Leading from the Middle: Secrets to Building a Student-Centered School

💡 Key Takeaways

• Student-Centered Hiring Practices: Rosedale Union Elementary School District prioritizes hiring staff with a strong commitment to student-centric approaches, using specific interview techniques to ensure alignment with the district's values.

• Leadership Development: Sue emphasizes the importance of nurturing potential leaders within the district through mentorship, structured collaboration, and continuous professional growth.

• Crisis Management: The episode highlights the critical role of transparent and frequent communication during crises, as evidenced by Sue's approach during the pandemic.

• Decision-Making Framework: Sue discusses the importance of recognizing different types of decisions—those made by staff, by herself, and collaboratively—and the value of input from all levels.

• Trust and Humility: Trusting one's instinct, acknowledging mistakes, and being willing to adjust strategies as needed are key elements of effective leadership.

Embracing Structured Interviews for Student-Centered Hiring

In the realm of educational leadership, Sue Lemon, Superintendent of Rosedale Union Elementary School District, offers a compelling example of how structured interviews can transform the hiring process. “We look for people that are student-centered,” says Sue, highlighting a long-standing tradition within the district. This method, developed over 35 years ago, helps identify whether a candidate's heart aligns with student welfare. "We often say that we select people because of their heart, and we can help people learn how to teach and be better teachers, but we can't help you grow a heart," she emphasizes.

Utilizing a set of seven written questions during the application process, the district can predict if an applicant’s focus is more aligned with students or teaching techniques. This approach uncovers a candidate's preferences surrounding motivation, and relationships with colleagues, families, and students, fostering a nurturing educational environment. “It really just feels like home. We support each other, and we care about each other. And so it really is just a big extension of your family,” Sue shares.

Such an interview process not only establishes the foundation for a supportive community but also enhances student engagement and achievement. “Our assessment is a way for us to see what they know and how we can help them grow,” reiterates Sue, underscoring the district’s dedication to continuous improvement. This philosophy, ingrained in the district’s culture, is epitomized by the superintendent’s personal testimony and is a standard that echoes through decades of service.

Communication and Adaptability in Leadership During Crisis

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, educational leaders faced unprecedented challenges, and Superintendent Lemon stood as a beacon of adaptive communication and resilience. Leading a district that spans grades K through 8, Sue’s leadership was immediately tested. “We just communicated frequently and often,” she recalls, highlighting the importance of maintaining clear and regular dialogue with all stakeholders—teachers, parents, and students.

Sue acknowledges the polarization within the community regarding school closures, noting, “Half of the staff thought we should close down and the other half was upset about it.” To navigate these divided sentiments, she adopted a strategy of over-communication. From Zoom sessions to video updates, Sue ensured that everyone was informed, significantly reducing uncertainty. “Many people told me, ‘Oh, Sue, you don’t even know. I have other school districts that know that I’m a teacher and they keep asking me, what have you heard? Because they know that you’re communicating this out.’”

Quickly adapting to changing circumstances, Sue and her team developed multiple scenarios and surveyed parents to tailor responses to their needs. As schools gradually reopened amidst shifting guidelines, they triaged educational delivery to accommodate different preferences, from virtual learning to hybrid models. “We were the first school district to have a vaccine clinic for our staff, for anybody that wanted the vaccine,” Sue notes, underscoring her commitment to staff well-being.

This period of trial highlighted the irreplaceable value of decisiveness and humility. “I learned very early that leadership happens in a vacuum, and if you don't make a decision, somebody's going to make that decision for you,” she explains. This realization not only guided the district through the pandemic but equipped it with a solid framework for facing future uncertainties.

"We look for people that are student-centered, and we have a very specific interview that we use."

Fostering Leadership from Within

Central to the Rosedale Union Elementary School District’s ethos is the philosophy of promoting leadership from within. Sue emphasizes the practice of "leading from the middle," a strategy that involves engaging teams at various levels to foster collaborative decision-making. “We have school leadership teams. So there's representation from every single grade level or department, and they meet monthly,” Sue explains. This structure ensures a continuous feedback loop between the administration and the teachers, enabling agile responses to emergent challenges and opportunities.

A critical part of this framework is the role of coaches and chief administrators who work closely with principals and vice-principals to nurture leadership qualities. “I created a position called Chief Administrator of School Leadership,” says Sue. This position acts as a principal over the principals, offering day-to-day coaching and support. By providing these leaders with guidance rather than just oversight, the district fosters a culture of continuous growth and improvement.

Sue’s method of involving school leaders in district-wide initiatives has been particularly effective in aligning goals and ensuring buy-in for new policies. “We model the same thing on our school sites by having school leadership teams. And so there's representation from every single grade level or department,” she notes, underlining the importance of collective input. This bottom-up approach to leadership is not only democratic but eminently practical, as it harnesses the insights of those directly engaged in the work of educating children.

Through consistent communication and a clear framework for decision-making, Rosedale has created an environment where leadership is both shared and supported. As Sue illustrates, “There's three types of decisions: decisions that I'm going to let staff make, decisions that I'm going to make, and decisions that we're going to make together.” This clarity empowers leaders at all levels to act with confidence, knowing their decisions are backed by both administrative support and community input.

Sue Lemon’s journey and leadership strategies offer a beacon of guidance for educators and leaders navigating complex environments. From student-centered hiring practices to collaborative decision-making and adaptive crisis management, the principles she champions provide a roadmap for building resilient and responsive educational communities. As Sue eloquently advises aspiring leaders, “Listen more. Slow down, ask questions because questions really help you guide that person to come to that decision.”

By fostering a culture of communication, empathy, and shared leadership, educational institutions can create environments where both students and educators thrive. The Rosedale Union Elementary School District stands as a testament to the power of heart-centered leadership, guiding its community through the most challenging times with unwavering commitment.

"We have to be okay with disagreeing and we have to be okay with saying, okay, we've beat that horse to death, it's time to move on because we've got to make this decision."

MEET OUR GUEST

Sue Lemon

Sue Lemon is the superintendent of the Rosedale Union Elementary School District. Lemon was appointed superintendent effective January 2021. Lemon's previous career experience includes working as an assistant and associate superintendent for the district.

Sue Lemon has worked for the district since 1993, first as a teacher at Del Rio Elementary. She has been a vice principal at Almondale, Rosedale North, and Freedom elementary schools, and assistant superintendent.