When superintendent Calvin Baker of the Vail School District in Vail, Arizona, substituted laptops for textbooks in Vail's first 1-to-1 high school in 2005, he saw that his district now had the freedom to purchase digital content the way he purchased digital music. "People would say, "So, what digital textbook are you going to use?"…

House Bill 1 became a major piece of legislation in Texas a few years ago. It was designed primarily to address public school finance, property tax relief, public school accountability, and education-related matters. This piece of legislation has forced districts to manage their finances very differently, undergo budget reductions, and continue…

Providence, Rhode Island, is one of those gritty eastern mill towns that wears its centuries-old history on its sleeve. Like many American cities, Providence is home to a struggling public school system with chronically low-performing schools. They include Roger Williams Middle, where last year only 17 percent of eighth-graders scored at or above…

Having a united board behind a superintendent can facilitate noteworthy change within a district. In contrast, having a split board of trustees that habitually votes a divided count on every significant issue can stall progress and programs, ultimately bringing down student achievement and success. The purpose of this research was to examine how…

This single-case study addresses the lack of qualitative research describing the instructional role of the superintendent. Guiding this study are two research questions, "How does the goal implementation process as an element of the superintendent's organizational approach impact student success?" and "How does defined autonomy as…

It is not known what specific characteristics or tools are necessary for a superintendent to be a successful instructional leader, and the influence that being female may play in the effectiveness of their instructional leadership. Firestone and Riehl (2005) pointed out that research on superintendent leadership has rarely looked at the impact on…

The context of leadership in the public school has become increasingly complex with the pressures of high stakes testing and accountability, changing student demographics, and financial challenges. Stakeholders must work together to develop effective strategies to increase student academic performance. Successful superintendents must optimize…

More than 10 years ago, the author wrote her first version of "The Power of One" for the "Journal of Staff Development." She described her personal journey of discovering how one person could make a huge difference in the face of what appeared as insurmountable challenges. She described ways in which she had made such a difference and told,…

For decades, school district offices, superintendents and school boards have been cast as "villains" in the drama of school reform and raising student achievement. This article presents research encompassing a different view of district leadership as the possible "hero" in these efforts. Recent studies by Harvard University…

A superintendent's job requires taking care of people--children first, then faculty and staff, the board of education, parents and anyone else who strides through a superintendent's door. At the end of the day, no one really takes care of superintendents but themselves. Their well-being is directly linked to their state of minds, the health of…

Joy does not come easily to superintendents. The path is often strewn with conflict, adversity and crises. In their own experience supporting superintendents across the country, the authors have learned that joy in the face of adversity accrues primarily to superintendents who demonstrate the elements of resilience. Resilient superintendents…

The ability to hold a successful bond election is a vital part of the superintendency in Texas. Aging facilities, increasing student enrollments, and technological needs exacerbate the need to gain community support for capital improvement projects. Appropriate facilities are needed not only for the physical space they provide, but also because…

Kelvin Adams, who takes over next week as the St. Louis schools' seventh superintendent since 2003, will arrive already familiar with the dynamics of a district under state supervision. Still, the leadership and management challenges he faces are daunting. The St. Louis schools have been run since June 2007 by an appointed, three-person Special…

The need for educational administrators at all levels has been the subject of much attention for many years now. The shortage seems evident. The numbers of qualified applicants for principal and superintendent vacancies seems at an all time low according to local personnel departments and human resource officers. Where there previously had been 20…

The purpose of this study was to look at the relationship between selected Texas public school superintendents and school boards to determine the communication factors that help to make for stronger relationships. This study attempted to describe the relationship between the superintendent and school board in terms of effective communication…