I have a story in today’s paper looking at the importance of school leadership. While interviewing for this story, I collected a lot more information than could fit in the newspaper article. But that’s the beauty of the blog! Here’s what each superintendent had to say about leadership and their top priorities for the district. Enjoy.

Carmel Superintendent Ronald Wilson, 61, Interim
• Last position: Assistant Superintendent for Business in Carmel, 2001-2007.

• Top priorities: – Make sure that the district educates the whole child: academically, socially, emotionally and physically. – Make sure that every child receives the district’s full attention. – Continue and improve on communication with the public. The tough part is hearing from the community, he said. – Find a new superintendent.

• On leadership:
It’s so important that it has taken over all the principal meetings. They had to rewrite all their goals this year and put them in a leadership format, he said.
As an interim superintendent, he said, his leadership role is a bit different. “What I’m going to try to do is continue to move the district forward in ways that we’ve already established,� he said. “We want to make the district very student-focused and to get everybody on board so that everything is organized and has a clear direction heading towards our goals.�

Eastchester Superintendent Marilyn Terranova, 52
• Last position: Superintendent of the Carmel school district, 1999-2007.

• Why join Eastchester?
It’s a growing district, but it’s more manageable than Carmel in terms of enrollment. Plus, there’s more of a “small town� feel with children, parents, grandparents and even great grandparents having attended the schools. “I’m delighted to be in Eastchester,� she said.

• Top priorities: – In the first month of joining the district, she met with as many different constituency groups as she could, including board members, unions, PTA groups, civil organizations, town officials, police and others. “That’s been really enlightening because people had a lot of things to tell me, about what they love and what they want to improve.â€? – Communication. The district puts out plenty of information, but it’s not necessarily the kind of information the community is looking for, she said. She will launch a 30 minute television show twice a month highlighting students, staff members and programs in the district. She will also look at the Web site and see if it needs updating and send out more emails and letters to the public, she said. – Analyze space issue. There is an issue of increasing enrollment and overcrowding, she said. She and the board will make a decision about moving forward with a bond referendum within the next few months, she said.

• On leadership:
“Leadership really is what I think we do in education,� she said.
Children always come first, she said. And so what you do as a leader is try to make everyone understand that. Then you reach out to the community to build new partnerships that will benefit the children, she said.
The toughest part about being a superintendent is dealing with tough situations and trying to find solutions that everyone can live with.
It’s already being said that she’s a “hands on� superintendent, she said, because her door is always open.
“When I say that I’m very accessible and I have an open-door policy, well that also brings with it the venting and the complaining. But I’d rather hear from people about what their concerns are and try to fix those, try to remedy those concerns, then have people kind of fester with getting frustrated. Because they pay taxes and they have a right to be heard and they certainly have a right to be involved in their child’s education. And people have great ideas out there so I always like to hear what those ideas are.�

Greenburgh Superintendent Sidney Freund, 58, Interim
• Last position: Interim Superintendent in North Salem, 2006-07; Superintendent of the Dobbs Ferry school district for 6.5 years, retired in 2006.

• Top priorities: – Help the school board to hire the right superintendent. “It starts at the top,â€? he said. “I think what makes for a good superintendent is someone who works well with people, someone who can bring people together to consensus.â€? – Reexamine the mission statement and values and vision of the district. – Focus on student outcomes, examine test data to help boost performance. – Define expectations for people in different positions.

• On leadership:
“The sign of true leadership is that once you leave, your legacy continues,� he said. “Just because you leave the work you began shouldn’t stop.�
“I love the superintendency. I love the work. There’s a need for superintendents as more of my ilk are retiring. There is a shortage of superintendents. I look at being an interim superintendent as being in a growth business. There’s no shortage of work for an interim superintendent,� he said.
“Experience is invaluable,� he said.

Haldane Superintendent Mark Villanti, 56
• Last position: Superintendent of the Duanesburg school district in Schenectady County, N.Y., 2001-07.

• Why join Haldane?
He said he wanted to move back to the area (he was raised in Rhineback, N.Y.) and he was familiar with Haldane from his days as the principal at John Jay High School in Hopewell Junction. Plus, he said, his children now live in New York City.

• Top priorities, in no particular order: – Curriculum development. He will be launching the “Atlas Programâ€? to help better align the curriculum to state standards. Experts will be brought in for training and the program will use standardized software. It is a three to four year initiative, and the public would have access to the information. – Capital project. Need to pull together referendum to address roofing, locker-rooms, heating/ventilation and various other infrastructure needs. – Community building. “I think schools are part of a larger community,â€? he said, adding that the school needs to build partnerships with local governments and other community groups. – Develop strategic plan. “I plan to be here for a while,â€? he said. – Finding a new high school principal.

• On leadership:
“If I were to have one overriding theme, it’d be, ‘Lets work together,’â€? he said. “I think the days of having just a captain of the ship as th superintendent are behind us. i think a superintendent really needs to bring people together and work cooperatively with various stake holders in the community… Leadership is fundamental to any organization. Leadership comes out of a shared vision and a shared plan.â€?
He added that he believes in leadership where he’s walking around, being a very visible, accessible, “hands-on� person.

Katonah-Lewisboro Superintendent Robert J. Roelle, Interim
• Last position: Superintendent of the Ossining school district, 1992 to retirement in 2007.

• Priorities: – More language classes in the elementary school. – Focus on high school writing program. – Look at districtwide class size. – Find new assistant superintendent for human resources.

