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School Business Insider
From Immigrant to Superintendent: A Journey of Leadership and Resilience
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- [00:02]
John Brucato
You're listening to ASBO International's School Business Insider. I'm your host, John Brucato. Each week on School Business Insider, I sit down with school business officials and industry experts from around the world to share their stories and explore the topics that matter most to you. Find out what it means to be a school business official and get your insider pass on all things school business. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to School Business Insider. Today I'm joined by Dr. Victor Hayek, Deputy Superintendent of Schools for the Conejo Valley Unified School District located in California. Dr. Hayek recently contributed to an insightful article to Asbo International School of Business affairs magazine. And today we'll be diving deeper into his journey to the superintendency. We'll explore how his unique experiences, including being an English learner in the US Public school system, have shaped his leadership style and how he transitioned from a business and financial role to becoming a superintendent. We'll also discuss the challenges and rewards of leading the district, his approach to navigating difficult issues, and how his leadership philosophy has evolved over time. Victor, welcome to the podcast. Happy to have you.
- [01:20]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Hey, thanks for having me. Good to see you again.
- [01:23]
John Brucato
Yeah, good to see you. And glad to have you back on, I think the last time you were on with the editorial advisory committee. So glad to kind of sit with you one on one and just kind of go through your history and tell your story a little bit.
- [01:33]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, sure. Happy.
- [01:34]
John Brucato
So before we get started, maybe you can just start by sharing your journey a little bit and what really inspired you to pursue a career in education. Sure.
- [01:45]
Dr. Victor Hayek
You know, I came to this country when I was about 7. My family and I immigrated from Beirut, Lebanon, where today there's a whole host of things going on there in the Middle east, unfortunately. But at that same time, when we came here, there was a similar type of war and conflict going on in that Middle East. And when we came here, we settled in New Jersey, just outside of New York, and I didn't really know any English, nor did my parents. And back then, there are no el services. There were no, you know, no language, nothing. You just, here you go, you're in the class, and yeah, good luck. But, you know, fortunately, I had some really good teachers that would, you know, paid attention and recognize that I needed help and additional supports. And then they spent that extra time with me to make sure that I was grasping on to what was happening in the class and getting a better understanding of English. And then over the course of time and television and just being around others and the language in the country. I caught on and I started to learn and I got better and better at it. But through those years, it was the teachers I had in first, second, third grade that really shaped me and giving me the ability to succeed as an immigrant. Coming to this country not knowing the language, I'm sure it was easy for them to kind of just push through, but they did spend a lot of extra time with me, and it gave me tremendous respect and value for teachers and for the educational system as I went through it.
- [03:30]
John Brucato
So how did you kind of then go through business and superintendency and now you're back kind of in the financial realm? Can you talk me through your journey there?
- [03:38]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. Nothing. You know, we. We grew up in an urban area. My parents never owned a house, and, you know, we moved from place to place. And, you know, what's funny is it's funny now, but it wasn't then, you know, every time they raised the rent on us, like $20, my father would say, I'm not paying it, and we're moving. And sometimes we move like two houses down the block. You know what I mean?
- [04:03]
John Brucato
Just to prove a point. Right?
- [04:04]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. Those are the worst moves, too, because you're. You gotta carry your stuff, just.
- [04:10]
John Brucato
Yeah, yeah. You can't rent a vehicle. There's no point.
- [04:13]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Right.
- [04:14]
John Brucato
You can just walk off the block.
- [04:17]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Uh, so, you know, it told me those life lessons actually taught me, like, to. I have to advocate for myself, I have to fend for myself. And, you know, if I want to learn or go anywhere in life, you know, it's up to me. And, you know, there was always a saying in our family that said, you know, we all make our choices, and regardless of where we come from or how we're brought up and what our background is, we all have choices, and we all get to make our choices. And you either choose this or you choose that, or you choose this or you choose that, and then that's going to really shape the outcome in your life. After going through just the public education system in high school, my guidance counselor told me that, I don't think you're cut out for college. I think you should maybe join the military. And I was like, huh?
- [05:07]
John Brucato
Is that what you're expecting at the time?
- [05:10]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Not at all. I really wasn't. I think she was, you know, really stereotyping me and kind of like pigeonholing me and trying to say, like, this is the best thing for you instead of giving me some encouragement in some other direction. Well, I walked out of the Guidance office. And right outside the guidance office, there was this table there with a bunch of college, like flyers, brochures, whatever, And I just picked one up for a college that I knew that was just down the street. And it was William Patterson University. And they had on the thing, it was instant decision day. Like, if you apply, go through the process and they interview you and then they give you a decision on the spot instantly. So I filled out one application and that was the only one. And I went to the instant decision day and I got accepted.
- [06:01]
John Brucato
So they decided and it was a good outcome.
- [06:04]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. And I said, see, I'm going to show her now. I said, I'm going to show her that I'm going to go to college and I'm going to do it. So, you know, it's that whole, like being raised the way that I was raised really taught me that, you know, kind of gave me a little bit of chip on my shoulder that I had to prove to everyone everything that I wanted to do and that I could actually do it.
- [06:27]
John Brucato
Sure.
