How Superintendents Can Prioritize the Political Part of the Job

学区负责人如何对工作中的政治事务进行优先考量

Superintendents aren’t just educational administrators; they are also civic leaders their communities turn to to weigh big decisions and navigate uncertainty.

学区负责人不仅是教育管理者，他们还是所在社区在权衡重大决策、应对不确定性时会依靠的公民领袖。

That’s increasingly true as national political debates percolate down to stoke local controversies, and as districts face tough calls related to budget cuts and meeting the needs of a changing economy, said a panel of experts who help superintendents embrace the political nature of their roles.

一个协助学区负责人接纳自身角色政治属性的专家小组表示，随着全国性政治辩论逐渐渗透并引发地方争议，以及学区面临与削减预算、满足不断变化的经济需求相关的艰难抉择，这种情况正日益凸显。

The group of former superintendents and leadership experts, members of a new effort called the Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency, spoke March 6 at the national conference of AASA, the School Superintendents Association.

这个由前任学区负责人和领导力专家组成的团体，是 “学区负责人政治领导力协作组织” 这一全新项目的成员，他们于 3 月 6 日在美国学校行政管理者协会（AASA）的全国会议上发表了讲话。

“For many people across the community, the first person they look to during difficult times is their school superintendent,” said Kristine Gilmore, a former superintendent who now serves as associate executive director of AASA’s leadership network.

“对于社区里的众多民众而言，在困难时期，他们首先会求助的人就是学区负责人，” 克里斯汀・吉尔摩说道，她曾是一名学区负责人，如今担任美国学校行政管理者协会领导力网络的副执行主任。

To manage that responsibility, superintendents must establish and maintain personal priorities, set aside time for intentional relationship-building, and make the work a priority, long before a crisis emerges, the panel said.

该专家小组指出，为了履行这一职责，学区负责人必须确立并维持个人事务的优先级，预留时间有意识地去建立人际关系，并且早在危机出现之前，就将这项工作列为优先事项。

Here are six tips for superintendents who want to be more politically savvy.

以下是为那些期望在政治方面更具洞察力的学区负责人提供的六条建议。

1. Build coalitions, not just relationships

构建联盟，而非仅仅维系人际关系

Superintendents should first focus on “building the broadest coalition that we can” to support the ambitious vision of providing a quality education for all children, said Lindsay Whorton, president of the Holdsworth Center, an organization that works with Texas superintendents.

得克萨斯州学区负责人协作组织霍尔兹沃思中心的总裁林赛・沃顿表示，学区负责人首先应着重 “构建我们所能打造的最广泛联盟”，以支持为所有儿童提供优质教育这一宏伟愿景。

Leaders should go beyond one-on-one relationships, instead drawing together community members, like the leaders of civil rights organizations and key businesses, to help build a shared vision and sense of advocacy, she said. To create a broader coalition, members may have to agree to disagree on some non-essentials, Whorton added.

她称，领导者不应局限于一对一的人际关系，而应汇聚民权组织的领导人和重点企业等社区成员，助力构建共同愿景以及倡导意识。沃顿还补充道，为了创建一个更广泛的联盟，成员们或许不得不在一些非关键问题上求同存异。

2. Build the groundwork early

尽早夯实基础

Leaders should build this “kitchen cabinet” of advisers long before there’s a big decision or change on the horizon, said Ray Hart, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools.

大城市学校委员会执行主任雷・哈特表示，领导者应当早在面临重大决策或即将发生变革之前，就建立起这个由顾问组成的 “智囊团”。

“If you wait until you want to put a bond on a ballot and then you decide to create those relationships, you are too late,” he said.

他说：“如果等到你想将一项债券提案列入投票表决时，才决定去建立这些关系，那就为时已晚了。”

3. Prioritize nonnegotiables

明确优先不可妥协的事项

“These days, everything is contested,” said Jennifer Perry Cheatham, a former superintendent who is now a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-leader of the collaborative. It can make it difficult to find areas of agreement when people argue about terminology like “equity” and “standards,” she said.

“如今，所有事情都充满争议，” 珍妮弗・佩里・切厄姆说道，她曾是一名学区负责人，现在是哈佛大学教育研究生院的高级讲师，也是上述协作组织的联合负责人之一。她表示，当人们围绕 “公平”“标准” 等术语争论不休时，就很难找到能达成一致的领域。

Superintendents should write down their core values and post them in visible places, like the corner of their laptop during a school board meeting, so they can “know intentionally and proactively the line you won’t cross,” said Caitlin Sullivan, the founder and CEO of Leading Now, an organization that helps cohorts of superintendents navigate their civic roles.

