"Cure Student Underachievement" is the culmination of the authors' research, practice, and experience as principals, superintendents, graduate professors, and consultants in efforts to improve school performance and increase student achievement. Searching for the real causes of underperformance, the authors explored problem-solving strategies in…

"Creating a Successful Leadership Style" gives practical applications supported by real experiences. It presents the actual situations a principal or assistant principal faces on a day-to-day basis and provides strategies to address them. These strategies derive from a leadership style that is people oriented and designed to elicit positive…

Explains how to manage grievance adjudication rather than be managed by it. (Author/JM)

Pitfalls presented in this guide to introducing microcomputers into school curricula include treating the change as magic, rushing to gain publicity, and changing by administrative fiat. Steps outlined to avoid such pitfalls include developing board policy and administrative procedures, acting on committee recommendations, and establishing a…

The author gives illustrative examples of the application of creative problem solving to a variety of problems facing educational administrators. Sections address the areas of organization, finance, public relations, professional growth, curriculum, extracurricular activities, and stress management. (SW)

The team administration model used in the Rio Linda School District is explained, including a definition of the concept, organizational structures, general operations, and problem solving strategies. (SJL)

An accessory to a principal's repertoire of techniques used in managing administrative task areas is the role of the principal as an administrative gamesman. (Author/MLF)

A discussion of the student activities administrator's role in solving substantial problems on the job looks at typical difficult situations and offers models for dealing with them. Each model consists of five practical steps for problem resolution. Situations addressed include emergencies, motivational crises, and externally imposed…

Problem solving and decision making are considered to be keys to successful management. A normative method for problem solving is presented, suggesting that the analysis of the problem be structured along a five-step procedure: problem identification, analysis, decision alternatives, decision making, and decision implementation. Follow-up…

Encourages the library manager to develop a facility for "reframing," or seeing a situation from several viewpoints in succession. This technique can aid in problem solving and in effecting change in organizational culture. Frames listed include structural, human-resource related, political, or symbolic, and practical considerations…

Addresses numerous problem areas in today's schools, including student absenteeism, teacher attendance, the lack of administrative time devoted to instructional supervision, the infrequency of student assemblies and faculty meetings, inadequate faculty development, low scholastic requirements, the need for a tenured teacher policy, administrative…

School superintendents asked to relate the most difficult personnel problems of their careers and how they dealt with those crises agreed that sensational cases are easier to handle than those requiring delicacy and patience. Anecdotes illustrate the superintendents' problems and their solutions. (MLF)

Chapter 11 in a volume on school leadership, this chapter draws from the work of many authorities to define and classify conflict and present techniques for its management in schools. Emphasizing that conflict can have positive or creative as well as negative or destructive results, the author notes that all conflict need not be resolved. He…

This paper attempts a description of some of the problems principals face, along with suggestions for solving them. The main focus is on discipline and dealing with student misconduct, but relations with parents, teachers, and police are also considered. (Author/SJL)

Provides guidelines to help reading professionals in administrative positions develop an awareness of conflict, become sensitive to situations that typically cause conflict, and begin to learn effective management strategies. (ARH)