- [06:29]
Dr. Victor Hayek
I went through college. You know, I was a. Okay student. I won't say I was a star student like I was in high school, but I learned a lot. I learned, you know, I learned how to learn. I will say, I'll put it that way. I learned that, you know, we know being in education that the difference, let's say, between high school and college is you go to college, you're paying for it. It's you. It's up to you, you taking the classes and learn or don't learn. Show up or don't show up, your choice.
- [07:02]
John Brucato
You can pay it either way, right?
- [07:04]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. Go back to choices. So I learned, I'm like, huh? I'm like, I don't have to ask to go to the bathroom. They don't take attendance. This is great. And then you realize quickly that, you know what, if I want to actually get something out of this, I'm going to have to be my own guide, so to speak.
- [07:24]
John Brucato
I totally relate that I had to course correct after my first semester because there were no guardrails. Right. You could go to class whenever or not go. And I had to take stock and me taking a little more seriously.
- [07:35]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. Isn't that something? Like, I feel like everyone should have to. And I think maybe they do it now. They do a freshman seminar and they did that.
- [07:44]
John Brucato
But if you think back then it was crazy because all of a sudden you had such a structured life for your entire educational career. And then one day it was totally opposite.
- [07:57]
Dr. Victor Hayek
My son, who just turned 18, he graduated high school this past June, and he's going through the same thing. He started college in the fall, and he was kind of like, I don't know about college this and that, but now, like, he's been there a couple of months. He's like, it's great, the freedom of college, actually, for him, and I think for me as well, really shined the spotlight on that. It's up to us. And you know what? I'm going to go in and I'm going to make the best of this for myself and not for anybody else.
- [08:30]
John Brucato
So before we get into kind of your trajectory through education, I want to go back to. You were talking about how your teachers helped you a lot, especially with learning the English language. But you also said that your guidance counselor almost was kind of discouraging and made you want to kind of prove them wrong. Can you kind of sum up how these different experiences maybe has influenced your leadership style and how you lead today?
- [08:55]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, I don't count anybody out. I'll put it that way. You know, I served. You know, I just. And I realized I didn't answer the rest of your earlier question. So I'll just say, you know, quickly, I'll give the setup. As you know, after college, I worked in retail. I had a bunch of jobs, you know, throughout since I was like, 14. But sure, I own my own businesses. And then of all things, I became a police officer for about six and a half, seven years in New Jersey. And at the same time, I was doing my MBA in finance. And while I was doing my MBA in finance, I got pretty good grades. Masters was very different than undergraduate, and again, took that step higher. As to learning is inside, and it's up to you to learn or don't learn. And what you get out of a class is up to you. And that's magnified even more in a master's and doctoral program. And I did well. And one of the couple of the professors at the college asked me if I was interested in teaching. And I said, here at the college, who am I? I'm like, nobody. And then I took compliment, I took it seriously, and I tried it, and I fell in love with it right away. And that was kind of really aside from being a student. Now I was on the other side of the desk. And that gave me some of the exposure as to what it's like to be a teacher instructor. I was adjunct professor, and I did that for about 11 years. And throughout that time, I was a police officer. Still. And I leveraged that experience also to teach in the police academy after graduation. So I continued doing that at the same time while I was a police officer. And then my wife. I had met my wife, and she was a teacher, and there was a lot of things going on. We're all familiar with school boards and elections and such in our community. And my wife's like, I don't like what's going on. And I said, well, I don't like what's going on either then. And I'm going to run to the board.
- [10:58]
John Brucato
Hey, that activated you, right? I mean, that's one way to do it.
- [11:02]
Dr. Victor Hayek
It did. It's all these cogs that contribute to who we become later on in life. Every experience, they say you live life through moments, not minutes. And I think education is the same way. You learn by those experiences and the people around you that really influence who you become later on, you know, as you're growing as an adult. But it shapes your character, your integrity, your leadership style, your management style, you know, across the board. So I ran for the board. I won. And, you know, it was kind of a turbulent time in that school district. I think we went through four superintendents in three years. And it was a little bit of a divided community. But that's what really I, at that time, I got this was around 2009, 2006, 2007. You know, back then, at least where I was in New Jersey, nobody talked about school business, right? Per se. You always heard at schools, public schools, this and that, but, you know, even though we kind of knew that there's a business side to everything, no one really talked about school business. And that's, you know, being on the board really turned me on to, you know, the back end and actually being on the business side of education. And so I decided to pursue that. And I came off the board. I finished my term. I didn't run for reelection. I chose not to because I was starting as a director of finance for a private school. And then from there, I just successfully went on to public school districts and then larger and larger districts, assuming greater responsibility as the business person for the districts. And then I, you know, the big ego in me and that chip on the shoulder, and I remember what Mrs. So and so I won't mention her name, told me that I shouldn't be in college or whatever. I said, you know what? I can be a superintendent. It's easy. Anyone can do it. So I decided I'm going to do it, and no one's going to stop Me and I applied for my doctorate at See in Hall University. I got accepted into the program. I finished my doctorate in two years, graduated on the dean's list, gave the commencement address to our doctoral class at the graduation. And then I. Where I was working at the time as the school business official for Pequonic Schools and the superintendent there was retiring. And I said, you know, this is. This is my time and this is my opportunity. And, you know, I went in this, and I put a little blurb in this in the article that, you know, back then, entry plans weren't very. Wasn't required for a lot of positions, you know, superintendent positions, but some people did do them. And, you know, I had looked through some entry plans that were done by other school leaders. And, you know, I did my research. I was fortunate to be in the district. So I had a lot of, you know, inside information about everything going on in the district, and I threw my hat in the ring. And I like to say I impressed the board. They believed in the strategy. They knew. I did my research, and I wholeheartedly wanted to be the superintendent there, but not because of money or the position or title or anything. I believed in the district. I believed in what we were doing as a school district. I believed in kids and giving kids the opportunity to learn, to succeed. And I saw myself in every student that it's my job to pave the way for them to able to succeed later on in life. I can't control the choices that they make, but my job as a school leader would be to make sure that they have the opportunities that they deserve and the ability to take advantage of those opportunities. So wherever they go on in life after they leave the K12 school system or my school district, they'll be armed and ready to be able to do whatever it is that they want to do.
