Volume 4 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 10

8 by developing and improving systems that help students succeed. Superintendents felt responsible to the board, the school system, and their future successor to leave the school with momentum to carry them through leadership succession and into the future. This superintendent succession-preparation strategy reflected a continuous improvement approach to creating a healthy school system. Superintendents acknowledged that developing personnel was an important succession preparation strategy to prepare for their successor. Generally prescribed professional development for all employees acted as a baseline to support this theme; however, personnel programs and strategies to develop leaders for growth and advancement differed greatly from one charter network to the next. Two types of personnel development settings were selected: pipeline or group development and mentor or individual, one-on-one development. Pipeline development included baseline professional development, experiential learning, and leadership academies to grow people in a group setting. Mentor development included individualized mentorship, peer collaboration, and organizational structure design to develop selected personnel further in an individual coaching setting. Using interview data, the researcher analyzed superintendent initiatives on different levels of personnel development within their respective organizations. Table 2 summarizes responses by participants on the topic of charter superintendent preparation for succession by utilizing different methods of personnel development. Research Question 3 (RQ3) What type of policies or plans are in place related to superintendent succession in charter schools? All superintendents understood the importance of charter superintendent succession planning, but most discussions and plans were verbal and incomplete, which leaves the charter network at risk during a leadership transition. The researcher produced two models of succession: complete and incomplete succession models. School succession plans were classified as complete if it appeared the superintendent and board had developed a formal, written succession plan that had been implemented into the board governance strategy by evidence of providing it to the researcher upon request. School succession plans were classified as incomplete if it was evident the superintendent and board had not discussed succession planning at all or had only developed an informal, verbal succession plan by evidence of providing discussion points to the researcher upon request, but no written document. Table 3 shows charter network succession planning categories: Emergency Plan; Long-term Plan; and Planning Triggered by Municipal Bond. Ratings were formal/ written, informal/verbal, or no plan. School succession summarizes responses by participants on the topic of charter superintendent preparation for succession by utilizing different methods of personnel development. Table 2 Charter Superintendent Preparation for Succession by Personnel Development Personnel Development SA SB SC SD SE SF SG SH SI SJ SK SL SM Pipeline Development (Group) Experiential Learning X X X X X X X Leadership Academies X X Mentor Development (Individual) Individualized Mentorship X X X X X X Peer Collaboration X X X Organizational Structure X X Research Que tion 3 (RQ3) What type of policie or pl ns are in lace related to superintendent succession in charter schools? All superint ndents nderstood t e importance of charter superintendent succession planning, but most discussions and pl ns were v bal and incomplete, which leaves the charter network at risk during a leadership transition. The researcher produced two models of succession: complete and incomplete succession models. School succession plans were classified as complete if it appeared th sup intendent and board had developed a formal, written succession plan that had been implemented into the Table 2. Charter Superintendent Preparation for Succession by Personal Development Brent Wilson, EdD