For past 10 years, superintendents in the Questar III service area (Rensselaer, Columbia, and Greene Counties) have had the opportunity to take part in mentoring and professional development provided by former superintendents.
The Superintendent Success Network (SSN) was developed and launched in 2005 at the request of then Questar III District Superintendent Jim Baldwin. Headed by a group of retired superintendents from Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene Counties, the SSN seeks to provide support to superintendents both new to the position and new to the region.
The original concept was to provide mentoring on-site to new superintendents as well as connect them with resources and support within the Capital Region. Soon after, the program was expanded to include professional development targeted to superintendents and in some cases District Leadership Teams when appropriate. The idea behind launching this initiative was, while there are a plethora of professional development opportunities available for teachers, there is often a lack of such programs for superintendents.
Currently, the group consists of four former superintendents from the Capital Region: Jeff Baltes (Coxsackie-Athens), Daralene Jewell (Ichabod Crane), David Sicko (Berlin) and John Oates (Taconic Hills). Baltes concentrates on program planning and communications, and Jewell, Sicko, and Oates primarily handle the on-site mentoring component of the program, though all act in an advisory role to District Superintendent Dr. Gladys I. Cruz in developing the year’s agenda.
Over the past several years, according to Baltes, the Network’s work throughout the school year has provided a “springboard” for a Summer Leadership Institute for District Leadership Teams. This often leads to a year-long theme for future workshops and events (e.g. instructional improvement and leadership, student engagement strategies, etc.). Baltes says these summer programs are well-received and helped to create programs based on practical strategies that are directly applied in the school district.
This work is important because the challenges facing districts and/or superintendents are always changing.
“There is no prior experience that really prepares folks for the superintendency. Good principals and assistant superintendents will know about curriculum, technology, assessment, budgeting, etc. In addition to that knowledge, the Superintendent must engage many stakeholders. Working with and defining the relationship between the Board of Education and the Superintendent will often determine whether the Superintendent is judged to be successful,” Sicko said.
The on-site mentoring component of the program makes it easy to provide support for superintendents working through those challenges. Meetings are usually once a month for one or two hours, but no longer – the benefit to this group being managed by former superintendents is that those leading the meetings understand the busy schedule and time constraints of district administrators. Baltes says this respect for time is very much appreciated by the superintendents.
Topics discussed at monthly meetings come from suggestions by superintendents as well as initiatives from the State Education Department, federal and state initiatives, and topics of general ongoing interest. This includes working with the media, social media in schools, libraries and information access, and accommodating transgender students and employees (which will be presented on November 18) .
While the program has undoubtedly grown since its inception, the group credits Questar III for not only in creating the program, but also for offering it at no cost to superintendents and their districts.