- [15:27]
John Brucato
Do you think you would have pursued the superintendency had it not been for that district and you wanted a. Wanting to kind of keep that momentum going?
- [15:34]
Dr. Victor Hayek
I think so. I definitely would have the. You know, in New Jersey, we have, I think, 580 school districts. For the tiny state that it is, there's a lot of small. Some school districts are one school and some can relate.
- [15:52]
John Brucato
New York's very similar.
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Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, similar. Yeah. We were neighbors for a long time.
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John Brucato
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Dr. Victor Hayek
And, you know, same as New York and New Jersey. Like, you could drive 20 minutes and you drove through three towns.
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John Brucato
Yep.
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Dr. Victor Hayek
Yep.
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John Brucato
Three towns and six different school districts.
- [16:09]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. So I think that that played a role into it because. And I Did my dissertation on student performance in smaller versus larger school districts. And you know, one of the things that I came, that data showed in that research study and what I actually felt being in the district at the time was in the smaller districts, the ability to develop that sense of community and how the school district is part of that community, whether it's the Friday night football games and how it brings people together, whether it's the graduation ceremonies and the kids out in the community, you know, we. I felt that that was really something special and privileged to be a part of that. If you're, you're part of that community and you are able to foster that type of environment, not just within the school district, but within the city or town itself, you know, that's magnificent. You know, there's no substitute for that feeling that you get for creating community, being community, fostering community. It was just something that was really tremendously valuable to me as an individual, as a professional, as a person. And I was so glad I was able to do that, to be able to foster that throughout the school district and the community in general.
- [17:41]
John Brucato
You make such a great point. I mean, I have the privilege of being a part of a small school district. And just last night we had a New Parents night hosted by the pta where parents that have kindergarteners or are new to the district could come and meet district administration, building administrators, pta, our educational foundation. And I don't know that you can get that same small town community feel with a large district. There really is something special about having just a small, tight knit group. Everybody was on a first name basis. It was just really special to look around the room and see all of these new families just really being embraced by our school community. Some had just moved in two months ago, you know, so it's just like they're already part of the family.
- [18:20]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, there's something to say about that. Right now I'm in a. In my district here in California, we have 28 schools. Wow. And we have three comprehensive high schools and two alternative high schools. So each high school, as you know, has its own identity. So in a larger city, where I am now, you got different mascots, different sides of town, different high schools, different middle schools that feed into the high schools, different elementaries. And there's still a sense of community. There really is, but I feel like they're just more segmented based on the schools. And that kind of goes to what we do and how schools play such a pivotal and valuable role in the community in defining that community.
- [19:14]
John Brucato
Right. So talk to me about your experience as superintendent. Did your role as CFO or school business official prepare you for that? And can you tell me about any challenges you faced about maybe being labeled as the business guy, being the superintendent all of a sudden?
- [19:32]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Being in the district was definitely valuable for me. Being able to know the individuals, know the people, know the board. And not just for me to know them, but for them to know me.
- [19:47]
John Brucato
Sure.
- [19:48]
Dr. Victor Hayek
And I think it's. As a school business official, we don't have an easy job, but it is an easy choice just to do our job within the walls that we're tasked. But we're more than just, you know, we're more than just the budget people, the facility people, the technology. We are. We are everything. And if you think about it, every single thing that happens in a school district passes through us some way, shape or form, because 90 plus percent of what we do is tied to money. Right. Whether it's contract, a purchase order, whatever it is, staffing. So being in there was tremendously valuable. It really was on both sides. And I took advantage of it to really participate. When we were in cabinet meetings, leadership meetings, board retreats, whatever it is, I provided input and feedback that was not just about budget and finance and school business operations, but everything. Academics, what we're offering in classes, so athletics, everything that was happening that may traditionally be. People think of it as this side of the house and then this side of the house. Right?
- [21:06]
John Brucato
Yeah. Did you feel like you had the chops to speak to that fluently with the pedagogical side? A lot of business officials who become superintendents maybe were classroom, public school classroom teachers at one point and kind of understand the lingo and what it takes to be an educational leader. Did you feel you were prepared for that?
- [21:28]
Dr. Victor Hayek
I did. But after a tremendous amount of research, after a tremendous amount of research going through the doctoral program, there was a heavy focus on academics because, you know, the being a K12 educational leader in a doctoral program, they actually only a small slice of it is finance and operations. The rest of it is the academics. And I'll go back to, you know, being an adjunct professor for 11 years. That was tremendously valuable because I understood, you know, everything that has to happen from the other side of that desk. And at the college level, there's a whole nother different set of politics that happens on the other end as well. And I was fortunate to be, or unfortunate to be privy to that as well, to see how things work. And one of the most defining things for me that really helped shape My decision as to why I want to do what I want to do was I saw the kids that were coming out of K12 school and the level of preparation they had when they entered my classes. And I will tell you that it really shocked me how kids, regardless of economic background, lacked a lot of necessary skills that I felt. I felt that I had even coming out of high school. Like what?
- [22:59]
John Brucato
Like reading comprehension, mathematics, things like that.
- [23:03]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. The ability, like, to put a thought together to. If you're going to do, you know, a paper. You know, we call them term papers back then, right? I don't know.
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John Brucato
Yeah, yeah.
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Dr. Victor Hayek
To be able to make an argument, to be able to justify a position and to think independently. I felt. I saw a lot of students struggle with that, and I felt like a lot of the things that were coming out were just regurgitations of what someone else told you to think and feel and believe and whatever it is and unable to do research and justify whatever that position is. That and also organizational skills, you know, how to plan, how to plan your time. You know, I guess this kind of goes back to the earlier conversation about that transition from high school to college and being on your own. Some kids got it, some kids didn't. And, you know, maybe we said freshman seminar early on, but maybe the high school needs to do something to say, give something. Here. We're going to prepare you now for that next phase, whether you're going into a career or college. You know, let's talk about how to use a calendar and a to do list and to organize your time, everything.
- [24:12]
John Brucato
How to be on your own 101. Right?
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Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, we lose. There's so much focus on particular subject matter that I think some of that gets lost or forgotten or, you know, sometimes educators assume that kids are going to develop that on their own and they don't. You know, I mean, I would even say today not all kids are able to do that. Technology has been tremendously, I think, transformational in that regard. But even that is not, I don't think, used to the full capability that it could be in preparing students for life after K12 or school.
- [24:57]
John Brucato
Yeah, it's kind of a funny anecdote, and it's definitely an extreme example, but I remember seeing some meme online where it was like, I wish my high school taught me how to do my taxes rather than learning that the mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell.
- [25:11]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Right.
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John Brucato
Because it's like, that's life skills you need, but you don't necessari really learn that, you know, in high school in a traditional sense, but much different now. But like back in the day, it was very traditional learning and not so much those soft skills, organizational skills, life skills. Right?
- [25:26]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. You know, when I was in the private school, when I started out there, one of the things that I picked up on was it was an all girls Catholic school. But they, one of the new courses they were introducing at the time was personal finance and it was exactly that.
- [25:42]
John Brucato
Great.
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Dr. Victor Hayek
Interest rates, mortgages, how to back then balance a checkbook, how to prepare a budget, you know, all those credit cards, things like that, like those basic fundamentals. Now we can argue that it doesn't mean a lot to you at that age and that time in your life, but that exposure to it, you know, is still a necessity to me in my eyes. And that was one of the things as a, as a leader that I wanted to make sure to bring to schools, to my kids, to our district. Because I said if I'm going to have the ability to shape young minds, I'm going to take full advantage of it. I'm going to really do what I can to make sure that they're prepared as best as possible, whether it's offering personal finance courses or opportunities for athletics or you know, AP classes or whatever it was, you know, whatever we needed to do. I, I, I felt like I had the advantage because being in the business office, I could cut through all the minutiae and that red tape and because.
- [26:51]
John Brucato
I said, you know how the numbers work, right? Yeah. It's insider info.
- [26:58]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Right.
- [26:58]
John Brucato
You've been there, so you know how it functions.
- [27:00]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. If you know the process, that's tremendously useful. You know, I've known being a superintendent, you know, for almost five years. I was, you know, going to superintendent meetings and such and you know, I would meet other superintendents who were in smaller districts. You could just be a teacher, principal and superintendent, you know, so you're, you have very little exposure to the budget, the operation side, even board meetings and agendas and how they're developed and everything else. And in large school districts, you could have incrementally went up to a director, this or that or whatever position. But the way that education is compartmentalized, you don't get exposed to everything like you do in the business office. That's really, to me, the only position in the district that exposes you to every aspect of public education, without a doubt.
- [27:52]
John Brucato
So I want to bring it back to your article a little bit and something that you said you liken the role of the superintendency to that of a musical conductor. Can you explain that analogy for us and how that really reflects in your leadership philosophy?
- [28:08]
Dr. Victor Hayek
I won't say I didn't get pushback on this. We have teachers unions. You have teachers who believe that your principal had to have been a teacher and your superintendent had to have been a principal or assistant, whatever it is. And that pushback came because even though I was an adjunct professor for 11 years, nobody counted that. Oh, K12. Different.
- [28:35]
John Brucato
Totally different. Doesn't matter. Like apples and oranges.
- [28:37]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, like, like, like it's bracketed as K12. But people discount. Like, is there a difference between an English teacher, a math teacher, a PE teacher, a kindergarten teacher, a fifth grade teacher, high school, middle school, whatever? Every one of them has its own unique nuances. There's no one that automatically says that you can, you know, you're, you're going to excel in, you know, one particular administration level or another. So I was, I had a conversation with a. In my research, I found another superintendent who actually came through, up through the business office, and I had a conversation with him, and he's the one that told me, you know, they're, they're not really hiring you to write a textbook. You're not writing the curriculum. You're not, you know, that's not your role. Your role is to, to get everybody to work together in harmony on same page. And then, you know, we, we came up with the, you know, I guess it's true. If you're the conductor of an orchestra, you may not know how to play every instrument. Right?
- [29:42]
John Brucato
Yeah. You may not be like a master cellist, but you have to coordinate everybody.
- [29:46]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Right, Right. But you know how it's supposed to sound.
- [29:49]
John Brucato
Right.
- [29:49]
Dr. Victor Hayek
And that, that's kind of what I likened it to. Like, I know what the outcomes should be and what I want the outcomes to be. So now how do I get everybody playing in harmony and how do I get everything on the, on the same page? And that's how I use that parallel. And I used it in the, in the interview as well. You know, when, you know, I was asked, like, well, how do you think people respond if you're going to, you're a superintendent and, you know, you, you came up to the business office and not through the quote unquote, traditional ranks. And I said, you know, I brought that metaphor up of, you know, I'm the conductor of the orchestra. You know, if you want me to play an instrument, then, you know, you need to hire people who are specialized in playing the instrument. And I said, you know, conversely, a superintendent is running the whole district, but they may not have exposure to the business side. There is no superintendent that has it all and has been exposed to every single level of the operations of a school district. Even if you could be in a K8 district or a K5 or K6 district or K12, or just a high school district, and that could be your specialty. So no one has the ultimate exposure to have experience across so many different levels and so many different departments, except the business guy, the business person. They've seen it. They've seen it all. And again, depending on what district you are, they've been exposed to it. Because for our position too, I always felt that. And it's still true to this day, I think. And you tell me your thought on this. We, as the, as the, let's say, the number two in the, in the district, we become the sounding board for the superintendent. Right. We become. Right. We, we become the person they, they, they complain to, they cry to, they, they go for advice, take it or not. But everything comes through us formally and informally. And I think that's tremendously valuable.
- [31:55]
John Brucato
Well, I will say to anyone who's listening, who isn't a sitting school business official, I say this to anyone that I mentor, I speak to, or I'm introduced to who's considering it. It is the best spot in a school organization. You have enough authority to get things done, but in the same breath, the buck doesn't stop with you. You have a superintendent, you have a board. So you really are in this sweet spot of being a change agent, but not having to deal with necessarily all of the politics and everything that comes with being a superintendent. Right?
- [32:25]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. But you have weight in those decisions.
- [32:29]
John Brucato
Exactly.
- [32:30]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah.
- [32:31]
John Brucato
You have agency, you have authority, and you can do things that maybe you wouldn't be able to do if you were a building principal or a classroom teacher. I mean, you have influence over the direction of the organization.
- [32:42]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, I think of school business officials during the pandemic trying to open schools and get kids back. And it was more than just about facilities. It was about schedules and teaching and how, you know, what teachers are gonna do and the access to technology and how the curriculum's gonna be shaped. And, you know, there were a lot of intricacies involved in that. And, you know, some of it, a lot of it was how the academics were gonna be delivered. And we had front row seat and we had the seat to, you know, just as much decision making authority in those pieces as any superintendent had.
- [33:20]
John Brucato
Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of it was triage. A lot of it was reacting on the spot. And, you know, business officials were able to do that. We had that power to do so. You know, I want to kind of tie in your musical conductor analogy to really your emphasis on vision, mission and goals and really unifying an organization. How do you really implement and communicate those core values to your district? And how did you get that buy in? You know, especially with you being a superintendent, I'm guessing maybe you got a little bit of pushback from faculty, like, oh, this guy's not a teacher, or wasn't a teacher, wasn't a building principal. But how do you instill that vision and rally people around that?
- [34:02]
Dr. Victor Hayek
The entry plan that I spent a lot of time on putting together, I use the strategy of building on the existing successes. I think by. By pointing out, complimenting, commendate, you know, giving commendation to or acknowledgement, per se, on the successes of the school district. You're. That's the first step.
- [34:26]
John Brucato
So really leaning into what you guys are doing, right?
- [34:29]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. Yeah. If you. If you think that you're going to come in and you know what, and boards will tell you this, oh, we want someone that's going to come in and change things. This and that, Forget it.
- [34:38]
John Brucato
Red flag number one.
- [34:41]
Dr. Victor Hayek
You could count your days on that after that statement. But it takes a lot to change a school district, big or small. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.
- [34:51]
John Brucato
Culture's tough.
- [34:53]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. And if you come in with that plan of, like, I'm going to make things better for everyone because things aren't that great and we're going to improve everything. No, that's not where you start. You have to start with acknowledging all the great things that are happening in the district, all the great people that are in the district, the great kids that you have and the outcomes that we're getting, and then you build on top of those, just like inside the classroom for, let's just say, math, for example. Every lesson builds on another. And I use that strategy to create the foundation of. We're a great school district. Here we are, we're acknowledging all the great things that we want to do, and here's how we can take the next steps and do even greater things than that. And then I involved teachers, I involved other administrators, I involved the board, I involved the community. I made it. Again, back to the whole community topic earlier, the community conversation. I made it. So it's not just Victor, it's all of us. This is our School district, these are our kids.
