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Stand for Children is a grass-roots, advocacy organization

that unites parents, teachers, and community members to

demand excellent schools for all children.

Our goal today is to get feedback from the community

about what they want in a superintendent. You are an

important part of ensuring we get the right person for the

job, our community, and our children.

Stand for Children is working to host these

conversations with partners that include

members of the faith community, TWEET,

Girls Empowerment and The Coalition for

Effective Teaching (Teach Plus, The National

Civil Rights Museum, The Urban League,

Envoy, STRIVE, and Shepherding the Next

Generation).

He or she …

• Serves as the academic leader and

crafts the vision for the district

• Chooses/creates programs and

initiatives that the district adopts

• Is responsible for ensuring students’

academic achievement

• Makes policy and regulatory

recommendations to the School Board

• Acts as direct manager to regional

superintendents, who directly manage

principals.

NOTE: While the superintendent in Shelby

County is not an elected official, we DO

elect the school board members who

choose the superintendent.

They clearly articulate

their vision for the

district.

They have

high expectations for

ALL students, staff, and

programs.

They are

effective

communicators, capable

of relating to the

community.

They are

driven by data

and accountability

They have proven

themselves as

successful

managers

• A visionary,

inspirational leader

who is collaborative

and trustworthy

• An instructional leader

with a track record of

accountability

• A knowledgeable

manager able to hire

and develop a great

team

• An effective

communicator with all

stakeholders

• Success in leading a

district with Pre-K and a

large population of

English-language learners

• A strong communicator

• An innovative, transparent

and accountable leader

• Long-term dedication to

the district

• Experience leading and

managing a budget in a

challenging political

climate

• An instructional leader

who is student-centered

• Visionary leadership

• An advocate for ALL kids

• Strong collaboration and

team-building skills

• Continuous improvement

and systems thinking

• Strong instructional

leadership and an ability

to achieve organizational

excellence

• Meaningful engagement

and communication

• Successful classroom

experience

• Exemplifies the 5 characteristics of successful superintendents

• Understands this county’s history and current political, social

and educational context (the merger, municipals, our deficit, race

and class issues, etc.)

• Is a resilient, diplomatic leader who can work well in our political

climate

• Can manage our complex budget

• Can build bridges and coalitions - a good community partner

• Dedicated to this community for the long run

• Will find the successes in both districts and merge best practices

• Is flexible and can be successful despite ambiguity

• Is a person of integrity and humility

• Please take a moment to fill out our

feedback form.

• We will use your information to

produce a report to give to the board

members to aid them in picking the

correct candidate, with the

community in mind.

• Be honest and thorough. No answer

is too long or incorrect.

To stay involved, please join us at the

School Board meeting where Stand will

present the feedback we have gathered.

When: May 28, 2013

Time: 5:30 PM

Where: Teaching and Learning Academy

2485 Union Avenue

Memphis, TN 38112

To learn more about Stand for Children,

please check out www.stand.org or email

Jaclyn Suffel at jsuffel@stand.org.