Superintendent must be a cut above the rest
The Woodbridge Township School District is currently undertaking a search to replace Vinny Smith as superintendent. Mr. Smith has served this district well in his many roles, and we wish him good luck and much success as he moves on to Point Pleasant.

As with any search, the superintendent search in Woodbridge provides us with a great opportunity - with new leadership comes new vision and new potential.

The Board of Education has been accepting, and will continue to accept, public comment to assist them in this process. In fact, they have posted a survey on their Web site to allow the community to provide input. I urge everyone to take advantage of this opportunity. The survey can be found at www.woodbridge.k12.nj.us.

Meanwhile, I would like to share with you the comments that I provided to the Board of Education as part of my survey response.

As chief executive officer of our school district, the superintendent has oversight for one of the largest businesses and what is the largest employer in Woodbridge. Charged with oversight of the educational quality of our schools, personnel selection and appointment, operating budgets, and school policies and regulations, I think it is important that we retain the most qualified and most experienced individual available.

As CEO, the superintendent needs to be (1) knowledgeable about curriculum and teaching (2) familiar with the latest science on learning styles and methods; 3) well informed in the areas of school law, school finance and investment strategies, school construction and technology; (4) experienced at team building, (5) skilled at seeing "the big picture"; and (6) capable of putting many smaller elements together as a cohesive and productive whole.

To be an effective leader the superintendent must be a cut above the principals, managers, and administrators, as well as the people who report to them, in all the schools - "everyone's boss" in the district. To achieve that, the superintendent must be the most experienced and the most educated of the pack. The ideal candidate must be prepared to work with and improve the administrators, supervisors and managers of the district. They will be charged with developing a unified team, where every member is focused, exhibits mutual respect for, and understanding of, how they connect, and ensuring that they all work together for a common good and outcome rather than the current smaller fiefdoms within the district.

In many ways, the superintendent's job is much more an art than a science which, relies on wisdom and "feel," skills that only come with experience. We must insist on front-line classroom and central office experience. An earned doctorate must be required to ensure that the superintendent we retain is indeed a "cut above." To accept less than the ideal candidate does a disservice to our children, teachers and staff. A good leader can and will ensure that our schools are a good place to be.
Jacki Cheslow
Co-President
Colonia High School PTO