Urban school superintendents hold one of the most important and challenging jobs in America's education system. In this era of accountability and standards, superintendents are charged with making visible and rapid improvements in the academic achievement of the nation's most vulnerable children. They must break down barriers to reform and build…

This report is a follow-up to "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" (Williams, Kirst, Haertel, et al., 2010). That study specified a comprehensive set of actionable practices that differentiated higher academic achievement among 303 middle grades schools in California. In doing so, the study provided a compelling and coherent account of…

The South is part of a dramatic education reform movement championed by a group of progressive governors and motivated by a desire to improve the region's economic future by bettering the education of its work force. Most southern states have significantly raised certification standards, teacher salaries, and per pupil expenditure. Georgia's…

Much of what ails urban education is actually the result of continuous or fragmentary reform efforts. A study of 57 school districts shows how political pressures drive reform, and suggests ways to nurture a more focused agenda for urban schools. The chapters are: (1) "The Politics of Urban School Reform"; (2) "Organizational and Personal…

That the daily challenges facing public-school leaders can sometimes be overwhelming is the underlying theme of this report. The study on which the report is based focused on superintendents' and principals' views on and concerns about leadership. Data for the study were gathered in 2001 from surveys of 853 public-school superintendents and 909…

This manual is the result of a two-year study by Arizona State University involving identification and assessment of competencies needed in community education. The goal of the study is to help community educators (1) identify competencies needed for superintendents, principals, coordinators, and directors; (2) establish priority rankings for…

This investigation focused on two basic areas: (1) administrators' ratings of their institutions, job roles, and educational problems and issues, and (2) the perceived effects of collective bargaining on schools and colleges. The study sample included high school principals, school superintendents, and community college presidents within the…

This document is the result of a 1977-78 study by the department of educational administration, Arizona State University, to identify and field test competencies determined to be essential in four community education roles: superintendent, district coordinator, principal, and building level director. The monograph discusses the question of role…

A need for research and development in community education competencies was the impetus of this study. Community educators identified and field tested competencies determined to be essential in four community education roles: superintendent, district coordinator, principal, and building level director. Results showed that participants in this…

Eight and one-half percent of the school district superintendents in the United States responded to questionnaires in 1985 concerning their opinions about education, their roles and working conditions, their relations with school boards, their backgrounds and professional interests, and the characteristics of their districts. Tabulations of the…

In April 1993, the Alaska Department of Education conducted an instructional technology survey of all schools and school districts. The purposes of the survey were to collect baseline data on the numbers and types of technologies for instruction currently employed in Alaska schools, to collect information on utilization of the technologies, to…

Responses from 1,246 school superintendents to a nationwide survey provide a comprehensive look at their opinions, status, and experiences. The superintendents were selected from a random sample of 1 in every 10 school districts in the country, with additional districts selected to ensure statistically meaningful sampling of districts at all…

The trend of educational development is toward the State board of education as the administrative head of the educational system. In 37 of the 48 States in the United States there are State boards of education with functions relative to the public schools; in one other, Minnesota, there is a State board with functions relative to the public high…