Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A SUPERINTENDENT’S RESPONSIVENESS
TO SCHOOL DISTRICT CULTURE
Henry Williams
Central Washington University
ABSTRACT
This article examines a Superintendent’s responsiveness to the school culture component
of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). An analysis of the
development of school culture by the late John Stanford, Superintendent of Seattle
Public Schools was the focus is the focus of the article. When he took over as
superintendent of Seattle schools, many complained that he had no knowledge of
education, he is a military person, and they cannot see how he will be able to work with
the largest school district in Washington State. To the amazement of everyone in Seattle,
during his short tenure in the school district, he was able to turn the down trodden
Seattle school district into something the students, staff, state legislatures and the
community embraced. The late John Stanford, was the cheerleader at rallies, the chef for
elementary school students and great communicator with all people. He had a vision for
self, staff and community, and to sustain it, he was always available.
Introduction
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37 NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL__________
Ask for and expect cooperation from faculty and staff. The
best-intentioned leader can be undermined in efforts to improve school
district culture, if he/she does not have the cooperation and
collaboration of the classroom teachers and community. A district
leader may be determined and hopeful that his plans for improvement
succeed, but if he/she has personnel members behind him or her
“making faces” and feeling left out of the plan, or otherwise
disenchanted, the culture of improvement may be stifled. Efforts must
be made to invite cooperation and to solicit understanding and fairness
from the staff. In Seattle schools, a principal’s academy was
established to help principals become chief executive officers of their
schools. This plan got a boost with major business donation to help
train principals see themselves in new leadership role. To sustain the
reforms that were taking place, principals were moved to different
schools. The move became a key strategy to influence students, staff
and the community at large for school district academic improvement.
In one of the worst performing middle schools in Seattle, the late
41 NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL__________
REFERENCES
Smith, P.A., & Hoy, W.K. (2006). Academic optimism and student
achievement in urban elementary schools. Ohio State
University, unpublished research paper.
Tschannen-Moran, M. (2004). Trust matters: Leadership for
successful schools. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, W.K. (2000). A multidisciplinary
analysis of the nature, meaning and measurement of trust.
Review of Educational Research, 70, 547-93.