Education and the Superintendency

[Fred Deutsch]

Superintendent Kimberly Moritz commented about how an “us vs. them” attitude is a big problem for school districts because it permeates through an entire school climate.

"I’ve been on the job as superintendent in my current district for a year now. When I interviewed with all of the committees one thing came through loud and clear. The BOE actually asked me at my final interview what I thought the biggest problem was and I was able to answer, “us vs. them”. That “us vs. them” is created through a lack of first hand understanding (everyone hears things but that’s not the same as being there) and lack of good communication. It’s extremely rewarding to work to repair those feelings and regain trust on both sides but it’s not a quick or easy fix. We’re a year in and we still have a way to go on this path. It’s an important goal though because it permeates the entire school climate.

My impression of an “us vs. them” attitude is that it’s one of the major causes of union-school district strife as well as superintendent-school board strife.

To counter the effects of an us vs. them culture requires a superintendent that functions not only as a CEO, but also as a “chief partnership officer” – empowering both teacher leadership and school board development. In my experience, the consummate superintendent is a partnership builder, not a fence builder. Sounds to me like that’s what Kim is.

What do you think?

(for more, see www.school-of-thought.net)

[Mike]

Hi Fred... hope this finds you well!

Interesting post that i find in many area's of life...not just schools but any organization.

I really like the term: "chief partnership officer”... however...the key ingredient for me is the following essential question: WHAT IS THE UNIFYING THEME OF THIS ORGANIZATION?

One can really not create partnership with-out that theme. Our schools have beautiful "vision and mission statements"...that very few people inside the organization can really articulate.

Yes, any leader is a builder of partnership.... but partnership toward what and how does your superintendent go about the creation of a unifying theme?

What is it and does everyone agree and can then they articulate and concretize it?

So... what is Kim's unifying theme?

be well... mike