Hiring a new superintendent? Parents and staff value these leadership traits the most

District leaders are moving on in unprecedented numbers, leaving communities scrambling for months to find a replacement. The job has become increasingly complex, requiring intense training and preparation. Most importantly, leaders must be valued by the people they serve. But which traits should superintendents home in on?

Wake County Public School System in North Carolina is looking to replace Superintendent Catty Moore, who is retiring at the end of June, and the district’s next superintendent must hold high standards of integrity and have powerful listening skills, say parents and school staff.

In preparation for the selection of its next superintendent, the N.C. School Boards Association created a “leadership profile,” a survey that aimed to capture the traits and characteristics community members find most valuable in a superintendent. One of the most common themes, based on the responses, indicates the desire for a leader who has extensive education experience. This finding comes at a time when districts are making the controversial decision to hire leaders with no background in education.

“The North Carolina School Boards Association helped us gather input from our Wake County staff and our Wake County community so that we as a board would know what our community values and believes our next instructional leader of our district should possess,” school board chair Lindsay Mahaffey said during a special board meeting.

Wake County’s nearly 5,000 survey respondents can help shed light on what school board members across the country should look for when conducting their superintendent searches. Let’s break down the findings from the survey:

Experience

Above all, both parents and school staff rank education experience as their top characteristic of a new superintendent. Here are the criteria they expressed as significant:

School staff responses

1. Was an effective classroom teacher.
2. Have experience as a successful principal.
3. Has spent time building, maintaining and managing schools.
4. Has been a successful assistant or associate superintendent.
5. Experience working in North Carolina public education.
6. Experience in curriculum development and instruction.
7. Was a successful superintendent.
8. Experience in human resources.
9. Leadership experience outside of education.

Community responses

1. Was an effective classroom teacher.
2. Experience in curriculum development and instruction.
3. Spent time building, maintaining and managing schools.
4. Experience as a successful principal.
5. Has been a successful assistant or associate superintendent.
6. Was a successful superintendent.
7. Has worked in North Carolina public education.
8. Experience in human resources.
9. Leadership experience outside of education.

In addition, school staff rank “is willing to listen to input” as the most valued characteristic of a new superintendent. Community members simply want a leader who models “high standards of integrity.”

More from DA: Why these states rank as the 10 best for teachers in 2023

Recommendations for new leaders

The job qualifications of the superintendency are drastically different than they were 10 years ago. Now, superintendents are mental health counselors, defenders of public education and school safety experts, among other things.

Michael Collins, president of Ray and Associates, the oldest superintendent search firm in America that specializes in school executive leadership searches, recently shared with District Administration the three key elements new leaders should understand. For aspiring leaders or school districts wanting to support and uplift the next generation of superintendents, here’s what you should know:

1. Envision a leader of the future, because the old ways of the superintendency are long gone.
2. Build cultures that are student-centered and welcome the thoughts and engagements of parents.
3. Focus on self-care.

Future leaders should also take advantage of coaching services like District Administration‘s Superintendents Academy, a nine-day hybrid academy that seeks to equip participants with a solid mastery of the “complex academic, political and logistical rigors inherent in running a K12 school district,” according to its website.