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A list of suggestions for new superintendents
By Dave Lieber
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
An open letter to new Grapevine-Colleyville Superintendent Kay
Waggoner and new Keller Superintendent James Veitenheimer:
Greetings and welcome to each of you as you begin your new lives
as education leaders in Northeast Tarrant County.
Friends who know you say you are bright and well-qualified. You
have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities, too.
Good, because we need that.
I hope you don't mind if I am candid, but my goal is to offer a
few tips to help you succeed.
Gone are the days when W.T. White could serve as Dallas schools
superintendent for 23 years and Wiley G. Thomas Jr. could serve
as Birdville's leader for an astounding 35 years.
Recently, the tenure of a Texas schools superintendent has become
as short as a first-grader. But there's no reason it must be
this way. Here are a few suggestions that, if followed, will
help you keep your new jobs for as long as you want to serve our
children:
1. Remember that open
meetings and open records are required under Texas law. I begin with this one because both districts have been far too
secretive, especially at the superintendent and trustees level.
No more secrets, please. When in doubt, shout it out. Or more
simply, just follow the law.
2. Assemble your own
team.
Both of you inherit leadership teams. Please take awhile to get
to know your new districts, but please also begin to assemble
your own talent. Find the best and brightest you can find for
the top-level jobs. Because you both are Texans, don't hesitate
to look outside the state to find talent for differing ideas
about how to succeed.
3. Speak the truth,
even when it hurts.
Texas school districts have succumbed to what I call the Madison
Avenue-ization of public relations. Forget the message. Forget
the spin. Forget the cover-ups. Just tell it the way it is: the
good, the bad and the ugly. The public can handle bad news. We
know improvement is needed. Everything is not always rosy.
That's OK.
4. Forget the "Team of
Eight" concept. The mantra from the Texas Association of School Administrators
that school boards and superintendents must always stay on
message and be a team of eight is harmful to the democratic
process.
This will be especially hard for you, Dr. Waggoner, to get away
from because you are vice president of TASA. But almost all
leadership problems in the Keller and Grapevine-Colleyville
school districts in recent years have happened because trustees
and superintendents tried to toe the line on this antidemocratic
sham.
5. Practice customer
service skills.
Treat the taxpayers, staff, parents and students as customers.
Answer their questions. Respond to their complaints. Stop the
us-against-them mentality that too often exists.
6. Treat the public's
money as if it were your own. Use the bidding process to save money. Don't write bid
specifications that favor certain vendors. Scrutinize the
budget. Stop wasteful spending. Cut from the top before you cut
from the bottom.
7. Create an
environment where nobody feels there will be retribution for
candid talk.
This is the most important of these 10 suggestions.
The saddest part of public education today is that parents,
teachers, principals and low-level administrators feel that if
they speak up against perceived wrongs, they will be punished.
Employees believe they will lose their jobs. Parents believe
their children will be harmed on athletic teams or in the
classroom.
Please, if nothing else, work diligently to show everyone that
you will protect the whistle-blowers. Put out the word that you
want to hear the truth, whatever it may be. And when it comes,
make sure that those who spoke up do not suffer repercussions.
8. Earn the teachers'
trust, but gain control of what they do. On this one, each
district requires slightly different advice. In past years,
Keller teachers were put in an educational chokehold. They were
forced to teach to the standardized tests. Homework for all but
non-Advanced Placement students was generally frowned upon. Dr.
V., you've got to revive their spirit.
Meanwhile, in Grapevine-Colleyville, the teachers, generally,
were allowed to do their job. But a hardcore group of teachers
and principals became politically active. They have rights as
voters and taxpayers away from school, but too many reports came
back of district employees pushing their political agendas at
schools. Please make sure you put an end to that.
9. Lead by example.
Don't make the mistake other superintendents make of treating
themselves differently from the rest of the staff. As school
districts are forced to run lean and mean, you should, too.
Bring your lunch to work rather than eat out on the taxpayers'
dime. Stay in cheap hotels on trips. Show everyone that budget
cutting starts in the superintendent's office.
10. Work closely with
your critics.
Whether they be parents, teachers, taxpayers or dissident school
board members, bring them into the fold and work with them. Both
of your predecessors were backed by a solid majority on their
school boards. But it was the dissidents who led to their
downfall.
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