The Sup’s a young guy

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(A post for all but especially administrators.)

I am subbing in a kindergarten classroom in a school that has achieved national recognition for its excellence. This is one of those districts that cranks out National Merit Finalists and Ivy League attendees. These kindergartners can write a full page letter. Many of them can spell words like “people” and “movie.” Subbing this morning was a great deal of fun. We wrote letters, read poems, worked on literacy and talked.

At one point, a tall, well-dressed man walked into the classroom and was standing near the doorway just looking around. I left my spot on the rug and my tiny iPad users to go greet what I assumed was a dad. In fact, I was meeting the Superintendent for the district. He smiled as I introduced myself, and said he liked to walk around and look at classes. Later, he thanked me for helping out in his district. When the teachers aide looked up, she obviously recognized the Superintendent. She gave him a big smile.

in my last district, I don’t believe a superintendent ever once walked into my room. The Assistant Superintendent walked in once with a cadre from the State of Illinois, a group of outsiders come to rescue the academic disaster of that district. But I have no experience with roving superintendents. I did have a roving Principal and he was the best thing that ever happened to that school.

Maybe this man’s approach to his district has something to do with that national recognition the district has received. The best principals I ever had were in the hallways. They were out on the playing fields. They wandered into classrooms sometimes. They knew how their classrooms were operating on a daily basis. I did well with those Principals.

I am not offering some deep educational insight here. In fact, I’d call this an insight for any organization. The person or persons in charge of the organization should be out on the floor. Obviously, leaders have to sequester themselves in offices sometimes. But the best restaurants frequently have an owner who watches what comes out of the kitchen. The best retail outlets have a manager who asks customers what they think and listens to the answer.* The best schools have a Principal who knows the kids and the classrooms, a Principal who can walk into a classroom and tell the kids he needs them to give their best, and be taken seriously.

*I’d like to give kudos to a store named Marianos near my home. When the manager asked me about yogurts, I told him that he had too many duplicative fruit flavors and was missing a few signature flavors such as Dannon Coffee and Siggis Orange Ginger. Not too many weeks later, the yogurt flavors became more diverse and my coffee yogurt arrived.