Reflection:

After meeting with the superintendent I realized that one of his greatest strengths is his ability to transform a district and motivate the community at large.  We talked about transformation in the 21^st Century and the role of a superintendent.  Transformation involves parents, teachers, students, community members, and the Board of Trustees.  He repeated the importance of being transparent and maintaining strong communication with all stakeholders.  He further explained that by being transparent up front, stakeholder buy-in will be stronger in the long run, which in turn will support the transformative effort.  The more opportunities we have to meet with teachers, parents, and students, the more they will support the overall vision.  Support leads to motivation and motivation leads to transformation.

Strategic planning is also a key component in the success of transformation. Strategic planning begins with a vision and mission that align with the transformative initiative.  The vision and mission provide road-map with checkpoints along the way.  The vision is where we are all going, and the mission is how we are going to get there.   Goals support the vision and mission specifically and strategically with progress measures.  This strategic plan needs to be reviewed by all district stakeholders, once again for purposes of transparency, communication, and community buy-in.

Through communication and collaboration a superintendent can lead transformation.  In this way a superintendent truly exhibits transformational leadership.