- [36:10]
John Brucato
So you're instilling a sense of ownership beyond just the district administration?
- [36:14]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, absolutely. If you think you're going to be authoritative and make unilateral decisions or make decisions without input from the stakeholders, whether it's teachers, students, community, I don't know how poised for success you will be if you're going to have that attitude. So I just adopted that philosophy that, you know, this is our school district and you know, we move forward together. And I think it was really important to convey that message and I think it resonated with the board, the community, the teaching staff. I like to say I had a pretty successful run and in two school districts as superintendent. And you know, I'm not going to say it was easy. There were no easy days. There were great days, there were fun days, there were days to be proud of. But there were very tough days and there were decisions that had to be made. There were issues and incidents and social media and all these things that are going on, you know, that you have to deal with as an administrator, but that those are just things that you have to expect. If you think that every day is going to be smooth and without issue, then you know, you're, you're, you're doomed before you start. And you learn that again in the business office. Because no two days are the same in the business office. No, you never know what's going to come in that day.
- [37:47]
John Brucato
Which is one of my favorite parts of the job.
- [37:48]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Right.
- [37:49]
John Brucato
It's not mundane necessarily all the time. It is cyclical, I think at a macro level in nature. But your day to day experiences could be night and day, depending on what time of the year it is. The week, forget it. It's not going to be the same every day.
- [38:05]
Dr. Victor Hayek
For sure, for sure. And you're right, that makes the job attractive. It really is. We do have, we are very cyclical, we have routines. But you could be in the middle of working on a budget deadline and then all of a sudden you got facility issue you got to deal with. So you can't let an emergency facility issue hold while you're finishing up whatever you're doing with the budget. So those pieces and it really teaches you. Again, I'm going to go back to the roots of how the transition and being a self learner and learning to learn and organizing time and calendar and activities and knowing your capabilities. I think all those incrementally built upon how, how I went from, you know, not even knowing any English and coming to this country to to being superintendent of schools.
- [39:04]
John Brucato
Yeah, it's pretty incredible. And, you know, I want to go back to something you started to talk about a little bit, with the demands of the job. You know, you described the role of the superintendent as both demanding and rewarding. Can you tell me how you handled the scrutiny and the pressure from everything that comes with that job? And maybe you can share some of the biggest challenges you encountered as superintendent.
- [39:27]
Dr. Victor Hayek
You have to have allies. Allies in terms of people on your team, you know, within your district that are with you. I'll put it that way. You're always going to have people in the public that don't like what you're doing. You're going to have staff and parents or whatever else. There is no love from everybody on this. So you have to work hard on a daily basis, on a regular basis, to continue to strive to promote your vision, the goals, the acknowledgement of the great people that work for you, the great kids, the opportunities, everything else. You got to turn those negatives into positives, and it's not always easy.
- [40:20]
John Brucato
And who are those allies on your team? Are they administrators? Are they board members, community members, faculty, staff? Like, who are you looking to have that unified vision and support?
- [40:31]
Dr. Victor Hayek
All of them. All of them. I would make it a point that I would. I would just leave the office and I would go visit schools. I would go pop into classrooms. I would speak to principals. You know, I. I spend probably 50% of my time out in schools, and I.
- [40:52]
John Brucato
You weren't running the district from behind a desk.
- [40:55]
Dr. Victor Hayek
No. And, you know, it's not. I could set up a meeting with principals. I could set up a meeting with. With the teachers. But being on site, being visible, being seen, having informal conversations with people, I think is great. I used to go eat lunch in the cafeteria with the kids.
- [41:14]
John Brucato
Yeah, I still do that. I love it.
- [41:16]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. I think it's great. You know, when I first started in one of my. In the first two districts I started in, our offices were in the school. And I always thought that that was great because you could just walk in the hallway during bell chains, and then you see exactly why we do what we do.
- [41:31]
John Brucato
Yeah. And I don't know how you feel, but, like, when you're out there and just getting that informal experience and those informal visits, I feel like you pick up so much more than if you were to schedule a meeting, have something structured. There's just such a natural cadence to being out there and just seeing how these buildings work, how the faculty and students interact, how the buildings are being Managed. There's just so much value to just kind of showing up.
- [41:54]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. And you get to know people's names, you know, you don't know, you don't realize how many people like and district. Even a relatively small district of, let's say five schools has 300, 400 employees. You're not gonna get to know them unless you're out there and you're having conversations. You say hello. Whether it's a custodian to the teacher, to the campus safety, whoever it is, you gotta be out there. You gotta be visible. One of the most challenging times I had is, I think it was my second year, third year as superintendent. My high school principal passed away in the middle of the school year. And he was, he was, he was loved by, by the whole, he was, he was a great man. He passed away suddenly and this was March of the school year and it was a really, really somber time, you know, when the news started to go around and I was put in the position of, all right, how am I going to deal with this now? There's no manual on this. You can't call someone else and be like, hey, how do you handle this? It's not something that happens enough where there's any type of guidance or instructions. Manual on how to handle.
- [43:13]
John Brucato
Yeah, you have to go to crisis response and counselor almost. Right.
- [43:16]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, yeah. And you know, so then I start thinking about next steps. It's, it's March of that school year, the senior class going to graduate in a couple months. And you know, the kids love the principal. And what I was hearing back is they didn't want anybody, they don't want somebody to come in for the last four months of the school year. And then that's who. It became really critical who's going to give me my diploma. Right. They didn't want a quote, unquote stranger to come and give them their diploma.
- [43:48]
John Brucato
Sure.
- [43:48]
Dr. Victor Hayek
So what I made sure was number one, that all the diplomas were signed by the principal before he passed away. So they were done already. And well, they were stamped after. So made sure that his name was the name that was on those diplomas. And I said, you know what? I'm not going to hire a principal for the rest of the year. And I'm going to, just for paperwork, I'm going to serve as the principal for the last four months. So I worked out of that high school for the last four months and acted as the principal handling the day to day activities and operations of that high school in addition to being the superintendent.
- [44:27]
John Brucato
Wow.
- [44:28]
Dr. Victor Hayek
And I think there was a lot of. It showed something to the community that I was listening. You know, it was easy, just bring somebody in on an interim basis and finish out the year and figure things out from. From there. But that was a challenging time. It was a tough time, was unfortunate. And, you know, I don't know, even thinking back today, if I would have handled it any differently, even, you know, I feel like every day we get smarter. But even looking back now, I don't know if I could have handled it any differently where I would say it would have been better. And, you know, we made it through the school year. We had the graduation, we had, you know, a tribute to him, and we moved on and then essentially eventually just found the new principal.
- [45:12]
John Brucato
I'm sure the students and the faculty appreciated that, and that probably sat really well with them, knowing that their request was honored. But you were able to kind of step in and steer the ship until the end of the school year.
- [45:24]
Dr. Victor Hayek
And I don't think I could have done that if I wasn't visible. Let's say you're superintendent and you didn't visit sites, you know, as often, and all of a sudden something like this happens, and then you say, well, all right, I get it, and I'm going to step in and serve as principal. Nobody knows who you are.
- [45:40]
John Brucato
Yeah. Now you're the stranger nobody wants, right?
- [45:42]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, yeah. But because I was visible, I believe it worked.
- [45:47]
John Brucato
Yeah, absolutely. So rarely can we be successful and go it alone. So can you talk to me about mentorship and what kind of role that played in your career development?
- [45:59]
Dr. Victor Hayek
So I've had mentors, both formal and informal. I've had mentors that don't even know they were my mentors. And I think we all have some of that a little bit. Right. We look up to some people and whether we're close with them or not. But some people say, well, it's jealousy. It's not jealousy. It's really admiring somebody's ambition and success and really watching what they do and learning from what they do. So the mentors that I had that helped shape me, you know, a lot of them were really informal. The formal mentors I had were, again, people on my team, and I was fortunate. So when I became. Or fortunate or unfortunate. When I became superintendent, I had to hire three new. Four new principals in a five school district. In a five school district. So I turned that to my advantage. And the principals, two of them came from inside, I think two came from outside. What we did, we grew together, and we were a new team that was learning together. We were learning to be leaders together. We were working together. We, we. Because we were all starting essentially at the same time. We were each other's mentors, you know, and to me, when, when we have mentors and when I'm, when I'm thinking about mentors, it's nothing to do with the hierarchy.
- [47:36]
John Brucato
I was going to say, does your mentorship know no bounds? I mean, can in the hierarchy of things, can maybe you as a superintendent, can a principal be a mentor for you? Because I think traditionally we just think it's always somebody who is at a, at a higher level, right?
- [47:51]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I don't think that that's, that's necessarily true that it has to be anyone above you. It's just another professional colleague. And myself. And we, myself and the principals, you know, again, growing together. We created a Thursday afternoon book study. We took a book and, you know, from every once a month, every Thursday we got together for one hour. We didn't talk about anything that happened during the day. We just talked about leadership management. You know, we, we, we talked about the contents of the book and, you know, how we can grow and develop as leaders. And then we left the other business stuff, you know, for the regular part of the workday. So it gave us an opportunity to learn and grow and, you know, very important to laugh with one another, to learn more about each other on a personal and professional level. And they became my mentors for my. The whole time I was there, to be honest with you. And I'm gonna say of those four principals, one, two. Two of them went on to become superintendents, one of them went on to become a high school principal. So I like to think that the leadership development that we did together not only help me, but help them. And I've always viewed it that way, that it's not about me. I learn as much from people that I hope that they learn as much from me.
- [49:21]
John Brucato
And do you think your mentors influenced your leadership style and has that evolved over time?
- [49:28]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah, they definitely have. We all have different personalities. So you have, you know, you have, you have people who are very staunch, rule followers, strict, and you have people who are very, you know, people, people pleasers. So you got like two extremes on that end. And seeing people from each of those ends and all the way through to the middle, I think are. Is very helpful because as long as you have an open mind, you pick up the best out of everyone that helps you. And you try to help others by sharing with Them whatever skills or characteristics or traits that you feel are, that you do very well and that could be valuable for somebody else. Everyone uses like sports analogies, I think of like head coaches, let's say for football, you know, they say there, there are discipline coaches and there are player coaches, right. So each can win, each has their own way, each has their own philosophy. But when you, when you have the combination and you can have the skills from both of those, then I think that makes you a ever growing better leader moving forward.
