Matthew Jennings

Comprehensive School Superintendent Hiring Protocol Matthew Jennings

Arguably the most important responsibility of a Board of Education is the hiring of a Superintendent. Typically, board members are expected to make this important decision without having had experience as a Superintendent or even a clear understanding of the day to day requirements of the job. Some Boards will use the services of a consultant. However, many times this consultant works for a State School Boards Association. Often, they are experienced board members, but they still do not have the knowledge or experience to understand what makes for a highly effective Superintendent. Thus, frequently the situation is a group of unprepared volunteers making the most important decision they can make for their school community. The process of hiring a Superintendent is normally an attempt to determine two subjective indicators of "fit". First, board members attempt to estimate the level of job fit. In other words, the board attempts to evaluate whether an applicant possesses the qualifications for the job that correspond to the job requirements. Second, the board attempts to determine the level of person to organization fit. Does the applicant have the personality, values, and interests that correspond to the district's organizational values and culture?The major vehicle used to make these determinations of "fit", are interviews. The interview process can result in a wide range of outcomes, ranging from very high to very low ability to predict the success of job candidates. In other words, a poorly designed and conducted interview will provide very little insight into the applicant's potential to perform in the organization. On the other hand, even though the best selection methods will sometimes lead to bad hiring decisions, in the long run more valid methods will dramatically increase the proportion of good hiring decisions. Used with fidelity, the tools in my Comprehensive Superintendent Hiring Protocol will increase the probability that a board will make a better hiring decision.