Superintendent Interview - September 21, 2011

I had met with Mr. John Valastro, Superintendent of Lumberton ISD on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 4:00 pm in my office at Lumberton Intermediate School.  The internship plan that I had developed had previously been e-mailed to Mr. Valastro for his review so he would not have to take a lot of time out of his busy schedule to visit. We have actually had several meetings prior to this meeting to discuss various aspects of the internship plan, and the particular items he is wanting me to focus my experiences with. In reality all these meetings have culminated into my internship plan.

A little background on Mr. Valastro’s position of Superintendent and the current state of Lumberton Independent School District is important to know. He is currently the only sole central office administrator for the district, with less than a few months of experience as the Superintendent. Due to budget constraints, he does not have an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum or an Assistant Superintendent for Operations. Both of these positions are currently on hold to fill. These are the reasons we have had several informal meetings to discuss my internship experience – he’s just a busy man!

He was impressed with the selections I had chosen to include in my plan explaining that I have chosen to focus on many different aspects of the position. He is particularly excited that I took his advice in one of our prior meetings to gain ample knowledge in the area of school finance and the operations of the school district. Due to the lack of positions at the central office level, he has asked that I leave some room for modification in my internship plan, as there may be a strong need for assistance for true and real opportunities with decisions and actions of the district. It was explained to him that the internship plan that was developed was an open ended document that is subject modification.

I have worked with Mr. Valastro for several years prior to becoming the Principal of Lumberton Intermediate School as his Assistant Principal of Lumberton High School. We have a strong working relationship, and he knows my personal demeanor and focus towards advancement. In our discussions, he has spoken many times regarding a position in the near future with the opportunity of working at central office. He currently did not ask that I add anything to my plan, however, he just reiterated that he wishes that I focus on the school finance and operations strongly because his future plans are dependent upon it.