Ohio Superintendent Leadership Institute: Addressing the Challenges of Executive Educators Statewide

Client Profile & Challenge

As the designated leader of the school district, a superintendent plays a pivotal role in student achievement outcomes by fostering a conducive environment for learning and teaching. However, superintendent turnover, already high before the Covid-19 pandemic, has continued to rise, posing a challenge to student achievement.

Educational leaders participating in leadership development programs can stem this turnover by increasing their psychological well-being and decreasing their isolation. According to Lynn Fick-Cooper, Chief Societal Impact Officer at the Center for Creative Leadership, “All of the critical work happening in schools is happening between people. Certainly, you need to invest in technical resources, but your investment will be fully realized when you pair it with how people can work more effectively together and give them the tools to build that capacity. If you want a valuable return on technical investments, you need leadership development, too.”

Solution

The Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) sought a partner to design, develop, and deliver a comprehensive leadership development institute for superintendents across Ohio. The goal was to equip these educational leaders with innovative and effective leadership strategies that would result in continuous improvement in the state’s school districts. CCL was chosen as this partner and the Ohio Superintendent Leadership Institute (OSLI) was born.

Featured Solution

Education Leadership (K-12)

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Individual Leadership Development

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OSLI provides a comprehensive assessment-focused leadership development program for Ohio superintendents. This cohort-based 8-day program, spread over a school year, enhances the leadership skills and knowledge for in-service superintendents, and fosters leadership networks across the state. The design includes opportunities for leaders to:

• Gain insights to their own leadership through assessments and engaging
  activities
• Develop the leadership capacity of their team members and districts
• Create an innovation mindset and learn resilience techniques
• Focus on the systemic complexities of leading school districts

Dave Axner, the Executive Director of BASA and OSLI participant, says, “As superintendents, the more proficient we become at leading the adults in our education programs, regardless of the district’s size, the more significant the impact we can make on our staff’s performance. This is the key to achieving success in education. This is exactly the opportunity and guidance that CCL and the Ohio Superintendent Leadership Institute provide us with.”

Results

CCL has facilitated over 35 cohorts of superintendents through this innovative program, positively impacting more than 1,000 superintendents in Ohio.

By the Numbers

Program evaluation data clearly demonstrates the success of this approach, showing that it:

• Fostered substantial growth in superintendents’ social networks
• Significantly improved superintendents’ psychological wellbeing
• Enhanced their confidence in fulfilling their role responsibilities

Participants Say