• On Leadership:
“First and foremost, I believe the schools are here for the benefit of the children, and as the superintendent, I need to project that message in everything we do. And in doing that, I need to model it … and show that leadership really, really matters,â€? he said.
He said that he models that message by doing readings, talking about his views and experiences and sharing research about works well in the schools.
He added that sometimes being a leaders meanings knowing when not to be.
“One of the things I’ve learned about being a leader is that sometimes you take a step back and become a follower. If someone has a good idea, you need to be there to support it.â€?
“It’s my sense that it’s my job to do more than just steer the ship, so to speak. That’s not my style. But to move the district along in a positive direction.�
“I believe it’s my responsibility to be supportive of the mission of the schools,� he said. “I don’t expect everyone to agree with every recommendation that I make, but I bring to the table a wide range of experiences.�

Mount Vernon Superintendent W.L. “Tony� Sawyer, 55
• Last position: Superintendent of Topeka school district in Kansas, 2003-07.

• Why join Mount Vernon?
The board was enthusiastic about making positive changes in the district, he said. “And I think with their furor for change, with their desire to have a positive affect on children, it was a perfect match.�

• Top priorities: – Focus on the high school, which will need a lot of attention. – Make sure the new school buildings get off to a healthy start. – Make an impact on security and discipline issues that have plagued the middle and high schools. – Make sure the buildings are more cleanly and attractive, attend to the grounds better.

• On leadership:
He said leadership is about establishing teams and getting everyone on the same page. It also means listening and being honest with yourself about what you hear, he said.
“It means establishing a common language for what success means,� he said. “It means having a clear and concise message and making sure everyone can follow that message.�
He added that he hopes the public will be understanding and will come to the district’s assistance rather than castigate people for the challenges they all share.

North Salem Superintendent Kenneth Freeston, 57
• Last position: Superintendent of the Ridgefield school district in Conn., 2003-07.

• Why join North Salem?
The fact that it’s a small school district, he said. Smaller districts give you a better chance to know the families and staff and work together.

• Top priorities:
It’s too soon to set priorities. It’s clear that the community is very proud of the schools and students are placed at the center. He doesn’t know enough yet about where exactly the curriculum needs improvement. There are some facility needs which the board will assess and go out to the community for a bond referendum soon. Also there’s more to do on school finances and “how to protect the taxpayer dollar and still have enough resources to improve and meet our goals,� he said.

• On leadership:
“America’s schools cry out for leadership,â€? he said. “And for me, what matters most is for leaders who are new to a school system is to learn the new system and … not come in with a preset agenda before learning from others what their past successes were.â€?

Ossining Superintendent Phyllis Glassman, “young enough to have a lot of energy but old enough to be wise”
• Last position: Deputy Superintendent in Ossining, 1998-2007

• Top priorities: – Always focus on students and their successes. “There’s nothing more important than that,â€? she said. The district this year will review the library media technology program, science program, literacy program and others to make sure they are what’s best for students. – Will look at facility improvement plan, involving the community in the process. – Conducting a year-long research study for the high school called the “Diversity Project.â€? It’s a self-study of the high school, with students as researchers. The students and staff will be working on this project with an New York University professor. – Focus on closing the achievement gap, both in the district and beyond. – Focus on developing both the right and left sides of the brain, looking at the intellectual, emotional and social needs of the child. “The opportunity or success really extends so far beyond a test score,â€? she said.

• Why stick with Ossining?
Glassman has been in Ossining for the past 16 years. “What attracts me is the commitment and the dedication and the high expectations for students, especially given the fact that we have a beautifully diverse student body,� she said. “I like to say we’re like a mini United Nations.� The district educates students from 60 countries who speak more than 38 languages, she said.

• On leadership:
“I believe in thinking positively, believing in people, setting high expectations, collaborating, placing students first and foremost at the heart of every waking moment…â€? she said. “I really believe in the power of positive energy. I believe this society focuses too much on finger pointing… I believe people work at their maximum when they’re working with a positive spirit… And that positive energy really flows to the students and to the community.â€?
“The positive energy for me is very easy,� she said. “It comes from within. It’s just who I am. It’s really easy to generate that because it’s really authentic.�

Putnam Valley Superintendent Marc Space, 52
• Last position: Superintendent of Taos Municipal Schools in New Mexico, 2002-07.

• Why join the Putnam Valley school district?
He said he was ready to return to New York (he was born and raised in Binghamton) and he loved the rural setting of Putnam Valley. “It seemed like a match for my background and personality,� he said. “I enjoy the fact that I may have to stop my car for a doe and a fawn crossing the road. And the fact that you’re surrounded by trees and in some cases can still see farm land.� Plus, he said, he liked that the district was small enough that he could get to know the children, teachers, parents and community members more intimately than he could at a larger district.

• Top priorities: – Taxation, looking for ways to articulate what is necessary to have to maintain quality of programs while not breaking the bank. – Revise policy manual, some policies that should be included are absent, such as Internet safety.

• On leadership:
He said it’s easy for principals and superintendents to become inundated with minutia of daily work, so you have to make a constant effort to be reflective of your leadership style and make sure you’re getting into the classrooms. Visibility, he said, is key to student achievement and is important to show the teachers you support them.
“The research is clear,â€? he said. “Leadership has been found to be directly correlated with student achievement. And the superintendent that doesn’t articulate a vision and then model that vision … is not going to be as effective as someone who is engaged on a daily basis.â€?