Daniel M. Rodriguez.

An Energized Educator Connects with Community

Until a few years ago, Dan Rodriguez hadn't given much thought about becoming a superintendent. He admits he found the prospect intimidating.

He recalls the doubts he had while sitting with a group of 25 educators, some of them already superintendents and others aspiring to the same. It was his first meeting as a member of the Superintendents Prepared, a training program run jointly by the Institute for Educational Leadership and the McKenzie Group, both based in Washington, D.C.

Rodriguez, then a curriculum coordinator in Pomona, Calif., credits the program for opening up "a whole new perspective about national policy issues." He adds: "I hadn't considered the possibility of the superintendency up close and personal until then. ... I felt I belonged there, an affirmation I was in the right spot."

Now he is in the middle of his third year as superintendent of the 6,300-student Piscataway, N.J., school district.

Although Superintendents Prepared introduced him to the nuts and bolts, plus the theory and philosophy of system leadership, Rodriguez concedes he has been surprised by the constancy of two personal feelings: stress and fatigue. These, he rationalizes, are the baggage that accompanies the modern superintendency's political nature.

Rodriguez is adjusting to this new reality by paying heed to the way he connects with the community and to the growing diversity of the local population.

In his first weeks on the job, he created a monthly Superintendent's Forum, an open-mike session that allows parents to question the top school official on any issue. The forums provide a less-threatening alternative to school board meetings and dwell on such predictable concerns as bus transportation, food services, school schedules, and legal requirements. Rodriguez says, "These forums were significant in reestablishing the credibility and trust" between the school district and community.

His predecessor, Phil Geiger, who brought significant cost savings to the district by privatizing a number of support functions, was a tough act to follow. As parent leader John Berting puts it: "He (Geiger) had a lot of energy and brought rapid change. He just went out and did those things. He never asked anybody whether it was right or wrong. ... It was a one-man show."

Rodriguez's more deliberative style and his accessibility are right for the times in Piscataway, Berting says.

The superintendent also is carefully attuned to the changing student makeup. The district this fall launched an ambitious "Diversity and Human Dignity" in-service campaign that will involve staff members at all levels, as well as board members, to embrace the merits of a multicultural student body. A half-day workshop for students used trained student facilitators.

At the same time, Rodriguez is leading a redistricting effort, an issue he describes as "more emotional to parents than just about anything else." He is comfortable with the task, having written his dissertation at Columbia University in the early '90s on the use of geographic information in school redistricting.

The potential volatility of such projects inevitably brings scrutiny from the news media so the superintendent says he is learning to master "the concept of communicating via sound bites." It's a frustrating task to encapsulate the ramifications of an entire issue in a few sentences, but, he says, "it forces me to be as succinct as possible."

For sure, Rodriguez would like to figure out how to cram more time on task into his waking hours. "It's the constant array of issues, all involving someone's child, and every person's child deserves every bit of energy I can give. ... But if you have five of them a day, you're talking about a minimum of 15-hour days."

To keep perspective, he visits Piscataway's 10 school sites whenever possible. Plus this fall he is teaching an introductory educational administration course at Columbia's Teachers College. "It's re-energizing me," he says.