LETTERS - Letter to the Editor

School Administrator, Sept, 2001

Resilient Advice

Jerry Patterson's article, "Resilience in the Face of Adversity" (June 2001), was most timely as I recently have been struggling with several professional issues--some planned but others that took me by surprise. The latter relate to principal/staff communication.

As a second-year superintendent, I love what I do and work with a forward-thinking administrative group. His article reinforced for me some key points in sorting out what is most important and consistent with my values and the values in the organization that I lead.

KIP WALKER

Superintendent

Unionville-Sebewaing Area Schools, Sebewaing, Mich.

Just a note to tell you how much I enjoyed and appreciated Priscilla Pardini's recent article, "Four Profiles of Resilient Leadership," in the June issue.

As a fairly new school superintendent, I often find it challenging to remain positive about meeting the inherent responsibilities associated with the superintendency. The profiles she provided aptly complemented Jerry Patterson's related article on resiliency in school leadership.

Thanks for providing some much-needed inspiration and incentive to stay focused and upbeat regardless of the sometimes overwhelming job demands.

PHIL BENSON

Superintendent

Forestville Central School District, Forestville, N.Y.

A Familiar Scenario

Susan Clark's "Sink or Swim? Leadership's Real Deal" (June 2001) struck me as a "been there, done that" kind of article. I have seen so much of what she addresses that I wondered if my office had been bugged.

Last spring when a high school principal resigned, a retired administrator filled in for the remainder of the year. The staff found themselves in the hands of a master. When our middle school principal applied for the permanent position, I watched him begin to discuss ideas with this retired veteran. That gave me an idea. When the board of education offered the high school principalship to the middle school principal, I suggested to the board that we approach the interim principal with a proposal to serve as a mentor for his successor during the following year.

I told them that we throw new administrators into the deep end of the pool and hope they figure out how to stay afloat on their own. The board thought it was a great idea if the two men were agreeable (and they were). The retired administrator will spend two days a month at our school with the new principal during the 2001-2002 school year. He also will also be on-call for telephone support. I believe we are off on a great support system.

CHERYL MAYES

Superintendent

Knox County R-I School District, Edina, Mo.

I couldn't agree more with Susan Clark's assessment of our obligation to assist those very important educators who will be the next generation of school leaders. It was a nice piece of work.

JOHN R. LAWRENCE

Superintendent

Lincoln County R-III Schools, Troy, Mo.

An Author Responds

In the letters section in June, Russell Brooks and John J. Cassel commented on my earlier article ("Policy Governance Revisited," February 2001). While they were largely supportive of my arguments, they took exception to some points.

In the interest of clarification I offer the following responses to the criticism by Brooks. First, he asserts the "CEO functions as a full member of the board under policy governance, both in the public schools and in the private sector." I know of no policy governance model (certainly not John Carver's model) where the chief administrator serves as a member of the governing board. In the case of the public schools, this would be not only unwise but illegal.

Brooks also misread my comments about boards that hire and put their faith in heroic leaders. I did not offer this as "a prescription for boards," but rather observed that many boards (mistakenly) are turning visionary leadership over to the superintendent as part of a juxtaposition of responsibilities between the board and superintendent that inherently causes role conflict.

Meanwhile, Cassel asserts I was wrong in suggesting that many school boards have become platforms for carrying out ideological agendas and that too often political interests and self-interests take precedence over effective and rational governance. He believes in the historic American myth that school boards are apolitical and that decisions on resource allocation are not values-driven.

Like Cassel, I would like to believe school boards are "up to the governance challenge," but almost daily I see evidence too many are not.

WILLIAM J. PRICE

Professor of Educational Leadership, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Mich.

Much to Recommend

I just read my June issue of The School Administrator and am recommending every article be used in our educational administration preparation program classes. I made this suggestion during one of our faculty's working lunches.

One colleague already had read the article by Margaret Wheatley ("The Next Generation: A Message of Hope"). I particularly liked the contribution by Jerry Patterson ("Resilience in the Face of Adversity"). I have used Patterson's book Upside Down Leadership when I taught the superintendency class. I also attended a professional development session sponsored by AASA and Grant Wood AEA in Iowa several years ago.