Thriving as a Superintendent: How to Recognize and Survive an Unanticipated Departure

I find this book is a must read for superintendents, aspiring superintendents and board members. Boards at some point will experience strained relationships with their leadership, and reading this book creates preparedness for when the turmoil presents itself. As a former school board member who currently serves as a staff member to a search firm, author, and school consultant, I find this book provides a realistic view of what a superintendent encounters when an early departure from the superintendency occurs. 22 superintendents provide significant and extensive insight and advise, at times light-hearted, at times heartbreaking. Either way, this hard to talk about topic is discussed in a way that brings insight and understanding to the reader. Finally — the book boards and leadership need before ‘it’ happens! — Margaret (Peggy) Black, Center for Diverse Student Learning, Menomonee Falls, WI

Superintendents are expected to be problem solvers, yet when conflicts and turmoil impact a superintendent’s ability to lead, even the best problem solvers may find themselves in new uncharted rough waters. Unfortunately, an unanticipated departure can occur for any superintendent at any time in their career. Knowing how to navigate the rough waters can help superintendents ultimately make the critical decision to continue or leave a position. Through the stories of quiet leaders, Evert and Van Deuren have created a meaningful guide for navigating an unanticipated departure from the superintendency. Summaries of superintendent interviews, detailed case scenarios, and an extensive literature review create the roadmap for navigating and understanding perhaps the most difficult time in a superintendents career. This book is a must read for superintendents and anyone studying the complexities of unanticipated departures. It may even save you from making the wrong decision! — Patricia Neudecker, Oconomowoc Area School District Superintendent, AASA Past President

Written by a former school board member, and a veteran superintendent, the experiences of 22 superintendents are artfully distilled on the topic of unanticipated departure. Using scenarios drawn from real life, this is a rare text that acknowledges and explores thorny circumstances and issues that have, and may well again, derail what had been a previously successful superintendency. Functioning on multiple levels, the text weaves real life stories with research through brief topical ‘book reviews.’ What happens when the match between the superintendent and her school board becomes undone? What can be done when board support dissipates? And finally, how do you know when it’s time to go? Using well-written, engaging, and true-to-life accounts, this text offers advice and direction to novice, mid-career, and veteran superintendents on how to cope with an unanticipated departure. This is not your typical ‘how to’ prescription for success, but rather a guide for surviving failure. If you are a practicing superintendent, or in a superintendent preparation program, this book is essential reading. — Norman Weston, director, Educational Leadership Doctoral Program, National Louis University

As a former superintendent for 22 years and now a trainer of superintendents at the university level, I can attest that this book is absolutely needed in our profession to alert the unsuspecting novice or veteran superintendent of mine fields to avoid. The discussion of how to deal with the issues that may lead to termination or early departure is treated in a manner that needs to be told. I endorse this work as one that is a must read for aspiring superintendents as well as superintendents an at any level of their career. — Marvin Edwards, professor of educational leadership, Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois