What's right about the superintendency? - Guest Column

School Administrator, Dec, 2002 by William L. Sharp, Bobby G. Malone, James K. Walter

Forty years ago, an author who identified himself only as "a Veteran Fighter in the Field of American Education" made this colorful comment about the state of the superintendency to author Raymond Callahan in his book Education and the Cult of Efficiency:

"The point I wish to make is that nothing, absolutely nothing, is of more vital consuming interest to the average superintendent than the tremendously important question of whether he will be retained in his present position for the coming year. ... [H]e knows from statistics, observations and experiences that he is in the most hazardous occupation known to insurance actuaries. Deep sea diving and structural steel work have nothing on the business of school superintending. Lloyds will insure the English clerk against rain on his weekend vacation, but no gambling house would be sufficiently reckless to bet on the chances of re-election for school superintendents three years or even two years ahead."

We've not seen quite as colorful an assessment of the contemporary state, but most commentators today would portray the superintendency as a thankless and sometimes impossible job. To be sure, superintendents face serious challenges, yet high-caliber educators continue to be drawn to the position, leading us to ask, "What are the positive characteristics that attract leaders to the superintendency?"

Substantial Input

To do so, we surveyed superintendents in Indiana, Illinois and Texas to find out "what's right" about the superintendency and what motivates one to pursue the position as a career. In addition, we asked the members of the Indiana Public School Study Council, a group of 25 school superintendents, to write out what they liked about being a superintendent. These responses formed the basis for the statements placed in the survey we developed.

The survey asked superintendents, "What do you like about being a superintendent?" They rated each statement from 1 to 5, where a 1 meant a weak reason for liking the job and a 5 indicated a very strong reason for liking the job.

Of the 17 statements in the survey, the one that received the highest percentage (82 percent) of support was this: "I have substantial input into the direction of the school district; to be part of the progress we make." Receiving the second highest support (70 percent) was: "I have an opportunity to impact students."

In order, the next most-supported statements were these: "I have an opportunity to build a team of educators." "I can make a difference in teaching and learning." "I always have daily challenges in this job." "I am able to utilize the skills that I have."

Exercising Skills

Those outside the superintendent's office often note that the superintendent makes a good salary and has more freedom in his or her schedule than other school district employees. They sometimes mention that the job has a high visibility that satisfies the ego of the superintendent. While these factors are true, they are not cited as the main reasons that the responding superintendents like their jobs.

Superintendents feel they can make a difference in their school communities by setting direction, becoming a part of the district's progress and building a team of educators to improve teaching and learning. They believe they can apply their skills in the superintendency, possibly more than was possible in other educational positions they have held. And they like the fact that they have daily challenges in their jobs.

People who work with superintendents on a regular basis or hear them speak at meetings and conferences know they are dedicated educators whose primary objective is to improve the educational experiences of the students in their districts. These perceptions are congruent with the selections of the responding superintendents as to what they like about their jobs.

Since the public perception of the superintendent is a person who is constantly under fire and almost trapped in a thank-less job that no one else would seek, we asked these superintendents about their job satisfaction. Overall, 86.6 percent reported their job satisfaction as "very high" or "high," while only 1.6 percent rated their satisfaction as low or very low. More than 93 percent said they would choose the superintendency again for their career if given the chance to start over.

Positive Balance

What's right about the superintendency? A great deal. Superintendents feel they can make a substantial impact in the district in teaching and learning and really affect the education of children. They find great satisfaction in that feeling, and that satisfaction carries over to the overall rating of their job satisfaction and superintendents' strong statement they would do it all over again if given the chance.

This should be good news for any educator considering a career in the superintendency. Do not be put off by some of the negative aspects of the job. They are real, of course, but the positives far outweigh the negative aspects.

Even 80 years after he wrote the words in his book Public School Administration, Ellwood P. Cubberly, one of the giants of educational administration, captured the essence of what a superintendent needs to feel about his position: