ALL IN A DAY’S
work
Lakeview Superintendent
Karl Paulson BY ANNA SWARTZ
O
n a mild, grey January morning, Karl Paulson – donning a bright blue Lakeview Huskies zip-up ϐleece – sat in his spacious ofϐice in the Wheat Administration Building, leaned forward and described his path to becoming superintendent and his 19year career in the district. He graduated from Central Michigan with a mathematics and political science degree, then served in various districts as a math and social studies teacher, assistant principal and principal, until he came to Lakeview as assistant superintendent in 2003. Five years later, he was appointed superintendent. Spending almost two decades in one district in this high-level leadership role, he says, is “a bit unusual.” So is the way he begins each workday – visiting one, two or three of the seven schools in his district. “The idea of visiting schools isn’t typical of what [most] superintendents would be doing,” Paulson says. “I can name every teacher walking down the hallway – 220 professional staff. I probably know 85 percent of the support staff.” Longevity in the district, as well as spending a lot of time at each school weekly, develops strong bonds and trusting relationships between him and the staff. Paulson mentions a
20 the shores
“IT’S A LIFESTYLE. IF YOU DON’T LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU WON’T LAST. IT’S A 24/7 WORLD.” teacher he’s known for the past 19 years; they’ve always swapped stories about their kids growing up. “That doesn’t come with me sitting here, because she has 30 kids in front of her,” he says. “I have to go where the action is to do that relationship building.” Paulson enjoys hanging in hallways, talking over loud groups of students to catch up with a colleague. It is common for him to wander, he says, checking and responding to emails on his phone. Another reason Paulson ϐinds himself in the classroom is to spend an hour observing all new-to-Lakeview teachers – most, he says, come in with 10, 12, 15 years of experience. “I observe them in the ϐirst semester typically. It’s not an evaluation – I take some notes and give them feedback.
They’re surprised that I would take the time to do that and that I’m as thorough as I am. I’m a teacher, that’s what I did. I know what should be happening. I’m reading the latest literature and understanding that with our leadership groups.” Another advantage of observing these classes, Paulson says, is that the students know him because of it. “If there are 185 classroom teachers right now, I have been in 150 of their rooms for a full session at some time.” He adds that teachers also invite him to observe special presentations or projects “because they know I have an interest in seeing kids do good work.” The most unique aspect of being a student at Lakeview High School is the option to take college classes right at the high school or Wheat building. This program began in the fall of 2011. The key was to remove the transportation barrier, Paulson says, and to bring the professors to Lakeview. Currently students