“当下引领” 组织的创始人兼首席执行官凯特琳・沙利文表示，学区负责人应当写下自己的核心价值观，并将其张贴在显眼的地方，比如在学校董事会会议期间贴在笔记本电脑的边角处，这样他们就能 “有意识且主动地明确自己不可逾越的底线”。

Leaders shouldn’t compromise on anything related to the safety and well-being of children, for example, but they might be more willing to be flexible about things like messaging strategies if it helps the public understand their aims, she said.

她指出，例如，领导者在涉及儿童安全和福祉的任何事情上都不应妥协，但如果有助于公众理解他们的目标，在信息传递策略等方面或许可以更灵活一些。

“We don’t want anyone dying on accidental hills,” Sullivan said.

沙利文说：“我们不想让任何人在无关紧要的问题上陷入僵局。”

4. Factor your civic role into your daily routine

将公民角色融入日常事务

Many superintendents were drawn to the role by a desire to shape learning and a skill at organizational management, Whorton said. Those leaders may find the political nature of their roles a less natural fit.

沃顿说，许多学区负责人是出于塑造学习环境的愿望以及具备组织管理技能而投身这一岗位的。这些领导者可能会觉得自身角色的政治属性与自己不太契合。

But it’s important for leaders to acknowledge that political deftness is an increasingly key part of the job and intentionally schedule it into into their days so that it doesn’t feel tacked onto an already crowded list of responsibilities, Whorton said.

但沃顿强调，领导者必须认识到，政治手腕日益成为这份工作的关键部分，并且要有意识地将其安排到日常工作中，如此一来，才不会感觉它是额外硬加在原本就已繁多的职责清单上的负担。

Superintendents should build time into their calendars to speak with members of the media, troubleshoot problems, and consult with community allies, said Carl Cohn, a former superintendent of the Long Beach, Calif., district and co-leader of the collaborative.

加利福尼亚州长滩学区的前任负责人、上述协作组织的联合负责人之一卡尔・科恩表示，学区负责人应当在日程安排中预留时间与媒体人员交流、解决问题以及与社区盟友进行协商。

Cohn held a regular “cookies with Carl” event where teachers and staff had an open door to come and ask questions or discuss challenges. He also made it a point to be visible at community events so parents and the public felt familiar with the man steering the district through big changes.

科恩定期举办 “与卡尔共品饼干” 活动，教师和工作人员可以随时前来提问或讨论挑战。他还特意在社区活动中露面，以便让家长和公众熟悉这个引领学区应对重大变革的人。

5. Put on your own oxygen mask first

先关照好自己

It can be difficult for superintendents to balance the very urgent work of leading a school system with a need to slow down and engage with people, Cheatham said.

切厄姆称，学区负责人很难在领导学校系统这项极为紧迫的工作与放慢节奏、与人打交道的需求之间找到平衡。

As superintendent in Madison, Wis., Cheatham stuck brightly colored sticky dots in ordinary places, like under the door handle to her office, reminding herself to slow down every time she encountered one throughout the day.

在担任威斯康星州麦迪逊市的学区负责人时，切厄姆会在诸如办公室门把手下方等平常的地方贴上色彩鲜艳的便签纸，提醒自己一整天里每次看到便签纸时都要放慢节奏。

“The next person who comes into your office deserves for you to show up for them,” Cheatham said. “If people saw me as frantic, that would be deadly for the rest of the system.”

切厄姆说：“下一个走进你办公室的人值得你全身心地接待他们。如果人们看到我慌乱不堪，那对整个学校系统来说将会是极为不利的。”

6. Keep your eyes on the local context

着眼于地方实际情况

While national political issues—like President Donald Trump’s pledge to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education—often seem to blot out the sun, parents, students, and teachers are usually more focused on what’s happening in their own classrooms, speakers said.

发言者们表示，尽管像唐纳德・特朗普总统承诺要解散美国教育部这样的全国性政治议题常常显得极为重要，但家长、学生和教师通常更关注自己教室里正在发生的事情。

While superintendents must follow, and respond to, the ways state and national decisions affect their systems, they should always focus most on the immediate needs of their communities, Gilmore said.

吉尔摩说，虽然学区负责人必须关注并应对州和国家决策对其所在学区系统产生的影响，但他们始终应当把重点放在所在社区的紧迫需求上。

Whatever the status of the federal agency, “today there are kids in classrooms who don’t care about this,” she said. “They care about their experiences in their schools, and we care about leaders within our schools.”

她讲道：“无论联邦机构的状况如何，如今教室里的孩子们并不关心这些。他们关心的是自己在学校里的经历，而我们关心的是学校里的领导者。”