**New Superintendent Academy**

Nearly 62% of National Park Service superintendents will be eligible for
retirement within the next five years as Director Bomar launches the New
Superintendent Academy to help secure future leadership needs of the
organization. The Academy provides a platform for the self-discovery and
re-creation necessary for first-time superintendents to transition to
their new leadership role. Studies indicate that many employees
beginning a job fail to transition to the behaviors, skills and
perspectives they need to excel in their new position. Instead, they
adapt techniques that served them in the past, attempting to apply what
they already know to a very different situation. The Academy provides a
structure for expanding their frame of reference; accessing support from
peers, coaches, mentors, regional and Washington Office staff; and, to
address competency gaps unique to each individual. Individuals are
challenged to create a new leadership presence commensurate with their
new position. This initiative is fully funded by Servicewide Learning
and Development.

**Curriculum**

The eighteen month training program uses a multitude of approaches to
draw learning from [within]{.underline} the Superintendent's current
workload. Online discussion boards, web seminars and TEL courses expose
trainees to national and globally-recognized leaders and thinkers, and
provide continuity within the cohort between classroom sessions.

General classroom courses address leadership, communication,
self-awareness, working with the media and policy implementation.
Specific exercises help with the intentional designing of the
superintendent's first interactions with park staff and partners to
smooth the transition for all involved. Special-emphasis learning tracks
address current critical issues. The learning track for the 2008-2009
Academy is "Partnering," and is being developed in collaboration with
the WASO Partnership Office and the Conservation Study Institute.
Coaching and mentoring are linchpins of the curriculum. Coming as they
do from many backgrounds, superintendents have individual competency
gaps that are the target of their Learning Contract, and educational
experiences to address these are underwritten by a stipend. Learning
Contracts require the participant to establish the criteria against
which their performance will be evaluated, and to nominate individuals
who will form an evaluation panel.

The New Superintendent Academy is built upon three design concepts: 1)
targeted learning opportunities to build competency; 2) tools and
resources to support superintendents during their transition; and 3)
interactions that expand the participants' conceptual, operational and
political contexts.

The academy's structure parallels that of a university course of study.
It includes:

-   a core curriculum, completion of which is required for graduation

-   a learning contract that addresses each individual's competency gaps

-   a series of courses (or learning \"track\") devoted to a current,
    critical weakness in the organization (the 2008-2009 track focuses
    on partnering)

-   activities that, while optional, help participants develop into more
    versatile and accomplished managers

-   three residential courses focusing on leadership, self-mastery, and
    political and business acumen

-   regional support

-   self-assessments

-   coaching

-   mentoring

Servicewide and Regional programs dovetail to enhance the employee's
learning and personal emergence during his or her first eighteen months
as a Servicewide Superintendent. Regional programs offer orientation to
the Regional Office, with a focus on crucial regional contacts and
initiatives.

[Link to the Curriculum Flow
Chart](http://www.nps.gov/training/nsa/nsa_flow_chart.doc)

**"Rolling" Enrollment**

The Academy was developed in recognition of the ongoing developmental
needs of fist-time superintendents, needs that supersede traditional
short-term training programs. Many of the best practices of earlier
programs have been incorporated into the Academy. A key feature of this
program is its "rolling enrollment," which requires newly-appointed
superintendents to begin the program as soon as they are appointed. This
immediately opens opportunities for them to work with coaches, mentors,
and their peer network, engage in activities that shift their focus, and
allow their leadership presence to evolve. Participants enter a program
in progress, and will ultimately complete all activities in an order
unique to each individual.

[Link to the NSA Rolling Enrollment
Demo](http://www.nps.gov/training/nsa/nsa_graphic.pps)

The Academy launched on June 1, 2008 with 24 full-time enrollees.
Superintendents appointed since the beginning of the program are
currently enrolling. An 'auxiliary' group of 27 longer-term
superintendents will be able to select components of the Academy that
remain pertinent to them, such as the web seminars. Participation in
activities is self-selecting, and in part, dependent upon benefitting
accounts and space availability. Following an introductory orientation
by NSA staff, participants are largely self-managing. Their experience
will inform the evolution of the Academy into a learning ground for
employees who aspire to the Superintendency.

As a starting point for the development of the Academy, a broad-based
interview process was conducted in Fall, 2007. Former directors, field
staff, partners, current superintendents (new and experienced), and
central office staff were questioned on the competencies needed by a
first-time superintendent. Ten key learning outcomes were revealed
during this process. The Academy is based on these outcomes or business
needs, and on OPM's Executive Core Qualifications.

More information about the interview process and the program design is
available from the program managers Maia Browning and Sandy Taylor who
are co-leads on the project. They can be reached, respectively, at
202-354-1413 or 202-354-1903.