Gratifying Despite the Job’s Demands

Executive Perspective

American novelist and artist John Dos Passos is quoted as saying, “People don’t choose their careers; they are engulfed by them.”

That is certainly true of the superintendency. I never have run across a colleague who said she or he grew up wanting to be a superintendent. Most of us chose teaching as our profession, which at some point led us into administration and then, by happenstance, into the superintendent’s chair. Once there, we were indeed engulfed by the position.

The superintendent’s job is incredibly difficult. The average stay of a little over three years is proof of that. Even by moving around to different districts, only a quarter of superintendents experience more than 13 years in the profession. I was one of those outliers who held the job for 27 years in four districts.

Most superintendents grow numb to the pressures of the job. I was somewhat amused by friends who thought that, like bankers’ hours, I followed the school schedule, with school hours and summers off. Superintendents are on duty 24/7 year-round. With today’s technology, the superintendent is always on call, even when on vacation. Numbness to the long hours and job pressures is a coping mechanism necessary to do the job.

Pressure Cooker

The transition out of the superintendency is like releasing the valve on a pressure cooker. I confess that I always felt in control during my years as a superintendent and disregarded any notion that I was under pressure. Upon retirement, I took a position with McGraw-Hill publishing in New York City. During my first few months on my new job, I would wake up in the middle of the night when the weather forecast predicted snow. I was waiting for the phone to ring with my former transportation director giving me his recommendation as to whether we should cancel classes. In my New York City office, I would sit at my desk waiting for the phone call that would bring the crisis of the day. None of those calls ever came, but it took me the better part of a year to get over it.

Only 10 percent of superintendents indicate they will retire from the position and do nothing. A third indicate they will continue to work part time. Going into the private sector full time as I did is an option, but for those of us who’ve spent a lifetime in education, the private sector is a rude awakening. There is no question that the financial rewards in corporate America can far exceed what we received as educators, but it is a difficult transition to go from a mission-driven career as an educator to the profit-driven, bottom-line orientation in the private sector.

Although I greatly enjoyed my tenure as a senior vice president with McGraw-Hill and I developed business skills that I wished I had known during my years as a superintendent, I jumped at the opportunity to become the executive director at AASA. The lure of getting back into education, as an advocate for my colleagues still in the profession and the students they serve, was irresistible.

A good number of superintendents have retired and gone into the business world. They are successful and enjoy what they do. But many, like me, soon return to the fold. They come back to run associations, conduct executive searches, teach at the university level, and in some cases, return to the classroom as teachers. You can take the superintendent out of the district, but you can’t take education out of the superintendent.

A Head Start

Here at AASA, we are proud of the many educators who are part of our aspiring superintendent programs. Unlike many of us who learned the job while on the job, these aspiring leaders are getting a head start and learning the job from the best in the field. Their instructors, mentors and coaches are experienced, sitting superintendents who share with them the reality of the job and teach them how to not just survive but thrive and succeed in bringing quality education to the students they serve. We are training them to be champions for children and public education.

Despite the superintendency being a difficult job, those of us who have done it will never say that we wished we had not. We will forever carry with us the gratification of the positive impact we made in the lives of children. We made lives and saved lives in ways that few other professions can claim.