Your Private Life Counts at Evaluation Time - performance assessment for school superintendents

True tales from the superintendency:

* After a long search, you find that just-right house with the extra space you crave and the larger yard in which your kids can play. Unfortunately, it's located outside the school district where you work.

* It's a Saturday night and you receive a call from the local police telling you that your son had been arrested for the possession of a controlled substance.

* Your wife decides you put in too much time at work and she wants a divorce.

These unfortunate events ring true to many in our profession. But what may surprise you is that all of these things may have a negative effect on your professional evaluation.

Personal Scrutiny

As superintendents, we all are aware of the link between what happens in our private lives and what our school board thinks of us. We have an innate understanding of that. As one superintendent put it: "I feel I live in a fishbowl when my private actions are scrutinized and evaluated. My private life could have a negative effect on my job."

Yet the impact of personal events in the life of a superintendent on his or her overall performance evaluation has not been well documented.

The personal scrutiny by the public is well known by most superintendents. What has not been widely understood is how it affects the way the school district's chief executive is perceived by the board of education.

While most of us undoubtedly believe the connection between our professional effectiveness as school leaders and what we do in our personal lives has no place in official school board assessments, evidence suggests that boards make that link concrete and clear.

Abiding Interest

As part of my doctoral studies recently, I sent a survey on this subject to 919 district superintendents across Illinois. When I received 754 responses after the first mailing, I recognized the great import of this subject to our profession. More than a third of the respondents felt inclined to add anecdotal evidence to their responses.

What I found overall was surprising and disturbing: Regardless of whether you are a superintendent in a small district, a rural district, or a suburban district, your personal actions may be reflected in your professional evaluation. In fact, the actions of others in your household also may find their way into how your board rates you.

Some linkages between the position, the individual's social actions, and his or her professional evaluation seem obvious. That comes from being constantly in the public eye. But the reaction to being totally immersed in the community was pointed. One superintendent related, "While I was questioned and encouraged to live in district during my interview, I asked that I be evaluated on my ideas, abilities, capacity to involve people in the school and to improve learning--not by my zip code."

For instance, if one is arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol, more than 99 percent of the superintendents who responded to the questionnaire believed that event would have a negative effect on their evaluation. Eighty-five percent felt that if their spouse was arrested for the same offense, it would have a negative effect on their professional evaluation.

More than two-thirds of the superintendents indicated that if they took part in a public demonstration not connected with school matters, negative ramifications would follow at evaluation time. Almost as many felt their evaluation would suffer if they ran for a public office.

The superintendents stated that if one of their children was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, they expected the matter would count against them. Most said an arrest on this type of crime would negatively impact their relationship with their board.

Children Affected

Some interesting findings emerged when superintendents were asked about their children and the perceived treatment they received in school.

More than half of the respondents felt their children had received different treatment than other children, though few suggested grades and placement on the honor roll were affected. Four in 10 believed their children experienced negative treatment socially by peers because of their job. Even in student award competitions using both subjective and objective criteria, superintendents felt their position tended to work against their child.

One area apparently unaffected by the superintendent's position was discipline of a child by teachers or principals. The superintendents felt that discipline seems to be meted out consistently regardless of the child's relationship.

If you think that you can avoid the problem of a conflict of interest between your status and the education of your child by sending the child to a private or parochial school, you are wrong. More than 90 percent of the respondents felt that a decision to send their child to a private or parochial school would result in a negative impact on their professional evaluation. One superintendent mentioned that during an interview for a new job the board stated in no uncertain terms that his children would attend their schools, not other public or private schools.

At the same time, an overwhelming number of the superintendents felt their position as superintendent made no difference in their child's education and when there was a difference, it was positive.

The superintendents also pointed to the effect of their status on their spouses. One superintendent said a 28-year marriage ended during his first superintendency. More than three-fourths contend their spouse's opinion is valued differently than views of other members of the community.

I also found it interesting that superintendents felt their spouses suffered negative consequences from residing within the school district. Almost two-thirds felt this way. One superintendent said: "My family suffers socially due to my position. ... They become defensive in regard to comments made toward me or the school district."

Inevitable Predicament

The relationship of the professional aspects of being a superintendent and the personal effects on the family is undoubtedly strong. Unfortunately, many aspiring superintendents do not assess their personal expectations when pursuing the top spot in a school district. They do not reflect on the impact that becoming a living landmark in a community will have.

The professional educator will become torn between job and family. This is almost inevitable. Some individuals will maintain a balance. One superintendent perhaps best summarized the predicament, saying: "There are times I wish I did not have a family because of what my job does to them. On the other hand, we live well because of the job."

COPYRIGHT 1996 American Association of School Administrators
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group