I.

“Being curious and excited can take you far, especially over the long arc of a life. The person who is a voracious lifelong learner will figure it out eventually. A strong reader with a healthy dose of curiosity and a willingness to try things is hard to stop.”

​II.

“Delaying a conversation doesn’t make it easier.”

III.

“Who is initiating the items on your to-do list?

When I’m most productive, I decide what I want to create and work on the task that will help build my vision.

When I am less productive, I spend my day responding to what someone else sends to me — emails, texts, etc. — and often that means I end up building someone else’s vision.”

Wayne Vickers, a superintendent for nearly two decades, has some advice for aspiring K12 leaders: avoid preconceived notions about the district or the community you’re going to serve.

“If you’re called to leadership, then you end up where you’re supposed to serve, and if you have the heart for service, you’re going ot end up in the right place,” Vickers tells host Amy Dujon on the latest episode of District Administration’s “A Good Lesson” podcast.

“If you’re a true leader, you are going to go and do great things no matter where you land,” he adds. “If you’re always waiting on the perfect situation, then maybe the superintendency is not for you.”

In 2013, Vickers became the founding superintendent of Alabama’s newly-formed Alabaster City Schools, which he calls “a full tapestry of America.” Before that, he led Saraland City Schools and Demopolis City Schools.

He also urges prospective superintendents to ensure their entire support group is behind them, and not to give up if they don’t get the first superintendency for which they apply—because they probably won’t.

Accountability fails when leaders monitor tasks and neglect people.

Tasks matter. Managers typically ask, “Did you complete your project?” That’s useful, but incomplete. Make space to ask about people.

“What’s working?”

“What got in your way?”

“What will you do differently next week?”

“What commitment are you making?”

“How can I help you succeed?”

“What can I ask you the next time we meet?”

Nudging people toward their potential while elevating their performance.

While superintendents are split on whether to strengthen or overhaul their systems, even those who say they want transformational change are sometimes unable to achieve it because of capacity restraints, stakeholder appetite, and other reasons.

As a result, most districts are likely to pursue incremental changes to improve academic performance — even though system overhauls “will be increasingly necessary,” CRPE said in its July report.

“Today’s school systems were never designed to deliver equitable outcomes at scale,” the report said. “They still reflect gaps in achievement and engagement that are actively widening.”