Being a principal is not an easy job. Being a superintendent is also not an easy job. So, imagine the challenge for those who wear both hats, as superintendent/principals.
True, the districts are smaller, but most of the requirements remain the same. And many of these people are located in rural areas, which bring their own unique set of challenges to the table.
One of the best at this position is Henry Bietz, superintendent/principal of Westwood USD. Bietz, a past president of state ACSA, is the association’s 2008 Superintendent/Principal of the Year.
Being the leader of a rural district has meant that Bietz has at times had to find unique answers to unique challenges. One example of this is the way he was able to reach out and obtain collaborative facilities projects, such as those performed with the High Desert State Prison and the California Correctional Center.
Bietz said small rural school districts have, for many years, been suffering from two major issues.
“First, declining enrollment seems fairly pervasive in areas that at one time had their economies based on natural resources which now no longer exist,” he said. “Secondly, small districts just don’t seem to be able to attract enough new teachers given the restrictions of distance and revenues.
“To overcome some of the mentioned revenue shortfalls, many small districts – including my current district – have had to be creative. With my bargaining unit’s concurrence, I’ve been able to offset some of my facility and equipment costs by entering into collaborative agreements with our local sheriff’s office and Cal-Fire. They provide work crews to assist us in not only grounds maintenance, but also help with the facility repair. They are a great help in the middle of winter when we have five feet of snow on our building that needs to be removed. We have a state prison in our county and they have great vocational training programs for their inmates. The products of these programs provide us with much needed furniture at only the material costs.”
And speaking of small school districts, Bietz has long played an integral role with the Small School Districts Association. There he has helped mentor many new superintendent/principals.
“The superintendent/principal position is a very unique job,” Bietz said. “It often amazes new administrators just how diversified and demanding this position can be. It is with a great deal of pride that I’ve been able to assist not only new candidates, but also many old veterans, that are now taking on new roles as a superintendent/principal.”
Of course, having served as an ACSA president, Bietz has played a strong leadership role in the association as well. Bietz proudly noted he has been a member of ACSA since his first day as an administrator.
“The training that ACSA has provided over the years is one of the major reasons that I’ve been successful as an administrator,” he said. “ACSA has been the vehicle that allowed me to expand my horizons, not only educationally but also politically. I’m always surprised – even though I shouldn’t be – by the tremendous amount of respect that being a member of ACSA seems to generate not only among other administrators but also among the state’s other educational policy makers.”
Bietz noted that ACSA’s Project Leadership, in particular, played a key role in his professional development.
“I started my administrative career clear back in the 1980s as part of ACSA’s original Project Leadership,” he said. “Many of the now-senior administrators will always remember the numerous subject area binders that we kept on our resource shelves. Those resources were well used for many years until ACSA’s new series of academies replaced them.”
In supporting materials for his nomination, Bietz is cited a number of times for his collaborative style of leadership. He credits this in part to what he learned from ACSA.
“One of ACSA’s huge goals is to be the most influential, respected, student-focused and service-oriented educational association in existence, and we can’t achieve this by ourselves,” Bietz said. “It is only by all of us having a common voice and common message that we can achieve that goal. By ourselves, we can only impact our small local communities that we represent. But if we are going to impact policy decisions throughout the state, we all need to be part of a larger group, ACSA, which has the resources and staff that can carry our message of ‘students first.’”
These are just a few elements that make a superb educational leader, one who is now receiving this statewide recognition from ACSA.
“One of the greatest rewards that any one of us can receive is to be recognized by our peers,” Bietz said. “I was overwhelmed by the support that I received as president of ACSA, but that doesn’t fit into the same category as this award. To be recognized for what you’ve done for your local community and how well you can meet their educational needs versus doing this for the state as a whole has a different impact; in some ways it is more personal.
“However, this recognition is not just for me but also for all superintendent/principals who, on a daily basis, are doing an outstanding job keeping their community’s educational systems at the forefront of everything that they do within their local school systems. An award like this would not even be possible without the support of everyone in my district, from classified, certificated and school board members. In addition, I’d like to thank my family for patiently putting up with the many days and evenings that I was not at home. This allowed me to serve my school community to the best of my ability.”
Each of ACSA’s 19 Administrators of the Year will be formally honored during ACSA’s 2008 Leadership Summit, Nov. 6-8 in San Diego. To register, visit www.acsa.org.