Pro coaches and unpopular decisions.

Another season of professional football is now behind us. A new Super Bowl champion has been crowned. Winning teams celebrated, fans gloated, coaches shared their secrets to success and everyone indicated they were looking forward to another winning season next year.

What did "losing" teams do? Their players talked about bad luck and injury but expressed optimism for the upcoming year. Fanatic sport fans kept wearing their team jerseys and started counting the weeks before opening day of the 2006 pro football season. And losing team owners started cleaning house. Old players and expensive free agents are being traded or dropped from team rosters, playbooks are being revised, new players are being drafted, and in the ultimate reorganization, coaches are asked to leave.

Superintendents find themselves in a similar predicament. In professional sports, when the track record of success becomes blurred by a few losses, the owners remain. Oftentimes, the system and the players remain. But the coach is forced to leave.

When a school district experiences a few losses in the eyes of its community--whether it's a less-than-stellar performance on state tests or parent or teacher unrest--symptomatic relief comes in the form of a new superintendent. The board of education, the administrative team and most of the teachers and students remain, but the person directly responsible for educational leadership is booted out.

Like pro sports coaches, superintendents are often judged solely by a single outcome. Little attention is paid to the long hours, the lack of vacation or sick days and the never-ending toll on the superintendent's family life. If the expression is true that "rank has its privileges," then it is also true that rank has its extra demands. It comes with the job and the territory and I can assure you that, in the case of superintendents, there are more demands than privileges.

Each superintendency is different. However, the key elements to building, maintaining and strengthening these relationships are straightforward: Expectations must be clear on both sides; communication must be timely, consistent and focused on the needs and expectations of both parties; and both sides must show mutual trust and respect.

The one unshakable requirement associated with the position of a school superintendent is that of an untiring commitment to the welfare of all students. Education is a profession of nurturing the young, and a superintendent makes this the No. 1 priority. Every personal or professional need or ambition, every yearning to meet some expectation or gain approval, must be subordinate to the best decisions for all students. Only a select group of individuals who can and will take the heat for making unpopular decisions on behalf of children belong in the superintendency.

One crucial contribution a superintendent makes is to be an example of an honest, humble, caring and committed human being. What we don't need is a focus on "winning at all costs" to make one's school district look good. What we don't need is a crusade fabricated by those outside our public schools that moves us away from our main focus: improving the lives of all students.

What we do need is everyone in our community to focus on educating and nurturing our young people. Our children do not need political crusaders. They need love, understanding and a society that puts their well-being first and foremost. And if we stumble every so often, we need a "team owner" who doesn't show us the door, but opens that door to more resources and more support.

Our American society and its greatness was built on the concept of public education and giving all students a second chance. As educational leaders, we now must Stand Up For Public Education--The Cornerstone of Our Freedom. I salute all of you who continue to do so!