Superintendents’ roles require them to simultaneously put out fires and lead with grace, and it can sometimes become a challenge under that pressure to tap into what many describe as a valuable asset for their leadership: the human side.
“I get vilified as ‘the district,’” said Adam Clark, superintendent of California’s Mt. Diablo Unified School District. “People don’t understand that I attended the district. I raised children in the district.”
That sentiment was echoed by many others brimming in a conference room on Thursday in Nashville, Tenn., where Clark and three others shared their stories as part of the National Conference on Education hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.