Job Entry Plan
Proper job planning and organization is essential when seeking a new position within a school district or any organization. Thinking about goals you would like to accomplish during your first day, first week, first month, and first year will be beneficial to anyone seeking a new career level. There will be several areas and things that need to be learned and investigated in preparing for this kind of change. On my first day as a new superintendent I would like to get settled into my new environment and learn about the people in the administration complex that I will be closely working with on a daily basis. I would like to set my office up quickly, so visitors will get a sense of who I am and promote an image of organization. My office would reflect some of my leadership style and personality in the décor and arrangement. The major goal for the day would be to learn who and about the people on staff and begin building relationships with them. Talking to them will provide them with the opportunity to learn more about family, my professional history, and me. I would like to meet with them formally first as a group, then meet with them individually to get a feel of what they think are important issues within the school district.
The first week I would focus on learning the school board members and would like to meet with them to review the districts goals, vision and mission. Working with the school board and initiating building relationships would actually begin for me during the interview and hiring process. I would like to quickly develop the team of eight relationships. Learning the board is key to having a positive superintendent-board relationship. They are the direct link to the citizens and understanding their desires will help me learn what to focus on for the district. Additionally, during my first week I would make it a priority to learn the different campuses and facilities within the district and their leadership teams. I would like to spend a morning or afternoon on each campus, just visiting with the teachers and staff. I would tour and observe how each campus operates. I would then call an administrative staff meeting to meet the district administrative team. This, to me, would be very important. Having a strong working relationship with them will provide valuable insight to unwritten needs of the district. A large majority of the directives and changes in the district will begin at the campus level. A strong cohesive administrative team will help continue progress for the universal goal of success for all students.
During the first month I would have two main goals. These would be to meet all community leaders and to meet the entire district staff. I would invite the community leaders to an individual meeting and suggest we meet at their offices. This would provide me the opportunity to become more familiar with the geography of the community. I know they are very busy and this would allow them to decide the time for the meetings and exhibit a willingness to cooperate with them. I would be able to gain insight into how the city feels about their local school district and get ideas on what they feel needs to improve in our schools. After the first meeting I would invite them to the administration building or my office for the next meeting. The second goal would involve learning the district personnel. This would be completed by having meetings on all campuses within the month. It would be more informal and provide them the opportunity to learn more my expectations for the district and my philosophy about educating students. I would discuss the accomplishments of the district and the direction the district is heading.
The first year goal would be to effectively lead the district by using the skills gained in our superintendent program. The first day, week, and month were geared heavily in building campus, district, school board, and community relationships. While those goals were being addressed all the other responsibilities of managing a multimillion-dollar business that has as their product highly educated students continued to exist. Limited resources were needed for the first month. The main thing needed for accomplishing those goals would be time. For the first year all data pertaining to district operations would be needed for leading the district. Primarily examining school funding, budgeting and fund allocations within the district will be needed to understand the financial state of the district. Campus data such as scheduling, student population and staffing will be examined. Campus budget needs will be investigated. This will happen by working with the campus leadership teams. Student population trends and revenue projections will be disaggregated to determine the future budgetary needs of the campuses and district. The daily operations of the district will be examined and a daily schedule and monthly calendar will be developed for organizational purposes. Being visible and involved in all aspect of the districts operations and procedures will occur to create a climate of awareness and to enhance district communications. Major changes within the district will only occur based on the needs identified by the school board. It is very important to learn the district, the way it operates and make changes that promote the welfare of the students and boost their education.
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