Leadership Matters August 2014

Let’s give new superintendents a helping hand

find an alphabetical listing of the new superintendents, including their photos, their school district and their IASA region. Please welcome them to your region and to our profession through a phone call or an email. Invite them to attend one of your IASA region meetings or even the IASA Annual Conference with you. Let them know that you are available to assist them with your experience, expertise and friendship. As Murphy succinctly said, the superintendency can be an island. I remember what it was like sitting in that superintendent’s chair for the first time, and just how helpful it was when veteran superintendents in my region went out of their way to lend a helping hand.

This time of year means a number of educators join the ranks of school superintendents in Illinois. They bring new blood and breathe new energy into our profession. We want to make sure to welcome them to the superintendency and to make sure they have a great IASA network of support as they begin to tackle the challenges of being a new superintendent. The members of the IASA

Message from the Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark

School for Advanced Leadership (ISAL) that graduated in June offered some interesting insights when asked about the benefits of going through the two-year cohort. One common theme expressed among the 19 ISAL graduates was how important it was to have developed a working relationship with the other ISAL members. Steve Murphy, superintendent at Carbondale Community District 165, summed up a prevailing

I was at Thompsonville in Southern Illinois and John Hill, who at the time was superintendent in Anna, called and asked if I had ever been to the state capitol to watch a bill move through the process. He said, “I’m going tomorrow and I’d like you to come along and I’ll show you how to sign in, testify and lobby…I’ll even show you where to park and where the bathrooms are.”

“...the superintendency can be an island. I can remember what it was like sitting in that superintendent’s chair for the first time, and just how helpful it was when veteran superintendents in my region went out of their way to lend a helping hand.”

sentiment of the group when he said “In our profession you can very much be on an island and need networks to succeed.” If that is true for veteran superintendents, it’s exponentially true for new superintendents. We are highlighting our new superintendents in this Back-to- School issue of Leadership Matters . In this issue you will find a column by Dr. Lindsey Hall, who is beginning her third year as superintendent at Morton Community Unit District 709. She writes about the challenges of being a new superintendent and offers some suggestions on how to help a new superintendent get their legs under them. We had 46 attendees at the IASA New Superintendents’ Conference in Springfield the end of July. The two-day session was crammed with information about school finance, technology, legal issues, board relations, communications and even personal health. It probably bordered on information overload, and IASA will provide ongoing professional support through our field services directors and our staff. We also are asking you to reach out to your new colleagues in your IASA region. In this issue you will

There was Ed Bradley, then superintendent at Harrisburg and the father of current House Assistant Majority Leader John Bradley of Marion. Mr. Bradley invited me to my first IASA conference and even asked me to ride up with him and join his group at the conference. Frank Barbre of Carmi invited me to my first IASA region meeting. At that time, I wasn’t even sure what IASA was and I probably would not have attended the meeting if Dr. Barbre hadn’t invited me. The meeting provided me with an instant network. Tom Dahncke of Nashville asked me to become involved in IASA. I didn’t realize it until later, but at the time he was an IASA executive officer who would go on to become president of IASA. What all that meant to me was that those superintendents had an honest interest in acclimating me to the world of being an Illinois school superintendent. It helped me get my legs under me as a new superintendent. It was very much appreciated at the time and even more so as I have taken the time to reflect upon their efforts to welcome me to the profession.

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