For a well-rounded view of a school community’s culture, superintendents should recognize three unwritten rules of the system
Joshua Starr, managing partner of the International Center for Leadership in Education, points to three unwritten rules about leadership for superintendents to understand. PHOTO BY ALBERT CHEN FOR PDK INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION
Most nights, my wife checks the weather app on her phone in preparation for her morning walk. It not only tells her the likelihood of rain but also the “real feel,” which is supposedly a more accurate prediction of what the experience of being
outside from 7 until 8 in the morning actually will be like.
Invariably, when she gets home, she will have removed an outer layer and say something like “It’s warmer out than they said it would be.” Her habit drives me
a little nuts. I’ve never really cared much about the weather, except for when I used to call snow days as a superintendent and there were actual consequences. I’ve always thought that I know enough due to past experiences, and I can always
step outside before donning outerwear. And it’s smart to throw an umbrella, a hat or maybe an extra layer in the car.
How we anticipate and respond to weather is not too different from how we find ourselves interacting within school
systems. Conditions can change on a daily basis, but there’s a reasonably steady predictability to the school year. Every so often, there’s a surprise storm that requires significant attention. But for obsessive app checkers, any shift
in conditions can either throw them off or make them feel confident in their level of preparation. Casual observers may go with the flow and be left soaking wet or with a sunburn due to their blasé attitude.
Almi Abeyta started as superintendent in Chelsea, Mass., two months before the coronavirus pandemic hit. PHOTO BY RUTH RONEN FOR SOMERVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Almi Abeyta, superintendent in Chelsea, Mass., needed to frame her vision and values in order to move an equity agenda. So like all great leaders, she borrowed one.
Abeyta’s colleague in the Harvard Urban Superintendents Program, Susan
Enfield, then-superintendent of Highline Public Schools in Burien, Wash. (and now superintendent in Washoe County, Nev.), had coined the phrase that educators need to know all students “by name, strength and need.”
Abeyta wanted
to go a bit deeper in her district of mostly Latino students. Her own story as a Mexican-American, that of her father who immigrated here at age 12 and her daughter’s student experiences in the district where she was deputy superintendent had all
shaped her leadership. She knew that for Chelsea educators to reach all students and families, they needed to know their stories. In Chelsea, students are known by name, strength and story.
For Abeyta, a culture that inspires equity-based transformation
rests on belonging. Educators must know and trust each other, adults and students must be engaged together in learning, and the entire system must do whatever it takes to reach families. For her, achieving the vision of all students graduating college
and career ready requires a culture that rests on the shared value of relationships and collective effort. This hasn’t been easy.
Abeyta started her superintendency two months before the pandemic hit and then had to lead a new community
during the George Floyd murder. Her decisions and her words carried more weight than during a typical entry process for a new superintendent, and the problems of the system had been magnified due to recent events. But through listening and building relationships,
Abeyta has brought people along. Now, in her third year that feels like her first, some of her strategic leadership moves are starting to bear fruit.
Reinforcing Messages
Belonging manifests itself in different ways
in Chelsea. Early during the pandemic, the superintendent and her team realized that many Latino families weren’t responding to e-mails or accessing the website for information. So they instituted a text-messaging system, which has significantly
increased communications between schools and families.
To tackle discipline issues, they’ve focused on understanding the reasons behind a child acting out and patterns of adult behavior that may be contributing. Children who feel connected
to an adult and a sense of belonging act out less and learn more. When her daughter was in high school, she told her mom one morning on the way to school, “If a teacher doesn’t like me, I just don’t do well in class.” That stuck
with Abeyta, and she constantly reinforces with educators the need to show students they are valued and loved.
Survey feedback showed Abeyta that principals wanted more focus on instruction (due to so much focus on the COVID-19 crisis), so
she changed one of their regular meetings to instructional rounds. She was committing her time to building relationships with the people she leads, and she was sending the message that instruction is their most important job when moving a systemwide equity
agenda.
To deepen her equity agenda, Abeyta brought in outsiders to facilitate a long-term learning process and hired a cabinet-level leader for diversity, equity and inclusion. Abeyta has been an active participant and shares her own story
as she reminds people they first need a sense of belonging before they can do the hard work of equity.
A culture that sustains equity-based transformation requires a leader to be constantly on message. Abeyta realized after a year or so that
her message was being compromised by the game of telephone that too many districts engage in. So she spends a lot of time with her cabinet on ensuring a consistent message emanating from on top, and she designs and facilitates districtwide leadership
meetings so nothing gets lost in translation.
The culture she has created in Chelsea is bringing together students, educators and families in a collective effort. To transform this school system, everyone needs to know they belong.
