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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Superintendent or superhero
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Clayton County school board was supposed to vote Monday night on whether to make John Thompson the troubled district’s permanent superintendent. The board postponed the vote to give the public time to review his new contract.
Thompson, the corrective superintendent, has promised to save Clayton schools.
Some expect superintendents to be saviors. It’s not uncommon to hunt for a Superman or a Wonder Woman with such amazing powers they can turn around a flawed district.
Do these people exist?
Beverly Hall in Atlanta and J. Alvin Wilbanks in Gwinnett have been lauded locally and nationally as strong superintendents. Could they repeat their success here elsewhere?
Think about what a strong superintendent must do. They must know how to compromise, they must be able to put out fires and they must have the ability to explain their vision and get others to buy into it.
How many superintendents can do that?
