Why Students Should Know Their Superintendent

During my second year as superintendent, my daughters, who attended a different school district, came to visit me at work.

As we walked through the hallways, students kept waving and saying:

"Hi Dr. Croft!"

After a while, my daughters looked at me and asked:

"How do all these students know your name?"

The truth is, that was never the goal.

The goal was to know theirs.

To be present in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, concerts, athletic events, and all the everyday moments that make up school life.

Over the years, I received notes like these from students.

Not because I was the superintendent.

But because they knew I cared about them.

As educational leaders, it's easy to become consumed by budgets, strategic plans, negotiations, reports, and meetings. Those things are important.

But at the end of the day, schools are about people.

And some of the most meaningful feedback you'll ever receive won't come from a survey, a report, or a performance review.

It will come in the form of a handwritten note from a child.

Students don't need to know every decision we make.

But they should know that we see them, value them, and care about their success.

Leadership is at its best when it is visible, approachable, and connected to the people it serves.

Sometimes the most important measure of leadership shows up in crayon.