In 2007, Salazar was honored with a $10,000 scholarship from the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The annual award recognizes him as an aspiring superintendent pursuing an advanced degree in education. He is currently working towards a doctorate of education in educational leadership.

Beyond the Book recently spoke with Salazar about his professional goals and the steps he's taken to achieve them.

SS: I am beginning my eighteenth year in administration. One of my assistant superintendents always reminds me that when I interviewed with the Sweetwater Union High School District, I immediately said that my long-term goal was to be superintendent. So here we are fifteen years later, and I still aspire to be superintendent. And with each position, I'm getting closer to the quality experiences needed to be effective in that role.

BTB: What first inspired you to enter the field of education?

SS: My mother was my first inspiration. She only had a high-school diploma and worked at a health facility for thirty-seven years in a very rural town in Southern California. When I see her, and witness what she has to deal with, it is an inspiration. She has a drive to always do better.

BTB: How have you taken advantage of leadership opportunities during your career?

SS: I always map out the challenges that are in front of me. For instance, three years ago I was at a high-performing school with dwindling achievement scores. The community was concerned. The superintendent asked me to make the school a flagship school because, based on demographics, it should have been performing at a higher level. Two years later, it was named a California Distinguished School. A focus on academics and data-driven instruction makes a big impact in terms of how the students learn. A lot of times, I believe as leaders we tend to focus on the good things that are happening and sometimes overlook the students who are barely making it or who are not making it at all. The data serves as a reminder.

Three years after joining the administration of that school—midway through the first semester—the superintendent came to my office and requested that I go to Southwest High School as principal. I asked if I had a choice in the matter and he said, "Kind of." So, I thought about it for twenty-four hours and came back with two pages of questions, one of which was where this experience would take me professionally. He said that he undoubtedly wanted me in the central office, sometime in the future.

Immediately, I went to the school's website and examined the data and the school site plan. I realized this was going to be the biggest leadership challenge of my life, both for professional and personal reasons. Professionally, I had never been at an underperforming high school. Personally, I would be working with a group of students who were primarily Mexican, like I am. I felt both areas of my personhood would be greatly impacted, so I accepted the challenge. Three weeks later, I was at Southwest High School, having started the semester at one school and ending at another.

Now that I've been at Southwest for almost three years, I can truly say that this experience has provided something in my leadership that otherwise would have been missing once I become superintendent. I believe as superintendent you need to have a system within which to build leadership capacity in the district. Looking at the school that I am currently in, I realized there were very few systems to establish those capacities. As I continued to progress in that school, I realized that leadership is not only about being an administrator, but about how I indirectly impact teacher leadership, which then directly impacts student learning. This is an area that I am investigating for my dissertation.

In addition, there's the whole notion of sustainability. When I leave a particular school, if I've done powerful things together with the staff, is the staff going to be able to sustain those practices? That is a big-ticket item, which I think is going to be a true measure of my success, and something that I never before viewed as a measure of my success.

BTB: At this stage in your career, would you like to continue to work with mentors?

SS: I certainly hope to work with mentors. Unfortunately, a lot of the people that I consider my mentors have either retired or passed on. As I look back at those mentors, I realize how much I trusted them. Their hearts were really in what they were doing and they were not at all self-serving. Also, they were bold and courageous, which means they put themselves on the line many times to get the right things done. All of these are the qualities that I look for in a mentor.

In a recent conversation with a close friend of mine, I mentioned how it bothers me that I haven't currently identified a mentor. Her response, which I thought was inspiring, was that maybe it's time for me to change my role, and become a mentor myself. Rather than seeking a mentor, I should become one for other people. This suggestion eased my mind. As I look to the future and consider what I've been doing for the last ten years, I am certainly heading in this direction. I had never seen myself in a mentor role because I always aspired to work with or was working with a mentor, and now I feel I have a different role and a new responsibility.

BTB: How would you characterize your leadership style?

SS: I am definitely a participative leader. I believe in creating leaders and in empowering those leaders who have not yet been identified within the ranks. I also strive for sustainability—ensuring that best practices implemented at a school site will continue after I leave. I am also a transformational leader. For example, I faced issues of institutional racism and quickly acted to lead a group of teachers, not all of color, to be systematic, sensitive, and equitable.

Being bold and developing trust in relationships is paramount. Also, I believe it is very powerful to know your coworkers and have them feel supported. I have a teacher in the middle school who announced within the district that I had received a scholarship. In particular, she thanked me for the leadership that I provided the school. She reminded me of the time ten years ago when I gave her a little stuffed gorilla that said, "You're number one." I think those special connections are indicative of someone's leadership and the impact that they have on people.

BTB: What do you believe are some of the greatest challenges that superintendents face today?

SS: Many challenges come to mind. I think that being sensitive to the community is a great challenge. When we work with the community, we have to be able to convince them that they can trust us. That's a difficult thing to do because sometimes we have the systems in place or the behaviors that demonstrate a welcoming environment for our community, but that's not always the case. We have to show them how their participation benefits student learning.

Another challenge is working with political agendas. How can we get to the heart of what the issues are? We have to consider how things are going to impact our students. I think it's difficult to be involved with all of these things and remain focused and committed to the students, who are our highest priority.

At my current site, I have a principal-student forum that meets twice a month to discuss school issues and take action. They comprise a student advisory committee that serves as an advocate for the school. I teach them how to conduct meetings and how to converse professionally with adults. It's important to include students in the process. Without surveying the students we are at risk of missing our goals.

BTB: What are your thoughts on people who do not have traditional professional experience pursuing the role of superintendent?

SS: I think you must have these day-to-day experiences—to be familiar with students who are high-performing and students who are low-performing—because then you experience the whole spectrum of learners. You gain balance. I see this whenever I attend meetings and listen to different leaders. The lack of traditional experience causes some concern in terms of what the central office may or may not be doing to address the needs of developing leadership. I constantly have conversations with assistant superintendents and the superintendent about what those needs are and how to proactively develop leadership sustainability in our district.

BTB: How do you intend to support and sustain your progress as a leader?

SS: The doctoral program I'm currently enrolled in has exposed me to various support resources. There are many in the program who aspire to be superintendents, and I look to the professors in the program, some of who have similar research interests. I work with them and listen to them. I see the passions they have identified in themselves. In building a trusting relationship, the whole connection for me comes when an individual shares the same passion and drive that I have.

In my years as an administrator, going from an assistant principal to a principal, I've learned that each new position brings a new perspective of me as a leader. In the role of principal, I had to demonstrate to teachers and staff that I would still be sensitive, and I had to ensure that my actions indicated my sensitivity toward their needs.

In my university experience, I am perceived as an overachiever. And ultimately, that's what I strive for with my school. I go to work everyday so that I can transform my school into the number one school in the district.