Superintendent Interview

I had the opportunity of visiting with Mr. John Valastro, Superintendent of Lumberton Independent School District to discuss the roles and qualities necessary in holding the position of Superintendent of Schools. A little background on Mr. Valastro signifies he is a man of character that focuses on the best for his district. I have personally known Mr. Valastro having the opportunity of working with him as my Principal while I was an Assistant Principal at Lumberton High School.

His definition of leadership is “taking and working with a group of individuals” focusing on a “common goal or vision and having a successful outcome.” Having the opportunity to work with Mr. Valastro shows we both have a strong belief in collaboration. I feel teamwork and collaboration is the key to success. Without a common goal and collaboration, people begin to move in their individual directions. Lack of teamwork and collaboration can weaken the strengths of the school district.

One of the positive aspects of being in a leadership position such as Superintendent is the opportunity to work with different individuals and motivating them to do what is best for the students. Every person in the school district is there to do what is best for students. In retrospect, there are negative or difficult aspects of being in a leadership position, such as working with various personalities. The Superintendent must be able to work with all types of personalities and know that not everyone will be fond of your decisions. In order to be prepared for these varying personality traits, the Superintendent must remain vigilant and consistent in the decision making process.

Mr. Valastro is very firm on describing his view of the attributes of a good Superintendent , even though he has only been in this official position for about a month now. He is a firm believer of “being present, being on time, and work like crazy while you are at work.” This describes Mr. Valastro perfectly and he expects the same from his administrative staff. This is reflective of his position as past Principal and Assistant Superintendent.

Integrity is a descriptor that Mr. Valastro is cognoscente of. He is a focused and determined individual in achieving the goals he has set for himself, and focusing on the district goals that he has been charged with. He describes himself as being a person “born with” integrity, and he will “die with it.” When integrity guides actions, there appears to be less conflict. School employees know that tough decisions have to be made; employees want someone with the integrity to guide and make those decisions. Whenever make those decisions, you have make those decisions for the right reason, ethically, the reason should be for creating the best for students and not for your personal gain or reasoning.

Mr. Valastro’s vision for the school district is to have a place where students can find their niche and excel, and where teachers can have an opportunity to provide the necessary resources for their students. However, this vision must be one that is shared with the school board and the districts site base decision making committee. Working with these elected people allows for the shared vision from the community, as well as the shared vision of the school community. Through collaboration, a shared vision will emerge. However, through collaboration, there must be respect and mutual agreement. I have currently been given the opportunity to be Mr. Valastro’s representative of the district’s site base decision making committee to help formulate the current goals and vision of the school district.

When focusing on the shared vision, collaborative decision making must be evaluating in determining his strength and necessity. Collaborative decision making has it place; however, there are times a Superintendent has to be prepared to give directives on things that must be done a particular way. A Superintendent must be one step ahead on decision making, whether collaboratively or individually, to determine the best opportunity for the district as well as the community.

When working with a group of people, it is important understanding the various personalities and personal agenda’s everyone has. This is especially important when working with the school board. It takes time working with and learning each board member individually. However, this effort is important in creating an effective Superintendent and School Board relationship. Being new in this position, I have to be wary of the direction of the board, and be focused on the direction of the campus. Currently, he feels he has a good working relationship with the board, and has worked to be open and thorough in his explanations to the board.

In participating in the interview with Mr. Valastro, he reiterated numerous times that he is currently feeling his way throughout the position. Being new to the position, he has to rely on multiple people to give him the necessary direction in order to accomplish the objectives of the school district. He currently does not have an Assistant Superintendent to rely on, so he has to focus on both positions for the school district. He has had to reorganize the employment and responsibility structure of the district, and having to rely strongly on his principals in order to focus on the objectives of the district. In the interview, he has mentioned that there may be some opportunities of advancement in the near future, and has challenged me to learn as much as I can about school finance and the operations of the school district. He has had to learn about school finance very quickly and doesn’t feel as confident in this position yet. He mentioned that I should learn it slowly and in depth in order not to get frustrated as he did.

  Overall, Lumberton Independent School District is a wonderful school district, and one the strongest and highest scoring school districts in the area. As a current administrator, I am proud to share in the successes of the district, and allowing Mr. Valastro to shine as my boss and mentor.