New school superintendents get training

<p>Of Sonoma County's 40 school superintendents, 18 have fewer than five years experience and 12 of those are in their first year on the job, according to the Sonoma County Office of Education.</p><p>And facing unprecedented cuts in state funding, new superintendents need training and tools to navigate budget management, how to deal with fewer teachers and support staff along with intensifying educational mandates.</p><p>“There is a whole generation of superintendents who are coming on board,” said Steve Herrington, superintendent of Sonoma County Schools. “We have beginning teachers programs. We have a coaching model for teachers. I said we need to create a leadership model or coaching model for superintendents.”</p><p>Herrington this year launched a leadership program designed to give both new and returning superintendents training for handling budgets, responding to communities and staying on top of educational changes. Some superintendents will be hooked up with recently retired professionals for one-on-one mentoring, Herrington said.</p><p>“First of all, you have to be the educational leader on the budget. You might have a chief financial officer but you are an educator and you need to make it understandable to the community,” he said.</p><p>Cindy Pilar has spent decades in Sonoma County schools and in various leadership positions, but as a first-year superintendent of Old Adobe District in Petaluma, she said she is still getting to know the district.</p><p>She has met with small groups of parents, as well as teachers before the start of school Wednesday and spent mornings this week riding the bus to get to know her new charges.</p><p>Learning where students live, how far they are from school and talking to them about what they like and don't like about school is a key step in Pilar's quest to get to know what she describes as the district's culture.</p><p>“I get lots of really good information about their perception about their education,” she said of the morning bus rides.</p><p>Pilar, who ran a principal coaching program for the Sonoma County Office of Education before becoming Old Adobe's new superintendent this year, said continuous training is key for educators, especially in tumultuous times.</p><p>“I believe every pro needs a coach,” she said. “Getting another set of eyes on the situation is very important.”</p><p>The year-long program will run in a variety of levels of intensity for between 13 and 43 superintendents through the school year, Herrington said. The larger program will also include superintendents from Marin, Napa and Solano counties, he said.</p><p>The more intense coaching for 13 of the newest superintendents will cost $3,000 for each participant, Herrington said. The county office is sponsoring the program, with additional funding from the Association of California School Administrators, he said.</p><p>Steve Bolman, who became interim superintendent of Petaluma City Schools this summer after the retirement of Greta Viguie, has spent two decades in the district, including 10 as deputy superintendent but still intends to attend the leadership courses.</p><p>“The difference is having input into what was happening and now (having) final decisions as to where we go. But I'm just trying to build on the collaborative nature,” he said.</p><p>The issue of high rates of turnover is not particular to Sonoma County, according to Herrington.</p><p>About half of superintendents in California are age-eligible to retire, he said.</p><p>“This is going to create a big void,” he said.</p><p><i>Staff writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.</i></p>