REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Reflective Journal: Superintendent/Board Relationships
Santanna M. Templeton
Liberty University
Author Note
Santanna Templeton
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Santanna Templeton.
Email: smtempleton1@liberty.edu
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Reflective Journal: Superintendent/Board Relationships
Leadership is not for the weak and it takes determination, hard work, openness, and
trustworthiness. When it comes to the superintendent and school board, there must be a culture
of trust to be successful. Harvey et al (2013) share that “it’s also impossible to implement a
reform agenda supported by effective educator evaluation and professional growth system
without trust” (p. 132).
Within public administration and education, there can be a lot of challenges that occur. A
common complaint among school superintendents is meddling and micromanaging from the
school board (Harvey et al., 2013). If I felt that the school board was micromanaging my
decisions, I would take a step back and look at the entire situation to examine my actions and see
if I communicated effectively and did what was best for the school district. After consideration, I
would meet with the board chairman to discuss my concerns. Hopefully from that meeting, the
chairman will also share his concerns with me, and we can come up with a plan to move in the
right direction. The plan would need to be discussed with the entire school board to make sure
we are on the same page. Nonetheless, this goes back to building trust and effective relationships
to make the right decisions for the betterment of the school district. To work effectively with the
school board, I must raise standards, close the academic gap, develop administrators, and address
issues within the school system (Harvey et al., 2013).
Ineffective communication is a fast way to cause confusion among leaders within a
school district. Things can be extremely cynical when there is one-way communication from the
top (Harvey et al., 2013). To encourage effective communication, there must be a sense of
openness between the superintendent, school board, and community members. I would remind
board members that if we cannot effectively communicate with each other about a variety of
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topics, then we are all failing at our job. We must communicate correctly to implement change
and improve our school district. It is important to analyze the community’s opinion and input
because the school board is made up of members within the community. It is inevitable to know
the needs of the community to move forward as a superintendent. In this specific scenario,
superintendents must be patient and take the time to negotiate an agreement with the school
board and the community (Harvey et al., 2013).
Openness is an asset to possess as a school superintendent. If there is no openness,
individuals will not trust you or feel the need to address the positives or negatives with you. As a
school superintendent, I would strive to have an open-door policy where educators, staff, and
board members can address their concerns on how to improve the school district. But, I would
act upon this and make sure to meet with board members to address these concerns as there are
many times things get swept under the rug.
Becoming a superintendent is a challenging job and it will not be a perfect road.
However, like any relationship, the one between the school board and superintendent requires
work and attention over time. The way the relationship is structured will be an indicator of how
the relationship will progress. A positive relationship should always start by discussing the goals
and objectives that have been agreed upon to move forward (Harvey et al., 2013).
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References
Harvey, J. S. J., Cambron-McCabe, N. H., Cunningham, L. L., & Koff, R. H. (2013). The
superintendent′s fieldbook: A guide for leaders of learning. Corwin Press.
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