The similarities and differences in the ways superintendents with and without prior experience as superintendents work during their first year in a new district

Research on superintendents transitioning into a new position is slim but beginning to grow, as researchers understand the importance of this period better. Superintendents and researchers agree that how superintendents enter a district strongly affects their overall success and the length of their tenure. This study examined the ways in which first time and experienced superintendents work through their first year in a new superintendency to determine if there were differences. A secondary purpose was to identify changes veteran superintendents perceived between their first and subsequent entries. Six white male superintendents participated in this case study. The data collection included a two-part interview with each superintendent. Part one addressed preparing for the superintendency, entering the position, and first year experiences. In part two, superintendents responded to questions about a critical incident they experienced during their first year. In addition, board minutes, newspaper articles, and district publications provided contextual information about the districts the superintendents led. Data collected indicated there were differences in the ways first time and experienced superintendents worked through their first year in a new district. All experienced superintendents in this study designed and publically shared entry plans that sequenced their activities for the first few months they were in the job. This contrasted with the first time superintendents who did not implement entry or transition plans. First time superintendents focused on learning the tasks required to do the job “on the dance floor” while experienced superintendents spent more time “in the balcony” (Heifetz and Linsky, 2002) leading the school district. Similar contrasts appeared relative to building coalitions and collaborating with others. For instance, experienced superintendents engaged more often than first time superintendents in collaborative goal setting, focused more on student achievement, and had boards that expected higher student achievement. In addition, experienced superintendents shifted resources away from ineffective programs to support achievement and instructional goals. Finally, experienced superintendents perceived no differences between how they worked during their first and second superintendencies even though this contradicted remarks made about what experience taught them