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NYSSBA’s Do-it-Yourself Superintendent Search Manual
Section 5
Appendix 5-1
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| Sample Interview Questions |
| Board Relations |
- Tell us about your past relations with your board of education.
- How do you balance conflicting interests between board and district support groups?
- On what issues to you serve as the spokesperson for board?
- Tell us about the experience levels of your current board.
- How often and by what means do you communicate with your board?
- How are board meeting agendas developed?
- How d you in-service new board members?
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| Community Involvement |
- Who is the most important group of people in a school district? How does the superintendent relate to those people?
- Do you believe a superintendent is more or less effective if he or she resides in the school district?
- What you are feelings about children involved in community service?
- What do you do to draw in non-school community members?
- What is the reputation of your present district among area employers?
- How do you maintain visibility in the district where you work now?
- Describe your relations with your business community.
- How do you stay in touch with your community members?
- How would you go about introducing yourself to our community?
- Have you ever had to tell a powerful outside support person that he or she was out of line?
- How do you now cooperate with community recreational organizations?
- Do you maintain an open door policy?
- How do you take the pulse of your present community/
- How do you maintain visibility?
- How do you involve the community in planning?
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| Employee Relations |
- Describe your past relations with administrators, teachers, support staff and their unions.
- What has been your experience with site-based management and collaborative management?
- What characteristics do you look for when hiring staff?
- How frequently do you meet with you union leadership?
- Tell us about your training in conflict management and consensus building.
- How do you make people do their jobs?
- What have you done to motivate staff to stretch beyond previous performance standards?
- Would your board and colleagues say that you support staff, right or wrong?
- How do you communicate with unions?
- Describe your relations with your staff? How many grievances have been filed during the last year?
- What do you know about your collective bargaining unit issues?
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| Experience |
- How would you go about evaluating existing programs and personnel?
- Tell us about the enrollment shifts in your current district.
- What are some of the significant situations you’ve dealt with?
- Which population would be most upset at your leaving your present district?
- What vision/plan did you set in your past position? Did you succeed?
- How many times in the last month have you been in a primary classroom?
- How would you deal with a teacher who is reluctant to accept special education students?
- How would you deal with a parent who challenges the use of a library book?
- Are you satisfied with your current school district? What would you change?
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| Facilities |
- How have you assured a safe school environment where you now work?
- Tell us about any remodeling or new construction occurring in your district?
- How have you dealt with facilities that are deteriorating?
- How have you creatively dealt with space issues in your district?
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| Finance |
- Tell us about your business background, if nay.
- How involved are
you in funding issues at the state level? Describe your relationships
with government officials, both state and local.
- What has been your experience with BOCES funding issues?
- Do you have any experience with alternative funding sources?
- What has been your involvement in attracting and administering grants?
- Give an example when you were especially innovative with business partnerships or grants.
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| Leadership Style |
- How have you gone about bringing change to a school district?
- Describe how you go about setting priorities.
- What is the most important leadership skill?
- Would people call you a good problem solver? Why?
- How would you go about evaluating existing programs and personnel?
- How often do you convene center office staff meetings? Meet with other staff?
- What would you do to improve a school? How would you get student opinions?
- Would your staff say that you are open to new ideas?
- Were would you look for input? Whose opinions do you value?
- How do you interact with students? Familiarize yourself with students?
- What can a superintendent do to improve the school environment?
- How do you go about deciding major controversial decisions?
- How specifically can a superintendent support teachers in meeting diverse needs?
- How would you support building administrators and also be supportive of teachers?
- What you are weaknesses?
- Area you a better delegator or a hands-on manager?
- What was the most difficult problem you ever dealt with? How?
- What you are personal top three priorities in the next five years?
- What has been your experience in collaborating with students, community, teachers, others?
- What are some “old-fashioned” values that you still embrace?
- What is your definition of vision, and how does a school community establish a vision?
- How do you balance conflicting interests between board and district support groups?
- What methods have you used to attract and retain top quality staff?
- How would you familiarize yourself with your staff and students, buildings, citizens?
- Give us an example where you may have been criticized for being unwilling to address a particular issue.
- Do you organize staff activities around different goals?
- Would you board and colleagues say that you are good at following through on your commitments?
- Rate yourself from strongest to weakest in the following four
categories: finance, curriculum, staff/administration, community.
- How can a school district best set priorities?
- Demonstrate how someone might consider you a disciplinarian.
- What is the role of marketing in a district?
- Would people describe you as a “nuts and bolts” type of person?
- How would you go about marking decisions that keep the needs of children in mind?
- Would people who know you describe you as innovative? Why?
- Would people who know you describe you as competitive? Why?
- How do you evaluate staff?
- How do you evaluate programs?
- Would your colleagues describe you as team-oriented? Why?
- Give an example of how you set high expectations of staff.
- What does the term “accountability” mean to you?
- Tell us about your experience in strategic planning efforts?
- What are you experience in strategic planning efforts?
- What are you expectations for curriculum directors, principal, teacher?
- How would you conduct a team meeting to review academic scores and improvements?
- How do you communicate to staff and community?
- What do you do to stay enthusiastic about your programs? How do you impart that enthusiasm to staff and community.
- Are you a strict constructionist about sticking to the rules or do special circumstances warrant special considerations?
- Describe a system of checks and balances regarding disciplinary actions and keeping it fair.
- What are you personal goals?
- How do you determine when something is your personal responsibility and when to delegate?
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| Student Achievement |
- What is your philosophy on special education and gifted education?
- What are the important components of a typical school day?
- What are your thoughts about the impact of class size on student achievement?
- How are state mandates changing the focus on education?
- What should a parent look for in an educational program?
- What are your thoughts about the use of proficiency tests?
- What you are thoughts on career and technical education and the possibility of a Regents diploma in this area?
- What are your feelings about outcome-based education?
- How does your present district measure up academically?
- What has been your district’s experience with proficiency tests?
- What is the graduation rate in your present district?
- What differences do you see between the levels of achievement of urban students and students from other district types?
- How have you dealt with improving test scores?
- What is the graduation rate in your present district?
- What differences do you see between the levels of achievement of urban students an students from other district types?
- How would you raise standards and expectations in a district?
- Describe the pros and cons of “traveling’ specialists versus concentrating services in each separate building.
- Where does a superintendent communicate specific curriculum standards?
- How do you define the well-rounded student? How would you accomplish this?
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| Technology |
- Give an example of how your district uses computer technology.
- What internet site did you last visit? Why?
- How do you deal with technology issues?
- What is your level of expertise with current technology? Do you receive e-mail from parents?
- Explain how your present district uses technology in the classroom.
- Describe how you have been involved in implementing technology in your district.
- What is your idea of the classroom of the future?
- What does the research tell you about the use of technology in the classroom?
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