While principal- and superintendent-training programs are ubiquitous, and in many cases a necessary step toward taking on those roles, preparation programs specifically for chief academic officers simply do not exist.
That鈥檚 in part because the role itself presents something of a dichotomy: It鈥檚 a 30,000-foot-level executive position with the boots-on-the-ground focus of classroom instruction.
And while superintendents are at times recruited from noneducation sectors鈥攑olitics, business, law鈥攖he need for CAOs to have a strong instructional background means many have climbed the district ladder, starting from the classroom.
鈥淭hese folks are more likely than not going to be on a traditional track,鈥� said Sheila Brown, the director of the education and society program at The Aspen Institute, based in Washington, who convenes a group of 16 CAOs from urban districts several times a year for professional development. 鈥淢any have been teachers and principals, and probably all have had some director or senior-level responsibility for curriculum and instruction.鈥�
But the trajectory isn鈥檛 always straight. Some people skip ladder rungs or divert to private consulting on their way to CAO jobs. And, as Ms. Brown points out, 鈥渟ome of them move very quickly鈥� through the tiers to the chief role.
What CAOs do tend to share is that they鈥檝e demonstrated a strong understanding of the instructional demands in the classroom, as well as an ability to recognize instructional knowledge in others.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a person who can create a strategic plan on the teaching and learning side of the house but also on the human-capital side,鈥� said Ms. Brown. 鈥淚 think superintendents need them to be real connectors of the work, and dynamic CAOs, they do that.鈥�
澳门跑狗论坛 recently talked to several current and former CAOs about their jobs and the professional experiences that led them to be curriculum leaders.
Marie L. Izquierdo
Chief academic officer for Miami-Dade County, Fla., public schools
Student Enrollment: 350,000
Base Salary: $140,777
Education: Florida International University, bachelor of arts and master鈥檚 in educational leadership
For Ms. Izquierdo, the goal was never to go to the central office鈥攁nd it certainly wasn鈥檛 to become the superintendent鈥檚 second in command. What she really wanted to do was become a principal and open a brand-new high school. 鈥淚 just wanted to pick out school colors, pick my staff from scratch, and order furniture,鈥� she said.
After five years as a teacher and about a decade as an assistant principal for a middle school in the Miami-Dade district, Ms. Izquierdo was tapped for a principalship at an elementary school in Little Havana, the neighborhood she grew up in. The school had a D grade, based on the state鈥檚 rating system at the time, she said.
鈥淲e had No Child Left Behind breathing down our necks, and within three years, it was an A, then a higher A in year four,鈥� she said. 鈥淏y year five, we met 100 percent adequate yearly progress. ... It was a really big success story in that school.鈥�
The Florida Department of Education recruited her to work with superintendents in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties on school turnaround. In 2010, the superintendent in Miami-Dade offered her a position as deputy chief of staff. From there, she was on a fast track to assistant superintendent and CAO.
鈥淚鈥檝e always seen my job as exactly the same regardless of the title,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always believed my job is to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom. To get rid of the noise and provide the resources necessary to allow teachers to do their work.鈥�
In other words, she says, her charge is to 鈥渦ntie knots.鈥�
For Ms. Izquierdo, one of the toughest tasks is to maintain focus on student achievement and supporting classrooms, and鈥斺�渘ot be easily distracted by peripheral events or circumstances,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to keep the main thing, the main thing. ... I鈥檓 that person going, 鈥榃hat does this have to do with teaching and learning?鈥欌��
Donyall D. Dickey
Chief academic support officer, Philadelphia public schools
Student Enrollment: 132,000
Base Salary: $165,000
Education: University of Texas at Austin, bachelor of arts; Loyola University, master鈥檚 in educational leadership; George Washington University, Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies
When Mr. Dickey took over as CAO for the Philadelphia public schools at the end of last school year, he did something pretty much unheard of: He led teacher professional development himself.
At times, that meant he was standing in front of as many as 1,500 teachers, delving into literary devices and discussions of 鈥渕ain idea.鈥�
鈥淭rain-the-trainer model works for some things, in some settings,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to try direct support to schools based on what I heard in the field.鈥�
It鈥檚 the same way he approached his work as a principal in Baltimore and Howard County, Md. He was directly involved in providing the professional development there, too, and with a focus on content rather than pedagogy. 鈥淩ather than saying to people, 鈥楬ere are the strategies you can use,鈥� we spent time making sure everyone understood the content they were supposed to be teaching really well,鈥� Mr. Dickey explained. 鈥淭hat gave life to the strategies.鈥�
Mr. Dickey is one of the leaders who shot up through the ranks quickly. He taught for just three陆 years before taking on his first assistant principalship鈥攁 promotion he fully attributes to his students鈥� academic gains.
鈥淎fter my first year of being a teacher, my students were recognized for having the most significant gains in the school,鈥� he said.
To continue to hone his own teaching skills, and to gain experience with the Common Core State Standards, Mr. Dickey is aiming to teach at least three demonstration lessons every year as the CAO鈥攐ne each in an elementary, middle, and high school classroom. 鈥淭here are few things you can substitute for classroom experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 know what they are.鈥�
Alyssa Whitehead-Bust
Chief innovation and academic officer, Denver public schools
Student Enrollment: 90,000
Base Salary: $179,000
Education: Wesleyan University, bachelor of arts; Harvard Graduate School of Education, master鈥檚 in educational administration
Ms. Whitehead-Bust breaks the mold for chief academic officers: She鈥檚 never been a traditional classroom teacher.
