Name: David Sciarretta

Title: Superintendent

Organisation: Albert Einstein Academies

Dr. Sciarretta served as principal of AEACMS since the school’s founding before being promoted to Executive Director of AEA in October, 2013 and Superintendent in December, 2017. With a B.A. in history and political science, a Master’s of Education in cross-cultural teaching, a California Administrative Services Credential and a doctorate in Educational Leadership, Dr. Sciarretta is committed to life-long learning for students, staff and the community. His doctoral dissertation explored California charter school principal communication techniques with a focus on leadership storytelling. A 1993 Thomas J. Watson Fellow, Dr. Sciarretta has lived and worked in Mexico and Central America and is fluent in Spanish. In 2022, Dr. Sciarretta was named the Hart Vision Leader of the Year by the California Charter School Association (CCSA) and was presented with the award at their annual conference. In addition to his leadership role at AEA, Dr. Sciarretta is active on non-profit boards as well as on a statewide level with charter school policy-making, political advocacy and university teaching. On a personal level Dr. Sciarretta enjoys spending time with his daughter, exercising, attempting to meditate, reading and international travel.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope David's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

In my current role the work can be very isolating. While we strive for collaboration and wide-ranging input, when it comes to the ultimate decision-making process, the superintendent is alone at the staff level, and answerable to the Board as an individual. There is no other position like this in educational leadership.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I come from a long line of educators, stretching back many generations. I had a brief detour where I was set to go to law school after having completed my tenth year as a classroom teacher, then realized that I was drawn to the leadership work. My career has move along since then, and in many ways I have grown up along with my career as I was a young principal nearly 20 years ago at age 35.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

After much trial and error I found that starting the day without diving down the email rabbit hole first thing was a stress reducer for me. My assistant sends me a Slack message before 7 am each week day, detailing my calendar for the day as well as any items that may have come in overnight via email that need my immediate attention. Otherwise she simply writes, "All Clear, No Fires" which is a great relief. I try to work out early in the morning to get the day flowing, then head to the office or sometimes will take calls and Zooms remotely depending on the flow of the day and how long it looks like it will be. I try to calendar standing cabinet meetings for Monday through Wednesday so I can dedicate the latter part of the week to what I call deep work that necessitates calm and reflection and less interruption. This doesn't always work out as planned, but its worth a try. My days don't ever really officially end as they would for someone who clocks out or has a bell that indicates the end of the day. I typically stay at the office until 6 pm or later (9 or 10 pm when we have Board meetings as I like to get post-meeting communication taken care of while it's still fresh). Just as I've built some fences around my email in the morning, I try not to check my email after 8 pm as I've found that a) I don't want to perpetuate the idea that I'm a call center service representative and will answer at any time of day or night and b) I've found that if there is an issue that comes across in email it interrupts my sleep and I might as well just wait to learn about it until the morning. The job of the superintendent is never predictable, and crises (real or imagined) happen at any time. Electronic communication has been a blessing and a curse. It allows us to remain connected when we are not in the same physcial space and is especially useful in times of crisis (although not always). On the negative side, I believe it has eroded our sense of wellbeing, empowered electronic courage to say things remotely what we would never say in person, and has eliminated friction in our communications to the point where we risk moving so fast that we don't stop and reflect and ponder.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

Nothing in the preparation of most educational leaders (most leaders in any field, for that matter) prepares us for authentic and effective conflict resolution work. Now more than ever I am called upon in my work to mediate conflicts large and small (by the way nobody thinks their own conflict is small). I am seeking training in this area and am having other senior leaders trained as well. The lesson here is that multiple truths can live at the same time, even if to the outside they seem entirely contradictory and at odds with each other. There are countless geopolitical examples of this truth, and the same applies within organizations of any type.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

There are many, but the one I have gifted the most often is Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. He is an expert on effective storytelling through presentations, and has developed a Zen aesthetic that cuts through the clutter of modern life when we struggle to pay attention due to countless distractions. Leaders are always telling stories to convey a message, whether in a formal or informal context. I completed my doctoral dissertation on the use of leadership storytelling among successful school principals, and Garr reminds us that storytelling is the oldest and most profound means of communication. Incidentally I interviewed Garr recently on my podcast The Superintendent's Hangout (Spotify and Apple Podcasts).

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

Know who you are as a person and what your vision for education is BEFORE you launch into your leadership journey. The path will be fraught with countless people telling you what to do and how to do it, and if you don't know who you are and what you stand for, you will be doomed to a career of ping-ponging from one person's urgency to another's. When I was starting out I thought that the whole visioning process was superfluous and nothing more than fluff; now I know that when done authentically (which is seldom is) it is the most important thing of all.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

I have been blessed with a long and fruitful career, so there are many stories. I would say one that stands out as a theme, however, is the gesture of helping others. During the COVID pandemic we sprang into action and were able to offer over 100k free meals and hygiene kits to our community. I faced some criticism that we were straying from the educational mission, but I was steadfast in repeating that students can't learn if they are hungry and don't have their basic needs met. Now that COVID is behind us, nobody ever mentions this work (though we like to blame current student or adult behavior on COVID hangover syndrome). This is the bittersweet nature of leadership at this level--you can leverage the position and influence and resources to the betterment of others and in some ways quite literally help save lives, and then when it's all over people forget and go back to complaining. Such is the leadership life.