As districts face multiple upheavals new superintendents must hone their K-12 change management skills to maximize their first 100 days.
The last few years have been challenging for all K-12 educators, including superintendents. While we’ve heard a lot about teacher burnout and resignations, turnover goes beyond the classroom: In fact, more than 40% of district superintendents left their jobs between 2019-20 and 2023-24. This churn reflects the grueling demands of leading in times of crisis or uncertainty. As captains of a district’s ship, superintendents have spent the last several years navigating tumultuous waters with an overworked crew. As new superintendents come aboard, they must not only orient themselves quickly but also revive the crew and act as strategic leaders to steer the ship back on course.
Amid ongoing post-pandemic academic recovery efforts, funding challenges, and policy changes, school and district operations are being stress tested on many levels. New superintendents face an enormous learning curve as they guide districts through enrollment changes, staff shortages, polarized community perspectives, and outdated strategic plans. Building on insights from our New Superintendent Transition Toolkit, here are five tips for new superintendents to plan for success and rise above the shifting tides.
#1 Tip for New Superintendents: Engage Your District Communities to Foster Mutual Understanding
A superintendent’s job is to bring together the district community under a common vision and mission. As strategic leaders, one of their most important duties is to thoughtfully consider and address the needs of staff, students, families, and school boards. Acting strategically in how you engage a new community in the first 100 days as superintendent will help you start off on the right foot.
Leverage the following community engagement and listening tips as you begin in a new role:
- Remain open to listening and learning, rather than immediately outlining your future vision upon superintendent transition.
- Think carefully about what questions you ask and how you ask them. Ask questions that facilitate a deeper understanding of the needs and values of your school communities, rather than asking broad or generic questions without prior planning.
- During listening tours, reflect on which voices are making themselves heard, which ones should be prioritized, and which ones might be missing.
Learn more about fostering trust and mutual understanding in your K-12 community with our infographic, Engaging Families and Communities in K-12 Education.
#2 Tip for New Superintendents: Use School District Data to Widen Your Lens
Another aspect of learning about a new school community is collecting and analyzing district data. Quantitative data combined with survey findings and town hall feedback provide a full picture of a district’s performance, trends, and strategic direction.
When evaluating K-12 data consider the following:
- Once you have drawn key insights from the quantitative and qualitative data, communicate key insights to all relevant community groups, to promote a shared understanding of the state of your district. Avoid complicated language or jargon while making presentations easily accessible for future reference.
- Formulate a research-based protocol so your district systematically and consistently collects useful data points and stakeholder perspectives. This will allow your district to make sustained progress on its goals.
Encourage administrators, teachers, and staff to develop a data mindset and become more comfortable with data analysis by following the steps in the Data Literacy Checklist.
#3 Tip for New Superintendents: See Yourself as the School District’s Strategic Thinker
After familiarizing yourself with the community’s needs and data, the next step is to ensure they align with the stated vision and mission of the district.
Particularly during challenging times, superintendents must be strategic thinkers who can triangulate community voices and district data to understand the current state of the district. This assessment allows them to begin to take ownership of the vision and mission while avoiding distractions or missteps. Just as a captain sets the ship’s course, so must a superintendent lead the district on a path toward their vision.
Lean into the following tips to better set your course as a new superintendent:
- Make a distinction between strategic thinking and strategic planning. Thinking strategically allows leaders to critically review and adjust goals on an on-going basis (short-term goals) within traditional five-year strategic plans (which cover long-term goals).
- Use strategic short-term goals to guide the community toward new compass points and be transparent about these goals with all stakeholders.
Download our pre-recorded webinar, Best Practices for District Leaders During Superintendent Transitions, to get expert advice on improving your first 100 days.
#4 Tip for New Superintendents: Exemplify Change Management Practices to Strengthen Supports During Unprecedented Times
At the onset of distressing time, the captain’s job is to stay focused on the horizon and keep the ship moving toward safety. The passengers can panic, the crew can feel tired or frustrated, but the captain must maintain a resilient mindset and stay focused on keeping the ship afloat and on course.
Even though the acute crisis of COVID-19 has passed, the recovery stage has presented series of battles with new obstacles such as large-scale policy changes and funding upheavals. In fact, reckoning with the aftermath of multiple crises is often harder than withstanding the initial incidents. Building change management skills may seem daunting, as we reflect on the range of scars and permanent changes left behind by contemporary affairs. The key to K-12 repair and growth starts at the top with adaptive, creative, and nimble leaders.
To remain resilient, superintendents need tools to rebuild and adjust to a new landscape. Here are some ways to prepare for the work ahead:
- Conduct a benchmarking analysis to understand how your district’s key indicators measure against peer districts and potentially adopt new or innovative practices in your own district
- Practice strategic plan review to understand how the current plan aligns with the district’s current state
- Engage in self-reflection to assess your readiness to take on new challenges.
- Are there any leadership skills you would like to improve or develop?
- Do you have a method for assessing your current leadership skills?
- What skills will you need to develop strong collaborative relationships with your community?
Be honest with others about the district’s need for repair. It’s healthy to acknowledge that the ship needs maintenance to get back on course. Every district in the country faces a similar scenario, so these challenges should not be seen as unique to your community or your leadership.
Get sound advice for leading in times of financial uncertainty with our recorded webinar, Navigating Funding Challenges: Strategies for Resource Management in K-12 Education.
#5 Tip for New Superintendents: Embody Your District’s Mission, Vision, and Values Before Adjusting Anything
Strategic planning is the best way to move districts forward, but many superintendents will join districts in the fall that already have established plans in place. In the first 100 days, however, it’s critical for incoming superintendents to learn and understand the district’s current mission, vision, and values — and existing strategic plan —before implementing sweeping changes.
Consider the following practices before rushing into changes during your first 100 days:
- Focus your first 100 days on listening and learning from as many district community groups as possible. Try to uncover whether the values you hear and see in action are aligned with the “official” written ones. If there are differences, that gives you a starting point for asking deeper questions or building a roadmap moving forward.
- If your district is due for a new strategic plan, delay the start of any strategic planning process until after taking the time to understand the district’s specific needs outlook, and values.
In the next school year, new superintendents face both immense opportunities and challenges. Make a choice to enter a new position as a leader of change who also respects the work, culture, and perspectives that precede them. Knowing when to be a collaborator and when to be a captain will make for much smoother sailing.
Learn more about how to use our customizable K-12 advisory services to sharpen your leadership development strategy in times of uncertainty.
