Superintendent Dan Behm in Focus: Leading with Students’ Futures in Mind

Every leader steps into their position knowing that even the smallest of moves will come under the microscope. Superintendents are not exempt. 

Respected Forest Hills Public Schools’ Superintendent Daniel Behm has proudly served the district since 2006. In this role, he is responsible for setting the vision and direction for FHPS.  “As the superintendent, I am ultimately responsible for the education-related decisions in our school district. Even more important, I am responsible for keeping students and staff members safe throughout the educational process.”

Under Dan Behm, Forest Hills Public Schools has earned several top honors, including a #1 ranking by Niche, and recognition by U.S. News & World Report.  

Superintendent Behm is passionate about keeping students engaged through a 21st Century curriculum designed to help keep a bounce in students’ steps from their first day of kindergarten to their last day of high school. This includes introducing interactive programs such as Gone Boarding or Project NEXT that combine real world experience with classroom lessons. 

One way Superintendent Behm keeps a pulse on the student experience is by retaining his Educator Certification. He can be seen substitute teaching in FHPS classrooms. Through the district’s bus driver staffing crisis, his community relationships also have inspired peers to step up and fill critical openings. 

We know that Behm does not take the responsibilities, challenges, and critiques of his job lightly. The Editor-in-Chief of The Central Trend recently published an interview with the Superintendent spanning a number of timely topics – from education policy to the pandemic. (Please click through to read it!) 

To ensure all students succeed through the pandemic, he saw to it that FHPS distributed over 1,000 Chromebook devices to students. The district also reconfigured its wireless network to create internet hotspots in designated areas of parking lots at every school to accommodate virtual learning. 

It’s relatively easy to observe Superintendent Behm’s contributions to the district’s success – and that of our kids. 

Would you believe that Superintendents like Dan Behm clock an average of 60 to 80 hours per week? (MASB). Beyond the everyday responsibilities, Behm has fought for more district funding at the state level while forfeiting his own standard bonuses. (He also has acknowledged the importance of public transparency for this personal data.)

Forest Hills Public Schools Is in Great Standing with Our Superintendent 

We’ve already shared a handful of the many ways Superintendent Behm has successfully delivered for this district.  

The pressure on our elected Board of Education isn’t light, but MASB helps to reinforce comfort for families served by member Boards with their Guiding Principles:

“The Board of Education governs in a manner that is dignified and worthy of trust.” What this means to us is we trust that our Superintendent and Board of Education are exploring best practices, conducting research, keeping up to date on industry advances, and following their duties to govern the district’s objectives and policies with the best interests of our kids in mind. We trust they have their priorities in order and follow a system of checks and balances. 

But let’s be clear, trust does not mean complacency. As parents and caregivers, we relish opportunities to help our Superintendent and Board on this important mission to set our kids up for success – whether by raising ideas during Board meetings, or by submitting suggestions by phone or e-mail. The work will never be done. 

Throughout his tenure, Behm has been responsive to calls and e-mails and is engaged with Parent, Student and Teacher Advisory Councils. He evaluates expert guidance, data and best practices when setting goals, policies and intentions for the district. 

Landing and Retaining a Stellar Superintendent Isn’t Easy 

We are fortunate to have Superintendent Behm at the helm. Much like any leadership position, it takes a competitive package and healthy school district landscape to attract a top candidate.

After all, the stakes are high in Forest Hills, with expectations for exemplary student performance and report cards that yield impressive college acceptance letters. It’s not just strong academic programs that produce this outcome. Leaders like Behm also need to continue innovating by adding engaging programs that keep students engaged in the first place so they make it through the end of high school. 

On top of these lofty expectations for a superintendent, the current environment is making it even more difficult to attract and retain top-tier candidates in these roles, despite what the district’s challengers may believe. 

A recent article titled “Who wants to lead America’s school districts? Anyone? Anyone?” reveals how “bad behavior at school board meetings is holding back candidates from coming forward” to these positions.  

And “…as thousands of school boards across the country compete to hire new district leaders, it’s not entirely clear who actually wants and will be qualified to do these jobs. The collective scramble for new leadership comes at a tense time for school boards.” 

Debb Oliver, executive director of NASB, said superintendent positions that may have drawn 20 applicants pre-pandemic are only seeing five or six right now. The smaller pools limit districts’ choices and perhaps the quality of candidates, she said. At the same time, superintendent salaries will likely need to rise.” 

In fact, it’s not uncommon for searches to take years. It will be interesting to watch the timeline for superintendent searches unfold in neighboring districts of Rockford and Holland Public Schools. 

Support FHPS’ priority remains grounded in our core values of Support, Safety and Success for all students – and that includes helping mitigate disruption and distraction for our leaders. We condemn ongoing (personal!) attacks against the superintendent and urge all families to let our district’s leader focus 100% of his attention on our students. 

Superintendent Behm has a critically important job to do here in Forest Hills – now and for years to come.