The new school year is well underway. As superintendent of your district, your leadership sets the tone for how the months to come will unfold. You likely have already visited your schools and made contact with all of your principals and teachers. They know you are there to help, offering guidance and assistance any way you can. Routines such as regular sit-downs with your principals and their leadership teams and attendance at faculty meetings can establish your availability as a source of support.
Now that the foundation for the year is set and internal connections are being strengthened, it’s time to reach out and spread the word to a wider audience. Enhancing your district’s communications with various stakeholder groups is an important way to demonstrate how engaged and invested you and your team are in the success of the entire school community. Here are three tips to help you:
Promote a growth mindset
Create a culture that encourages professional development. Raise awareness among your principals about upcoming opportunities for them and their teachers. Establish space in each building and/or online where principals and faculty members can easily access information about professional development opportunities. You can also take it to the next level and consider hosting a book study that covers a full range of education topics. Gets principals and teachers engaged with learning from the experts and each other. This sets the stage for important dialogue that could inform how to continue encouraging an environment that fosters success for everyone.
Encourage your principals to network with each other
Principals are faced with a diverse range of challenges each day and have to act decisively to address issues that arise. By establishing a supportive network within your district, principals can have the opportunity to troubleshoot and problem solve with each other, learning from their unique professional and personal experiences. Encourage them to visit each other and schedule sit-downs to share their own best practices.
Promote your district and schools on social media
As a community leader, others look to you for direction and support. Share district and school news and updates on your professional social media platforms (such as LinkedIn and Twitter) to highlight the success within your school community as well as demonstrate your support.
Summary
As superintendent, you are the glue that holds your school community together. You can be the example for how to build a foundation for success and a network for support.