The term Ms. Whitehead-Bust uses for herself is 鈥渃rossover leader,鈥� since she spent much of her early career in the charter sector. She served as a founding principal for the Denver-based Highline Academy Charter School and worked with many charters over a decade in Boston as a consultant.
鈥淚鈥檓 really grateful I have a slightly different vantage point coming out of the charter sector,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd for having seen in my experience other ways of doing the core work of teaching and learning.鈥�
She also worked on state policy, helping implement Colorado鈥檚 Senate Bill 191, the landmark 2010 state law that dramatically alters how teachers are evaluated. That bill ties evaluations to student achievement and revamps the tenure-granting process.
According to Ms. Whitehead-Bust, her work as a principal offered some of the best preparation for her job as a CAO. 鈥淚 think the most important component of our work that we need to get right is reducing complexities for our school leaders,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to be designing around their experiences.鈥�
In her current hybrid role, as the chief academic and innovation officer for the Denver public schools, Ms. Whitehead-Bust oversees approval and accountability for charter schools, in addition to working with district schools. 鈥淭he advantage is this cross-pollination idea鈥攂eing able to have one component of my work focused on innovation and charters allows me to understand best practices,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n Denver, our charter schools outperform our noncharter schools. ... It鈥檚 a big advantage to be able to learn from what鈥檚 happening in those environments.鈥�
Her policy work has also been a boon for her current role, she said. 鈥淚 have been able to think about systems and structures at scale,鈥� she said. 鈥淗igh-quality implementation isn鈥檛 just the responsibility of heroic leaders, but it鈥檚 built into the durable structure of an organization.鈥�
Susan Enfield
Chief academic officer for Seattle public schools, 2009 to 2011; current superintendent of Highline public schools in Burien, Wash.
Student Enrollments: Seattle, 52,000; Highline, 19,000
Base Salaries: $175,000 in 2011; $220,000 in 2014 as superintendent
Education: University of California, Berkeley, bachelor of arts; Stanford and Harvard universities, masters鈥� in education; Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ph.D. in administration, planning, and social policy
After seven years as a high school teacher in Cupertino and San Anselmo, Calif., Ms. Enfield jumped on a leadership track鈥攂ypassing the assistant principal and principal roles.
Instead, she worked alongside principals as a school improvement coach with the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative. 鈥淚 was young, I had not been a principal, but my approach to working with principals was to go in and say, 鈥楲et鈥檚 build a relationship. How can I support you? You鈥檙e the expert, you鈥檙e the leader of the building.鈥� 鈥�
She focused on using student data 鈥渢o measure how we as adults were doing,鈥� which 鈥渋n the 90s, was very new,鈥� she said.
Ms. Enfield moved on to teaching- and learning-support roles with the Pennsylvania education department and Portland, Ore., public schools, before becoming a deputy superintendent in Vancouver, Wash. In 2009, she took over the CAO position for the Seattle system. She has since gone on to become the superintendent of a smaller district nearby.
鈥淪ome people will disagree, but I don鈥檛 know if you have to have been a principal to be a CAO,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut you have to have been a teacher. You have to know the interplay between content, assessment, and instructional practice.鈥�
When working with her own CAO now, Ms. Enfield said she鈥檚 mindful not to cross the line on instructional decisions. 鈥淚鈥檝e explicitly said to [my CAO], 鈥楲ook, this is my passion, my background, my love, but it鈥檚 your job, your responsibility. You need to tell me when to [back] off.鈥欌��
Sonja Brookins Santelises
Chief academic officer for Baltimore public schools, 2010 to 2013; current vice president of K-12 policy and practice for the Education Trust, based in Washington
Student Enrollment: 85,000
Base Salaries: $175,000 in 2013; $231,000 in 2014 with the Education Trust
Education: Brown University, bachelor of arts; Teachers College, Columbia University, master鈥檚 in education administration; Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ph.D. in education administration, planning, and social policy
Ms. Santelises came into the chief academic officer position with just a few years of teaching experience and through what she says was a nontraditional pathway at the time. That didn鈥檛 tarnish her 鈥渟treet cred,鈥� though, she said. 鈥淪chool people know if you understand schools. You can鈥檛 hide that.鈥�
Before working for the Baltimore schools, Ms. Santelises was an assistant superintendent in Boston, overseeing teaching and learning and then a network of pilot schools. She also worked as a consultant for urban districts. Those few years consulting taught her to 鈥渦se your hammer wisely,鈥� she said.
As an outside consultant, 鈥渋f you can鈥檛 make your case for why this is the right thing to do for kids, people don鈥檛 have to pay you,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat taught me the power of knowing, understanding, and coaching, and not always using formal authority.鈥�
Her career in education started with the alternative-teacher-preparation program Teach For America, where she worked as a trainer and recruiter. She then co-founded a year-round school in New York City.
One big challenge for a CAO is to maintain the momentum around academics even amid 鈥渢he cacophony of crazy politics,鈥� Ms. Santelises said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think people realize just how much pressure there is to focus on everything but the core work of teaching and learning.鈥�
As CAO, 鈥淚 sat with teachers, I was out in classrooms,鈥� she said. Principals and teachers 鈥渘eed to know you know how hard their work is.鈥�
