-: My name is Tamara Willis
and I am a superintendent of schools
for the Susquehanna Township School District.
So the superintendent is essentially
the chief executive officer for the school district.
So I oversee all of the programming,
all of the operations, anything that involves
student programming for the district.
And our district serves students grades K through 12.
So programming includes our curriculum,
so that is the content that students will learn.
It is also, could also be our athletics.
It could be our extra-curricular activities that we offer.
So all of that encompasses programming for students.
Usually, we base our decisions on our vision
and our mission statements, and whether or not
those decisions are going to be aligned
to those statements, because they serve as the driving force
for all that we do in the district.
We also consider whether or not it's going to be of
a benefit to our students, because that is why we exist.
And then, finally, we consider the budget.
There are always financial implications for our decisions.
A typical day in the life of a superintendent includes
a lot of meetings, I'll start by saying that.
Sometimes I tell people I am a professional meeter.
But those meetings are very important.
So I could be meeting with the school board.
I'm always meeting with our district office administrators,
so the assistant superintendent, our business manager,
folks who are in our pupil services office,
because they oversee all of the operations at all levels of
the district, so I'm constantly in touch with them
to make sure that students are getting what they need
in each of the buildings,
that transportation is operating smoothly,
food services, again, students are getting what they need,
making sure teachers are reporting
and that they have what they need
in terms of supplies and materials.
So it's constantly monitoring the entire organization
and that's typically what I do on a day-to-day basis.
It is not a nine-to-five job.
When you sign on as a superintendent,
you are essentially, you are a commissioned officer.
And so, you agree to do whatever you can
to improve that district, to protect the district,
and to make sure that the families and the students
are served well, as stakeholders of that district.
And so, as issues arise, for example,
you may have a water main break in a building overnight,
and so, you are up in the wee hours of the morning,
addressing that issue, because your goal is to make sure
that students are safe
and that schools can operate everyday.
So it is not a nine-to-five, at all.