Planning for a Successful Transition

For a plethora of reasons, superintendents often find themselves trying to decide whether to leave a current position for new opportunities. Sometimes the change may be due to a recent school board election (or appointment of new members), desirable professional opportunities (larger district, greater responsibility, different challenges, etc.) or personal or health reasons (proximity to ailing/aging parents).

Whatever the reason, when a superintendent moves to a new position, it is becoming increasingly common, as well as necessary, to have a transition plan in place.

When I was appointed to my first superintendent post after serving as a principal in the Caston School Corp. in Fulton, Ind., I gave little thought to planning my transition. However, when moving from my first superintendency to my current position, I had interviewed with a couple of other districts and received advice from one search firm executive that presenting a detailed transition plan to the board could be valuable to everyone involved.

I gladly accepted the feedback and began my homework. Through a simple Google search, I found several outstanding plans that lent wonderful ideas for the basis of my own plan.

Unlikely Guidance

The length and detail of a transition plan will be contingent upon the particular situation. Did the previous superintendent retire, leave on good terms or settle a negotiated buyout? If you are fortunate enough to follow a superintendent who is retiring or if you are moving up the ladder within the same school district, the transition can be fairly straightforward. In my case, I was following a successful colleague who had been the superintendent for 26 years.

Getting to know about the issues that matter to the new district can be difficult when the distance between the current place of employment and the new district is far. But by making a few visits to the new district and reviewing its website to examine board minutes from the past year or two, you will gain a sense of recent matters of importance. You should solicit input from many sources about district priorities.

At one point in my career, while assigned to teach conflict resolution to middle school students, I became familiar with Sean Covey. In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide, Covey advises: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” I have found this to be helpful advice as a superintendent in transition.

I strongly sought this position and wanted to be successful so I constructed my own transition plan, focusing on five key elements.

1. Constructing a Plan Through Listening.

My most recent transition involved neighboring school districts. I previously worked as an administrator in the district that I now lead and continued to reside within this district when working elsewhere. Even so, I still made listening and information-gathering sessions a priority.

Based on what I collected, I constructed a 100-day transition plan that I provided to the board and the administrative team, and which they appreciated the opportunity to review. I saw this as an opportunity for my colleagues to hold me accountable for my plan. They were all appreciative of the opportunity to review my plan, which when constructed effectively, such a plan can help to shape strategies for addressing challenges or urgent concerns.

2. Building Board Rapport.

Implementation of my plan began with the school board. I met with all seven members individually, which provided insight into each member’s specific interests. I learned who was academically minded, who was data-driven and which board members were passionate about athletics or the arts. This helped me understand a topic and to establish rapport with the members before committees were formed and decisions were made. Because board members had a range of service, from just a few months (three members) to three or more terms (two members), the conversations were wide-ranging.

The individual meetings were productive. They enabled me to talk to each board member on a personal level and become better acquainted with them as people. Finding out about their own families, work and interests allows for polite and genuine conversation when not dealing with school issues. Most of my board members enjoyed the opportunity to meet to discuss their concerns, priorities and, yes, even their personal interests.

3. Building Administrative Team Rapport.

I also met with each of the district’s three principals. (We have no additional central-office administrators.) This was a great opportunity to learn about their schools’ successes, as well as their goals, expectations, challenges and concerns. It also gave me a chance to get to know them personally.

I was able to determine which administrators are using data to drive decisions and instructions and to discover their individual communication skills. I also met with the athletic director to discuss the overall status of the athletic program.

4. Giving Staff a Voice.

When transitioning into a new position, you must earn the trust and respect of those with whom you work most closely. With this in mind, I met with each staff member in the central office, as well as supervisors of the school cafeterias. Many were excited at the chance to be heard and to know their ideas would be considered.

Although not all of their ideas could be implemented, these staff members had a voice and were given explanations for why a particular idea may not work rather than just being told “no.”

5. Soliciting Community Views.

Finally, I concluded the information-seeking phase by conducting an extensive online survey of community members. Topics ranged from how they are treated when they call the district or visit an office to how they experience our district website and what they think about the state of our facilities.

I dissected the data and shared it with each of the building principals, central-office staff and the maintenance/transportation director. Prior to the survey, we believed we were doing a good job, and the data supported this view. However, it also showed areas where we had to improve. Several patrons commented on the need for facility improvements (which led to a major renovation project) and better communication from their children’s schools and the district office.

Evaluating Yourself

During the second year of my current superintendency, I continued to review the information gathered as a part of my transition plan. I wanted to ensure I am doing what I said I would (so as not to lose the trust of the board and staff members) and that I am using the gathered information to make informed decisions and changes.

One word of caution as you consider your own transition: A transition plan can and should be a useful tool. However, if after all the planning, meetings and discussions, no direction is apparent from you as superintendent, you may have a difficult time regaining trust. If you listen earnestly to colleagues and make appropriate moves based on these conversations, you will begin to settle effectively into your new position and earn the respect and admiration of your new community — staff, students and parents alike.