A large, urban school district in the southeastern region of the United States found that leaders supplied by universities lacked skills needed to meet its accountability challenges. Because the school district demands highly effective leaders for its growing schools, an Aspiring Leader Program (ALP) was established to train its future assistant…

Research (Goodman, Fulbright, & Zimmerman, 1997; IEL, 2001) supports that the most critical decision a school board has to make is its selection and appointment of a superintendent to lead the district toward its mission of effective schooling for all students. Given that board members hold influential power in this regard, what competencies…

In U.S. public schools, a limited number of women have attained the position of superintendent. Consequently, there has been limited research focusing on understanding the position from a woman's perspective. The purpose of this study was to add to the body of literature focusing on women's ideas and beliefs about leading schools. A survey that…