Todd Wirt, the Wake County Public School System Assistant Superintendent For Academics, has been selected as one of the inaugural class of Aspiring Superintendent Fellows, the non-profit Strategic Leadership By Design announced today.
Dr. Wirt will be part of a diverse group of ten men and eight women selected for this new initiative to increase North Carolina’s pool of highly qualified top school district leaders. Seventeen fellows hold doctorate degrees or are currently pursuing one.
Wirt has served as a WCPSS Assistant Superintendent since 2012 and has been an educator for 14 years. He has worked as an executive director, principal in three different schools, assistant principal in two schools and teacher.
The two-year fellows program seeks to increase the number of well-prepared potential superintendents through experiential learning and executive coaching. The leadership development includes both a year-long series of seminars addressing topics such as cultural change within organizations and development of high-performing teams as well as state-of-the-art assessments that allow fellows to understand their specific development needs. The coaching component continues through the program.
The fellows program has been developed and is delivered by Strategic Leadership By Design, a non-profit led by Janice Davis, a former Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction and Granville County superintendent. Larry Coble, a former superintendent in four North Carolina school districts and executive director of the 15-district Piedmont Triad Education Consortium, is the fellows’ program leader.
Between 2010 and 2012, North Carolina school districts hired 54 superintendents. Of those hired, 43 were first-time superintendents. Aspiring Superintendent Fellows agree to apply for superintendent’s positions or positions leading to a superintendency after they complete the two-year program.
“In order for each child to leave school well prepared for life, public schools need top notch leaders. This program addresses that need. School systems are no different than other complex organizations that strive for high performance – highly effective leadership matters,” said Leslie Winner, executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, which supports the Aspiring Superintendent Fellows Program through its grant-making. “The fellows program fills a critical gap in North Carolina by assisting talented educators in acquiring the attributes, skills and motivation to lead school districts successfully.”