The Marathon Called Educational Leadership: The Twenty-Six Commandments of Success

By Joe Sinclair

In The Marathon Called Educational Leadership: The Twenty-Six Commandments of Success, author and veteran educator Dr. Joe Sinclair describes his lifelong experiences, which ranged from cleaning out sewage ditches to meeting in the Oval Office with President Ronald Reagan. Sinclairs leadership experiences also involved some of the most unusual situations encountered by a school administrator, such as using a goat to predict the weather for school closings, selling a school for profit, and taking a group of students into the Soviet Union as the country collapsed around them. Sinclairs guidance and knowledge helped to turn these and other events into positive situations for his school district.

The Marathon Called Educational Leadership offers guidance and insight into education today based upon his more than forty-five years of experience. He explores the challenges facing todays educators as well as the opportunities they have to work with students of different backgrounds. His willingness to share the knowledge, advice, and strategies he used to achieve his own accomplishments in district-level educational leadership is a testament to his lifelong commitment to educational excellence. The 26 Commandments may be applied not only to educational leadership, but also as a guide for leaders in all walks of life.

Through practical advice for educators and recollections of his own experiences, Sinclair seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of young people and the educators who serve them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491719756

Joe Sinclair

>Joe Sinclair is an author, educator, and athlete. He earned a doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and served as superintendent of schools in various North Carolina districts for more than twenty years. Sinclair and his wife, Claryce, live in Statesville, North Carolina. Joe Sinclair is the author of: Putting Life on the Finish Line Getting Older, Moving Smarter The Marathon Called Educational Leadership Two Worlds of Educational Leaders Lulu the Snow Goat Queenie and Little Joe >Carla Leslie has worked in public education and the travel/tourism business throughout her career. In addition to having an avid interest in creative writing, Carla enjoys web design, videography, and traveling to historic places. She has established two online bridal/home décor shops and enjoys sharing her 100-year old farm and other vacation retreats with friends and tourists who travel through her native state of West Virginia (www.CountryCabinWV.com). Carla and her husband, Jim, reside in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Book preview

THE MARATHON CALLED

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

THE TWENTY-SIX COMMANDMENTS OF SUCCESS

Copyright © 2014 Joe Sinclair.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-1974-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-1973-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-1975-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013923524

iUniverse rev. date: 1/10/2014

The Marathon Called Educational Leadership is a long road to success. Outstanding leaders must make tough decisions and overcome many obstacles. Sacrifice, dedication, and commitment are a daily part of a leader’s life. Marathon runners and educational leaders share many of the same rigid requirements for success. It’s a long, difficult path to reach the goals which are only attainable through hard work and dedication. The 26 commandments may be applied not only to educational leadership, but also as a guide for leaders in all walks of life.

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1

Laying the Foundation for Effective Educational Leadership

The Early Years

The College Years

The Northeast Guilford Years

Great Training for District-Level Administration

Guilford District-Level Administration

The Pearce Era

Public Schools and Collective Bargaining

The McGann Era

The Playmate

Chapter 2

Challenges and Solutions in Small-District Leadership

The Franklinton Years

Daring Dune Buggy Caper

Chapter 3

Challenges and Solutions in Medium School District Administration

The Davie Years

Career Incentive Plan

The Burlington Years

Twist Contest

Superintendent-Board Communications:

And There’s Always Humor!

National Teacher of the Year and President Reagan

Lulu the Snow Goat from Snow Camp

The Study of Animal Instincts

Hurricane Hugo

The Communist World Experience

CHS Trip: Adventure In Education

Smith Elementary School Fire

Becoming a Volunteer Prisoner

Hobbies for Learning

Hobbies for Learning: School Can Be Fun

North Carolina Superintendent of the Year

A Gut-Wrenching, Agonizing Decision

Merger Speech - August 15, 1994

Selling a School for Profit

Chapter 4

Challenges and Solutions in Large School District Administration

The Iredell/Statesville Years

Schoolhouse Gang

Career Will Conclude After 20 Years as Superintendent

Superintendent Helped System Regain Stability

Chapter 5

Challenges and Solutions in Regional Educational Leadership

From Superintendent to Executive Director

Return to the Superintendency

Elkin City Schools – 2003

Chapter 6

Important Tips for Successful Leadership

Transitional Job Blunders

The Spiritual World in the Workplace

A Public Figure

In Defense of Common Sense

Effective School Board Meetings

Twenty-Six Real-Life Commandments of Successful Leadership in Education

Epilogue

Gallery

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Dedication

This book is written in honor of all educators who have devoted their time and energy to improving learning opportunities for young people. A special appreciation is reserved for those dedicated professionals serving in educational leadership positions. And, for their valuable support and guidance through the many years of my life, I dedicate this book to my wife, Claryce, to my mother, Esther Sinclair, and the memory of my father, Ralph Sinclair.

Foreword

I am honored to introduce you to the book entitled The Marathon Called Educational Leadership. Dr. Joe Sinclair is considered by many to be a cornerstone in the pillar of public education and has been for more than forty-five years. Joe is a creative leader and novel thinker who cares about others, listens well when problems arise, and is a very successful problem solver. As a testament to his love and devotion to public education, he has written this book to be a guide and resource for educational leaders of all ages and levels of experience. Being an educational leader with sustained longevity and effectiveness is like running a marathon. Both require intense focus, detailed planning, both physical and mental preparation, and seamless execution. Dr. Sinclair helps us to understand why it is important to set goals, think creatively, and not be afraid to challenge the status quo, all with a positive frame of mind, a can-do spirit, and in the best interests of our young people.

