Steeped in a distinctive view of leadership, graduates of the Broad Superintendents Academy have landed some of public education's top jobs. In this article, the author features the Broad Superintendents Academy, a program established by Eli Broad's Foundation which spends roughly $45,000 to train each of the business executives, military…

When confronted with the problems of urban school districts, such as an ever-increasing achievement gap, the underfunding of school districts, increased shortages of qualified teachers, greater emphasis on accountability, and the loss of public confidence, African American superintendents have considerable difficulty leading their school…

Amidst the hustle and bustle and stress and strain of their professional lives, public school leaders often put their own physical well-being at the bottom of the priority list. What they forget is how important physical health is to their overall health and effectiveness as leaders. The author invited five veteran school system leaders to…

What are the financial rewards and job protection provisions currently being negotiated into superintendent employment contracts? This article presents the results of a study of superintendents' contracts in three states--South Carolina, Florida, and North Carolina. All 268 superintendents in the three states were surveyed and an analysis made for…

This article presents an interview with Jim Hirsch, an associate superintendent for technology at Plano Independent School District in Plano, Texas. Hirsch serves as a liaison for the open technologies committee of the Consortium for School Networking. In this interview, he shares his opinion on the significance of open source in K-12.

As the nation emerged from the Great Depression and as the world hurtled toward a Second World War, the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) re-examined the purpose of American Education. AASA joined with the National Education Association to convene an Education Policies Commission that set forth "four great groups of…

This case presents contemporary issues confronting a school district where school leaders must take a role in leading staff to develop greater insight into issues of social justice. The story is set in a suburban village school district that has recently seen an influx of immigrants moving into the community. The school district needs to change…

This article examines a partnership that developed among a superintendent, a community college administrator, and a four-year college administrator to deliver secondary and postsecondary education to a Midwestern high school district and its neighboring communities. This partnership helped transform the process of transition from high school to…

The position of the superintendency is a critical and influential one. It sets the strategic goals for teaching and learning for school divisions throughout the United States. It serves as a role model for future school leaders. The educational programs provided to students in public schools have a significant impact on the success of our youth.…

The American education system is failing Latina/o students. Despite their significant representation in the student population, Latina/o students struggle in overcrowded, under-resourced schools and are too often limited to vocational curricula instead of college-bound options. About half of Latina/o students complete their K-12 education, and…

Fourteen years ago, as the Director of the Montana Rural Education Center at the University of Montana-Western, the author undertook the first comprehensive study of rural teachers' salaries and benefits in the state. This study is the fourth in fourteen years. Not only does it provide a clear picture of the salaries and working conditions of the…

Using a blend of social constructionism, critical feminism, and dialogue theory, the discourse of nine Manitoba superintendents is examined to determine if it illustrates particular gendered assumptions regarding superintendents' leadership style. Qualitative inquiry and analysis methods were utilized to identify emerging themes, or topics of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify factors of parent satisfaction, then identify predictors of overall school satisfaction among three groups of variables: district characteristics, parent demographics, and school satisfaction factors. Despite the importance of parents in the success of schoolchildren, few empirical studies address…

In most districts, the evaluation of superintendents by the members of the board of education takes place in executive session of the board behind closed doors. Few board members or superintendents question the status quo. Most evaluation forms are merely collections of subjective checklists that catalog approved personality traits, attributes,…

This article profiles Nate Greenberg, a superintendent of the Londonderry (NH) School District who viewed action research as a means for supporting libraries, which he sees as central to education. During the past six years, Londonderry's cascade of action-research projects (led by librarians) has tackled challenges such as how to get high school…