A Big Bag of Optimism: Khalid Mumin’s Story
Khalid Mumin, superintendent in Lower Merion, Pa., believes how one uses voice in a leadership role has direct bearing on culture in a school district. PHOTO BY READING, PA., PUBLIC SCHOOLS
When Khalid Mumin became superintendent in Lower Merion, Pa., he entered a community that wanted his brand of leadership. After serious discussions with the school board about their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Mumin knew his experience,
knowledge and skills could help the suburban Philadelphia system get to the next level.
Mumin inherited a foundation and culture of progressive ideas, deep community engagement and a willingness to put resources toward its vision and need.
Superintendents are counseled to take a job only if it’s a good fit. But good fit can’t be measured. It’s an unspoken feeling a leader has about the way school board members interact with each other, how the community speaks
about its schools and how educators describe their work.
Mumin has understood throughout his career as a superintendent in three districts that voice is a key to his success. He is a slim, 6-foot-6, former college basketball player and
a natty dresser with a big, infectious smile. I once visited him when he was superintendent in Reading, Pa., and it took us an hour to walk from his office to the restaurant down the street because he stopped to talk to every employee, shop clerk
and person on the street. He brings boundless enthusiasm to the hard work of convincing a community that equity can be achieved.
As he shared with me, “I have a big bag of optimism and a small bag of non-negotiables.” His relentless
optimism can be found in his public persona. Non-negotiables ensure his team collaborates in pursuit of their equity goals.
Growing Trust
In Reading, a blue-collar district of mostly Latino students, Mumin used his optimism to build up that community. He got them to embrace new possibilities and a DEI agenda by using student voice, communicating relentlessly and effectively on social media,
building and supporting a great team, and validating the history of Reading.
He knows that a superintendent’s presence and visibility aren’t just about being seen at certain events. It’s also about listening to dreams
and fears, hearing stories and sharing your own. A leader’s visibility can shape a culture by building trust between themselves and their communities.
The culture he found when he arrived in Lower Merion was established around pillars
of excellence and equity. Lower Merion’s population is majority white, with a significant number of Black, Hispanic and Asian students. Mumin’s visibility is found by being present in the numerous committees that deal with school-related
issues, including anti-racism and DEI.
One of Mumin’s non-negotiables is having a consistent message among board members, himself and senior staff. By being present at meetings and regularly checking in with the consultants who run
them, he ensures educators, families and students hear the same thing from their leaders. Culture develops through actions and words. When a community hears leaders using similar language, they gain confidence that promises will be fulfilled.
Mumin also knows that culture is sustained through his team’s leadership. Not only does he insist they work together and have each other’s backs, he continues to highlight the positive aspects of their work. Just as couples are counseled
to never go to bed angry, he ensures even when a meeting is focused on the problems that never seem to go away, they always end on something inspirational.
Finally, the hiring process is another culture lever that Mumin pulls to guarantee
the right people are working in his schools. He knows that not hiring the right people to serve children is both a disservice to the community and can be hard to rectify. Through three superintendencies, Mumin has brought his own experiences, values,
vision and big bag of optimism to ensure that schools serve young people at the absolute highest level.
Intentionality and Love: Michael Martirano’s Story
Michael Martirano shares his personal experiences as superintendent in Howard County, Md., with those in his district to build a sense of community. PHOTO BY NICK GRINER FOR HOWARD COUNTY, MD., PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
A trim, energetic guy with a quick smile and seemingly eternal optimism, Martirano, as a middle-aged white male leader, has all of the privilege in the world, and he knows it. But he was in foster care as a child due to family tragedy. And more recently,
his wife died of suicide. Martirano is public about his story because he knows many kids and adults sitting in classrooms have similar experiences and remain silent as their performance suffers. His mantra is that to teach a child well,
you have to know them well, and that has formed the basis of the cultural shift in Howard County. That has led to not only increased student achievement and a rising graduation rate, but more social-emotional supports, kinder school communities and a
system that has successfully weathered the recent pandemic and political storms.
Aligned Action
Owing to his experiences, Martirano knows that culture doesn’t stand alone. It’s reinforced through action.
He has been incredibly intentional about putting strategies and processes in place to support his vision for schools. He and his team have built a coherent system for hiring and onboarding new staff, supporting the whole child, improving curriculum and
instruction, opening access to higher-level courses and engaging the community while doing so.
The superintendent stays focused and on message about what he wants Howard County schools to accomplish and why it’s so important to do so.
He knows he needs to touch one person at a time to get them to believe in the new work, but that there also must be actions that support the promises that he’s made.
For Martirano, sustaining a culture that supports equity-based transformation
means that he has to organize the system to follow through on the promises he’s made. Culture can be described by any leader, but he has shown that words need aligned action if they’re going to inspire people to achieve new heights.
Joshua Starr
Former superintendent and current managing partner
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