Dr. Travis Reeves

North Carolina School Superintendent

Introduction

I am fortunate to be called a lifelong educator. I owe a great debt of gratitude to many dedicated educators who believed in me and served as my mentors for over fifty years. In 1959, I was fortunate to begin working in a job serving the general public at the age of thirteen. My employment working with people from all walks of life has spanned portions of seven different decades and has resulted in a very rewarding and sometimes challenging career.

I have devoted my life to help make a positive difference for young people and for educators who serve them. My goal has been to make a positive difference in the lives of others. My life experiences range from cleaning out sewage ditches to meeting in the Oval Office with President Ronald Reagan and our National Teacher of the Year. I have experienced some of the most unusual situations ever to be encountered as a school administrator – whether it was hiring a photo star from the adult entertainment industry, using a goat to predict weather for school closings, selling a school for profit, or taking a group of students into the Soviet Union as the country collapsed around us. In my leadership position, I tried to turn these events into positive situations. These are just a few of the unusual challenges that have made my educational career one of excitement, suspense, humor, and success.

Unique experiences of district-level administration in small, medium, and large-size districts, as well as regional-level educational leadership will be explored in this book. I have created 26 commandments of educational leadership which will be applied to specific events in my career. This provides an important message to those who have an interest in leadership.

The Marathon Called Educational Leadership concludes with additional advice to both aspiring and practicing educational leaders who are striving for success.

CHAPTER 1

Laying the Foundation for Effective Educational Leadership

The Early Years

We were trailblazers for the baby boomer generation. I was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, on September 15, 1946, to Ralph and Esther Sinclair. I was the first of three children, and was fortunate enough to have a father who was a lifetime educator and a mother who was a stay-at-home mom until her three children were grown. My sister, Jean, was born four years later and my brother, Roy, was born in 1952.

I remember very little about my first three years when the family lived in Cooleemee, North Carolina. In 1949, my father took a principalship at Union Grove High School and remained until 1953. When I entered the first grade at the local elementary school, my father began taking me to high school basketball and baseball games, creating fond memories of that time together as family.

After moving to Union Grove, our family lived in a home known as the principal’s house located beside the baseball field and across from the local flour mill. In this rural setting, our family enjoyed a variety of small pets, and I enjoyed being mostly responsible for their care—and training.

There was a small watering hole behind our home, and I became very frustrated trying to teach the chickens how to swim like the three pet ducks. The family’s favorite chicken was named Queenie. She was allowed to roam freely throughout the day, and her nesting box was safely tucked on one side of the porch. Often, when neighbors would drive up the gravel driveway for a visit, Queenie would wait until they entered our house, then proceed to make herself a guest in their car. Sometimes she would jump inside if the windows had been left down. A lady almost suffered a heart attack when she returned to her car, started it, and was greeted with loud clucking and feathers flying all around her, rustling Queenie from her new nesting spot in the backseat. Needless to say, after that incident, Queenie headed to the henhouse to join her other egg-laying friends.

When a pet would pass away, a special spot was selected for the burial in the pet cemetery located behind our house in a small field. Preacher Huss, minister at the Union Grove Methodist Church, would be called upon to conduct the funeral. My cats, chickens, and ducks were well blessed when they departed this world.

My father frequently took me along to investigate incidents of school vandalism, which was an eye-opener for me to the destructive behavior directed toward school property. In 1953, he was named principal of Troutman High School, at that time the largest school in the Iredell County School System. The family then moved to another principal’s house located across the street from the school property. This location provided easy access for me to become involved in all school events and activities.

During my early elementary years, I joined a Boy Scout Troop in Troutman, North Carolina. As the youngest boy in the group, I had to learn a lot about scouting in a very short period of time. However, by the end of my scouting program, I had achieved the rank of Life. This required earning many merit badges in the process. Those scout experiences and the summer scout camps helped advance my maturity.

At age thirteen, I began working on Saturdays at a local Troutman grocery store, making three dollars a day in exchange for ten hours of work. The long hours of bagging groceries, stocking shelves, and replenishing produce allowed for an opportunity to get to know the store patrons, who were from all levels of society. This made every day an educational learning experience.

Entering the sixth grade, I began developing an interest in music, eventually becoming a member of the Troutman High School marching band, playing the clarinet and participating in the high school band program even before becoming a teenager. Many friends at that time told me that I was too young to participate in a high school band program.

Being from a small school, the marching band was not the best musical ensemble and was often placed behind the larger school bands during parades. We were placed behind the horses in some parades, prompting members to joke that even though the band couldn’t play Christmas music, we were the highest-stepping unit in the parades. At that time, band students were required to pay one dollar a week to compensate the band director for his services. The band once had to perform at a Duke University football game as part of a Band Day event. While returning to Troutman from Durham, the big bass drum started rolling across the top of the bus. My bandmates followed the sound toward the back of the bus, where they watched the big drum roll onto Highway 64 and toward automobiles that subsequently began swerving into ditches in their efforts to avoid hitting it. The drum was destroyed, but thankfully, no cars were hit. I had the good fortune to spend several years in the band program before turning my main interest toward athletics.

After reaching the eighth grade, I was well on the way to becoming a future school administrator. Dad had provided firsthand experience about school operations and even began asking me to substitute for teachers who were absent for a portion of their school day. By the time I reached ninth grade, it was not uncommon for me to be called from class and assigned to a substitute teacher’s role for that day. Dad also asked for my help with securing and transporting surplus textbooks to the county administrative offices in Statesville, North Carolina. Adding to my list of growing skills, my father taught me to operate a Farmall Cub Tractor used to frequently mow the seventeen-plus acres of grass surrounding the school facilities.

My high school years were filled with some unusual, but very educational experiences. At the national level, two historic events occurred, affecting virtually everyone during those years. In 1962, the Cuban missile crisis brought the nation to the brink of war with the Soviet Union, and as high school students, we