Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, February 23, 2009

“When I’m superintendent of a district, I think I’m going to have a leg up,” said Wade Stanfield, who has a temporary office at It's About Kids Support Services. (Photo: Tammy L. Lane)

Wade Stanfield wants to be a school superintendent. And what better mentor than Kentucky’s Superintendent of the Year and national finalist Stu Silberman?

As one of two participants in the Kentucky Department of Education’s Minority Superintendent Internship Program, Stanfield has been granted a year to work daily alongside Silberman.

“It was an awesome opportunity to be right there and have that direct access to Stu. It’s a true opportunity to grow,” said Stanfield, who has six years of administrative experience, most recently as an associate principal at Henry Clay High School.

“It’s helped me come out of my ‘principal mode’ and see the big picture,” said Stanfield, who is roughly at the midpoint of his internship.

During the fall semester, Stanfield shadowed Silberman at the district office. This spring, he will work closely with a sliver of the Fayette County Public Schools, Kentucky’s second largest school district – interacting directly with principals and teachers in the elementary, middle and high schools in the Henry Clay area, much like a superintendent in a smaller district would.

“He’ll start taking more of that front role,” said Silberman, who will partner with Stanfield on all decisions. “Those experiential times will help when he moves into a superintendency.”

Before joining Fayette County in 2007 as assistant principal at Henry Clay, Stanfield served one year as principal at Mercer County Senior High School and four years as principal at Harrodsburg High School. He has two years of classroom teaching experience in health and physical education.

This spring, Stanfield said he is looking forward to the challenge of shifting from the principal mindset of looking out for a single school to the superintendent mindset of supervising multiple schools.

“I’ll have to make sure I’m prepared to handle lots of situations at different levels,” he said. “I’ve always thought I was flexible, but I’m going to really see if I can flex.”

Aside from shadowing a seated superintendent, participants in the Minority Superintendent Internship Program receive the same state training as all first-year superintendents, attend two national conferences, receive a required reading list and visit multiple school districts across the state.

Stanfield said he learned a lot this fall by observing several departments at It’s About Kids Support Services, from the print shop and mail room to the general counsel’s office and finance area.

“It amazes me how all the different offices in this building affect what’s going on in all the various schools across this district,” he said, calling the support services office a firm foundation for schools.

Mary Wright, the chief operating officer for Fayette County Public Schools, said strategic thinking and a broad understanding of how things work are crucial for any superintendent.

“He’s a very quick study and can see where the pieces fit together,” she said of Stanfield, noting his ability to identify potential solutions. “Wade has had some real insights, particularly on personnel issues, which any superintendent would have to be prepared to respond to.”

The strongest path to a superintendent’s chair does indeed run through the district office, according to Silberman, who likened Stanfield’s internship to a medical residency.

“Wade’s like a sponge,” he said. “He’ll soak up the good things and learn from the mistakes.”

Silberman should know – Stanfield is his third intern through the state program. One now works at the Kentucky Department of Education; the other, Diane Woods-Ayers of Campbellsville Independent Schools, is currently Kentucky’s only African-American district superintendent.

“There’s a lot of serious work, but we’ve had a lot of fun,” Silberman said of his time so far with Stanfield. 

About the Minority Superintendent Internship Program:

This KDE program trains and supports minorities who are interested in becoming school superintendents. It places educators in school districts for one year, where they serve as assistants to successful superintendents.

The interns develop individual growth plans and have regular meetings and networking sessions with superintendents, board of education members and search firms. They also receive practical experience with public relations, curriculum/assessment/instruction issues, labor relations, human resources, facility management, and finance and budgeting.

Besides Wade Stanfield in Fayette County, there is one other intern in 2008-09: Donald Smith, serving in Burgin Independent Schools with Superintendent Richard Webb.

For more details about the program, contact Michael Dailey, director of Educator Quality and Diversity with the Kentucky Department of Education, at (502) 564-1479.