The superintendent is the crucial connection between the internal and external circles of responsibility. As the leader of the district, the superintendent must understand and exercise responsibility for engaging all of the players in both responsibility circles in meaningful dialogue and action that supports improved student learning.

Superintendents are responsible for:

• Connecting those in the inner and outer circles of the model
  
  
• Engaging all players in meaningful dialogue in support of improved student learning with an emphasis on the achievement of the academic standards
  
  
• Leading the central administration staff in becoming a provider/broker of services that focuses on building the capacity of building staff rather than serving a command and control role
  
  
• Establishing a vision of quality schooling that is anchored in high expectations for all staff and buildings
  
  
• Overseeing the development of challenging academic content standards for the district and establishing increased student achievement as the driving force for the district
  
  
• Assuring a clear connection between any internal accountability system established by the district and the external system established by the state
  
  
• Advocating for continuous improvement and supporting only those programs which have demonstrated success
  
  
• Providing quality professional development for teachers and administrators with a primary focus on increasing student achievement, and seeking opportunities for staff development outside the district when the district is unable to provide it
  
  
• Developing close working relationships with the parents and citizens of the community in order to assist them in becoming more knowledgeable about the improvements needed in education
  
  
• Involves the citizens of the community early in the process of designing educational expectations and reform, not after the fact
  
  
• Developing and proposing budgets that demonstrate commitment to the classroom and those who work directly with students and provides for quality teaching staff, instructional materials, facilities and support apparatus, and being willing to stop funding budget items that don't measure up
  
  
• Demonstrating the leadership and management knowledge and skills to successfully deal with the fiscal and operational functions of running a school district

In his book, Inventing Better Schools, Phil Schlectly states that "only through revitalizing and redirecting the actions of district-level operations can widespread change that must occur become possible." "Districts," he says, "are the only organizational units that can genuinely serve the interests of the entire community."

Thus, the district leadership needs to keep student learning as a clear non-negotiable and the individual school as the focus of the accountability. This means that the superintendent and central office staff must refocus their energy to center more on capacity building of individuals within the district and monitoring results while, at the same time, still meeting the obligation to manage the district well.

The central office must become a provider or broker of services that are designed to enhance the capacity of the building staffs to carry out their responsibilities in the best manner possible. Dictating the instructional strategies and learning resources from central office will not produce the achievement results/gains we all want to see.

The superintendent, as the recognized leader of the district, must establish a vision of quality schooling that is anchored in high expectations for all staff and schools, and then design and advocate an improvement strategy for realizing that vision.

Overseeing the development of challenging academic content standards for the district is a key role for the superintendent, as is assuring that there is a clear connection between any internal accountability system established by the district and the external system established by the state. These responsibilities cannot be delegated.

Connections to the community become extremely critical when major improvement efforts are underway. The superintendent must ensure that parents and the general public are consulted and informed if they are to understand, support, and contribute to shaping improvement efforts. They should be involved early in the process of establishing expectations for student learning, not as an afterthought to ratify what has already been decided. And finally, the superintendents budget proposals must emphasize commitment to the classroom and those who are working most directly with students. The quality of the teaching staff, instructional materials, facilities, and the critical support apparatus, such as technology, are key ingredients for a successful educational environment. Budget allocations must reflect that commitment. All of these responsibilities are key for the superintendent and central office team.

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