Offers superintendents advice on how to conduct themselves in job interviews with boards of education. Suggests that candidates clearly articulate to the board who they are and what they believe in educationally. (PKP)

Instead of a cast of characters, not unlike those of the television show "Seinfeld," school boards should be an ensemble. When a board collaborates in a trusting, positive atmosphere of mutual respect, these qualities are ultimately reflected in the classroom. Lists six questions that can help difficult boards find ways to work together. (MLF)

In an employment setting, psychological assessment focuses on the knowledge, skills, abilities, and characteristics that would lead to success in a specific assignment. Offers suggestions for selecting a psychologist and estimates costs. (MLF)

Interim superintendencies, signaling an interruption in administrative continuity, are growing in duration and number. The right interim superintendent at the right time can bring respite, focus, or unity to a troubled or divided district. Today's mobile, activist interims often make critical decisions affecting their districts' long-term future.…

Research suggests that professors of educational-leadership who come to university classrooms with broad public school administration experience are perceived by graduate students as more effective in teaching courses in school law, finance, and leadership theory. Retiring superintendents are advised about pursuing college teaching opportunities.…

When a crisis erupts in a school district, delivering a curt "no comment" to the news media is simply not adequate today. Open and honest communication is necessary to allay fears and dispel rumors. But knowing what to say, how to say it and who will say it can be difficult to determine in times of crises. Before troubles arise, it is wise to…

When a board member starts pushing an agenda different from the rest of the board and appears personally or emotionally involved in the matter, a superintendent can be put in a very difficult position, impairing the discharge of one's duties and responsibilities. From early on, board members need to be reminded that unlike almost every other…

In this article, the author suggests that if there is one thing that can be said about nontraditional superintendents--the men and women of business, government and the military who leave those fields to become school system leaders--it is that they never take the easy job. "School districts tend to look outside for a superintendent only when…

Not long after Dennis Roseleip received a superintendency appointment in his native state of Montana, the district's entire administrative team departed, leaving him to fill three principalships in the opening months of his new post. The sudden vacancies were not a statement on the choice of Roseleip, then 44, to lead the Cut Bank Public Schools…

This article presents a superintendent new to the Pinellas County, Florida, School District in 2004, who was looking for a way to connect and communicate with families across the county and found hosting in an online discussion or blog as a perfect tool. The blog gives him, as superintendent, a place to test ideas and challenge the status quo…

National attention to a possible superintendent shortage has created concern about the changing nature of the superintendency, particularly new challenges, and how superintendents are prepared. Through 23 focus group interviews, superintendents across the country described the challenges they faced when new, how these have changed in recent years,…

This author was once one of those nontraditional candidates who elected to leave a central office post in a metropolitan public school system, with ninety schools and four thousand five hundred teachers serving seventy-five thousand students, to head a six hundred private K-12 boarding/day school in rural Hawaii. While that had been a fulfilling…

Educators, political leaders, and the public in the United States share a broad consensus that school systems in the larger urban areas are not meeting the educational needs of the children they are charged to serve. The result has been a virtual explosion in alternative reform strategies. In one fascinating example, some cities have consciously…

In this article, the author discusses the importance of continuing to engage with students even when in an administration position. He states that a good superintendent has to be the personification of the resilient, reflective lifelong learner he or she wants the graduates to be. Sections in the article include: (1) Compelling Need; (2)…

Many of those who have never lived in a textbook-adoption state have never really understood the concept of "book depository." Depositories exist in many of the approximately two dozen textbook- adoption states. Florida is one of those states, and it is a major force in the national instructional materials market. The Florida book…