Have you ever worked with a school board on setting school district goals?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Answer Example
Community Answers

The interviewer is interested in assessing your experience working with school districts to set goals, as it is an essential aspect of being a successful school superintendent. It is important to demonstrate your ability to work collaboratively with school districts and to have a deep understanding of their needs and priorities. It is also helpful to highlight any specific strategies or approaches you have used in the past to successfully set goals in partnership with school districts. Ultimately, the interviewer is likely looking for evidence of your leadership skills and your ability to work effectively within a complex educational environment.

"Yes, I have worked closely with my school board on setting new goals and fine-tuning existing policy. It is the board's job to refine or create the policy, and then I will clearly communicate it to the schools' leadership and administration. It's important that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the direction we want to take our schools in, and the school board plays a crucial role in helping to establish those goals. By working together and leveraging each other's strengths, we can create a roadmap for success that benefits both our students and our community."

Anonymous Answer

"Yes, I have been part of the strategic planning committee every time they have convened to create a new plan, which has been three times in the last fifteen years. I have also been involved in setting district goals as part of the superintendent's cabinet. For the last six years, I have served as a member of the Board of Trustees for our local educators' credit union and we hold an annual retreat to write new goals. In each of these experiences, we look at past goals, annual data, the vision of the organization, and create smart goals in order to maintain continuous improvement. The more people who are part of this process, the more they become empowered to be part of creating the end result of meeting the goals. I found your goals online while I prepared for this interview and would love to know if you feel you are on target to meet those goals."

Rachelle's Feedback

This answer is terrific. You relay your experience clearly while also describing what you believe to be the benefits of collaboration in the planning process. Also, great job referring to the hiring organizations' goals and connecting them to an insightful question.

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Anonymous Answer

"In my role as a principal, my job has been to review current data and work with the leadership team at my school to set goals for improvement. I have not had the opportunity to work directly with the board in setting district goals. When doing this for our district, I see this as an opportunity to present the current data and analysis of the data and create goals that align with our mission and vision."

Stephanie's Feedback

While you haven't yet had direct experience setting district goals, your experience with goal setting within the school environment is definitely transferrable here, so I suggest highlighting that a bit more. I have provided an answer below in the "Revised Answer" box to show how this response could be restated.

"I am highly outcomes-driven and I would be very successful at collaborating with a school board to set district goals. In my role as a principal, my job has been to review current data and work with the leadership team at my school to set goals for improvement. While I have yet to have the opportunity to work directly with the board in setting district goals, I am eager for this challenge and am confident I would excel in this area. I see this as an opportunity to examine current data and analysis of the data and create goals that align with our mission and vision."