- [50:50]
John Brucato
So I have to ask, you're not a superintendent any longer. What made you return to the business official role?
- [50:57]
Dr. Victor Hayek
So when I being superintendent again, the rewarding and demanding at the same time. When I became superintendent, my youngest child was four.
- [51:09]
John Brucato
Oh wow.
- [51:10]
Dr. Victor Hayek
And that. And we had two kids, so it was four, three. And I felt like I was missing really a lot of time, the demands on, you know, this again, going back to the strategy being visible, you know, there was expectations. You go to the Friday night games, the football games, you go to every school play, there is expectations that you're out in the community. You know, whether it's weekend, you know, the PTA has a, has a fair on the weekend or this, you have to show your face and you have to be part of the community. And I think that's great. For me at that time, when my kids were so young, I felt like I was leaving the house at 6:37 in the morning. I wasn't coming home some nights till 9, 10 o'clock and this is like four or five nights a week. Then I had weekend activities and such. So I was giving up a lot of family time. So I felt maybe, you know, from a perspective of timing for me personally, that I don't know if I really wanted to do that, to give up the time with my family because I didn't feel I could do both successfully without sacrificing one or the other. I could have stayed a superintendent, would have sacrificed my family, I could have been my fam, you know, focused on my family, would have sacrificed my role as superintendent. And you know, it's really a personal choice and where you are in life and how much you know, you're, you're willing and you're able to give to a position because it is not a 9 to 5, Monday through Friday or position where, you know, it begins and ends in the workday at all. And you have to go in knowing that and I went in knowing that. And when it came time for me to make a decision, I decided that you Know, my family, the time with my family is really important to me, more so than my career. And I decided to, you know what? There's nothing wrong with being number two because I'm number one at home. And right now we got three kids and now they're older. And I've been to all their football games, their volleyball games, I've been to the baseball games, the plays, the school, the Halloween parades, all this stuff. And I don't think I would have been able to do all that stuff had I continued as the superintendent. At least not. You know, there's a saying, it says be here now. Right. You can be at a school play, but if your mind is not on watching your child and your mind is on what somebody posted on social media or you got to deal with something tomorrow or this or that, you're not really there. You may physically be there, but you're not there. And I recognized that early on and I didn't want to be that person.
- [54:05]
John Brucato
Yeah.
- [54:05]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Plus it's 24 inches in New Jersey. And I said, I don't want to work, I don't want to live here anymore.
- [54:10]
John Brucato
I think that's one of my favorite parts of your story. Only because I'm from the tri state area. Just, you know, you're over the snow, which I totally appreciate, and you're like, you know what, Screw it, I'm out of here. I'm going somewhere where I don't have to worry about feet and feet of snow every year. That's awesome.
- [54:26]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. And here I am in, in, in sunny California and looking tan as ever.
- [54:31]
John Brucato
By the way, as soon as you logged in, I was like, geez, Victor, what have you been hanging outside? I wish I could do that.
- [54:37]
Dr. Victor Hayek
It's great. I have, I have not a single regret. And you know, what is the superintendency in my future later on now that I still have an 11 year old. You know, my oldest graduated high school. I still have one in high school. Maybe, maybe in, in a, in a couple of years. But you know, I'm happy where I am and I, I work for a great superintendent and we have a good relationship and I don't know, who knows what the future brings, but I'm really happy. I've always enjoyed the business side and you know, at some point in time, maybe, maybe not, but.
- [55:11]
John Brucato
Well, that was going to be my question. I mean, what's next for you? You've run the gamut and you're back in the business office. Do you want to be superintendent again or is it Just kind of take it as it comes.
- [55:24]
Dr. Victor Hayek
I do. In the same context when I first became superintendent, I want to be part of a community.
- [55:29]
John Brucato
Sure.
- [55:30]
Dr. Victor Hayek
You know, and I think that the setting, the opportunity has to be right in order for me to do it. Because I don't want to be superintendent just to be superintendent. You know, I don't. Yeah.
- [55:44]
John Brucato
Just for title only.
- [55:46]
Dr. Victor Hayek
No. You know, too many people want to do for ego. And it's not about. It's not about ego for me. I want to, I want to actually make a, make a difference and be part of that community. And if that opportunity presents itself, I, it, I may go down that road again. But if it doesn't, again, the time that I got with my family and my kids, you know, now and, you know, the last however many years, it just so valuable to me that I wouldn't trade it for anything.
- [56:13]
John Brucato
Yeah. Victor, thanks for sitting down with me today and expanding on your article in October, School Business Affairs. It was so nice to kind of peel back and learn a little bit more about you and your journey and just your incredible trajectory from not knowing a lick of English to being a superintendent and now seemingly being very happy back in the, in the business office. So thank you.
- [56:33]
Dr. Victor Hayek
Yeah. Good seeing you, John. I appreciate the time. Thank you.
- [56:38]
John Brucato
Thank you. Tuning into School Business Insider. Make sure to check back each week for your favorite topics on school business.