process for maintaining accurate fiscal reporting
• Acquire, allocate, and manage human, material , and financial resources to effectively and accountability ensure successful student learning.
• Use technological applications to enhance administration of business and support systems
• Demonstrate financial forecasting, planning and cash flow management
• Perform budget planning, management, account auditing, and monitoring
• Demonstrate a grasp of practices in administering auxiliary programs, such as maintenance, facilities, food services, etc.
• Demonstrate planning and scheduling of personal time and organization work

Standard 5: Curriculum Planning and Development

Indicators: A superintendent should know and be able to:

• Develop core curriculum design and delivery systems for diverse school communities
• Describe curriculum planning/futures methods to anticipate occupational trends and their educational implication for lifelong learners
• Demonstrate an understanding of instructional taxonomies, goals, objectives, and processes.
• Demonstrate cognitive development and learning theories and their importance to the sequencing of instruction
• Demonstrate an understanding of child and adolescent growth and development
• Describe a process to create developmentally appropriate curriculum and structional pracrices for all children and adolescents.
• Demonstrate the use of computers and other technologies in educational programming
• Conduct assessments of present and future student learning needs
• Develop a process for faculty input in continued and systematic renewal of the curriculum to ensure appropriate scope, sequence, and content
• Demonstrate an understanding of curricular alignment to ensure improved student performance and higher order thinking

Standard 6: Instructional Management

Indicators: A superintendent should know and be able to:

• Develop, implement, and monitor change processes to improve student learning, adult development, and climates for learning
• Demonstrate an understanding of motivation in the instructional process
• Describe classroom management theories and techniques
• Demonstrate an understanding of the development of the total student, including the physical, social emotional, cognitive,  and linguistic needs
• Formulate a plan to assess appropriate teaching methods  and strategies for all learners
• Analyze available instructional resources and assign them in the most cost-effective and equitable manner to enhance student outcomes.
• Describe instructional strategies that include the role of multicultural sensitivity and learning styles.
• Exhibit applications of computer technology connected to instructional programs
• Describe alternative methods of monitoring and evaluating student achievement based on objectives and learning outcomes
• Describe how to interpret and use testing/assessment results to improve education
• Demonstrate knowledge of research findings on the use of a variety of instrructional strategies
• Describe a student achievement monitoring and reporting system

Standard 7: Human Resources Management

Indicators: A superintendent should know and be able to:

• Develop a plan to assess system and staff needs to identify areas for concentrated staff development
• Demonstrate knowledge of adult learning theory and motivation
• Evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive staff development programming to determine its effect on professional performance.
• Demonstrate use of system and staff evaluation data for personnel policy and decision making
• Diagnose and improve organizational health/morale
• Demonstrate personnel management strategies
• Understand alternative benefit packages
• Assess individual and institutional sources of stress and develop methods for reducing stress (e.g. counseling, exercise programs, and diet).
• Demonstrate knowledge of pupil personnel services and categorical programs

Standard 8: Indicators: Values and Ethics of Leadership

Indicators: A superintendent should know and be able to:

• Exhibit multicultural and ethnic understanding and sensitivity
• Describe the role of schooling in a democratic society
• Demonstrate ethical and personal integrity
• Model accepted moral and ethical standards in all interactions
• Describe a strategy to promote the value that moral and ethical practices are established and practiced in each classroom and school.
• Describe how education undergirds a free and democratic society
• Describe a strategy to ensure that diversity of religion, ethnicity, and way of life in the district are not violated
• Formulate a plan to coordinate social, health, and other community agencies to support each child in the district

Integrating, Implementing, and measuring the Standards

The Commission realizes that few if any aspiring or practicing superintendents will develop complete mastery of all eight of these standards.  In reality, the standards should be used as a guide for ongoing professional development for anyone preparing for or currently holding a superintendency or other central office position.

These guidelines were freely lifted from the following:

Molalla River "BoardWatch" Website - suggested readings from the NJDOE website.

http://www.geneonet.com/MRSD/AASA_Superintendent_professional_standards.htm