Why this superintendent says she found a dream job
Superintendent Jeanne Siegenthaler says she has found her dream job leading the Richmond School District’s 400-plus students and single K8 building on the outskirts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The small size is just one of the things Siegenthaler says she loves about Richmond after spending several fulfilling years as a principal in a much larger district.
“My office is connected to the school,” she explains. “I can walk down the hall. I get to read to the kindergartners every week. I get to be in the cafeteria every single day. I’m around teachers. I’m around students. I’m around parents.”
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That means you might also see her shoveling snow, serving lunch or helping the custodial staff clean and paint the building during the summer.
Social media maven
A small administrative staff also means Siegenthaler has an expanded role. She’s also the director of special education, and the assistant director of human resources and facilities. She also does all the marketing, which has become a more important role as enrollment declines and she, like many other K12 leaders, competes for students.
She creates flyers to send to the community, crafts messages for the building’s digital sign, and keeps the district’s website, Facebook page and LinkedIn feed updated. She is trying to catch the attention of educators looking for jobs and families searching for the right school for their children.
“Celebrate as much as you can,” she advises. “Make sure your pictures tell the story because people aren’t going to read everything you write. Make sure that the pictures that you share show the emotion on people’s faces and show action.”
Some examples of what she posts on social media:
- Students attending a local business alliance’s manufacturing expo.
- Former students graduating from the high school that Richmond feeds into.
- Students participating in service projects.
- The end-of-school-year lost and found collection before all of the items are donated.
Transforming school culture
Going into her seventh year as superintendent, Siegenthaler says she will continue to work on improving the school climate. She has made major strides, with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel naming Richmond a top workplace each of the last three years.
She hosts monthly staff roundtables where each session’s discussion informs the conversation at the next meeting. Topics covered include big-picture issues such as compensation to smaller details, like the need for a trash can on the playground.
She plans to finish a book on transforming school culture, currently titled “From a Toxic Workplace to a Top Workplace,” within the next year. Communicating with staff, students, parents and the community is one of the most important elements of a strong culture.
“When you don’t communicate, people fill in the gap with assumptions, and people don’t always assume positive intentions,” she points out. “When you communicate, it allows you to be very transparent.”
Siegenthaler will also share her climate expertise at this September’s Leadhership Network for Women.
“You want to be around staff who feel valued, heard and can come to work every day, not liking what they do, but loving what they do,” she concludes. “People feel that I have tried to create a culture where people feel comfortable coming to me, that their concern is heard, and I’ll do what I can to help support them.”
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