Successful schools are founded on quality teaching; high, universal academic standards; adequate books, materials, and supplies; safe, well-maintained facilities; and staff accountability. Successful superintendents and other leaders possess four traits: honesty and integrity, clear and simple vision, high expectations, and courage to make hard…

Compares the role of the superintendent with that of a National Football League (NFL) referee. Both jobs require intellectual and mental preparation, calmness, and consistency. Also compares the school board role with that of NFL director of officiating and the director's evaluation team. (LMI)

A survey of 90 superintendents participating in the Ohio Institute for Effective Leadership valued effective oral and written communication skills and strong interpersonal skills most highly. Leadership success also depends on being visible and accessible, having a sense of humor, being caring and compassionate, keeping a sense of balance,…

A Minneapolis superintendent presents diary excerpts of his three-year experience and dispels myths about improving education. He argues the futility of believing that more, less, or private is better; that educators are nincompoops; or that money talks. Transforming education requires core goals, customer support, consequences (accountability),…

Since Spring 1995, a Bedford, New York superintendent and her district have been virulently attacked by two parents who initially accused them of promoting Satanism, exemplified in an after-school game called Magic: The Gathering. These parents are now attacking drug prevention programs, various homework assignments, and literature selections. The…

School attorney suggests strategies related to personnel selection and dismissal that superintendents can employ to reduce the risk of special-education litigation. (PKP)

Reviews the pros and cons of hiring an external consultant to conduct a superintendent search. School board members are advised to exercise caution in choosing a consultant and to vigilantly oversee the consultant's work. (LMI)

The Educational Research Service's 1996-97 National Survey of Wages and Salaries in Public Schools reports average salaries of $80,176 paid to assistant superintendents, $65,797 paid to directors of business and finance, and $39,580 paid to classroom teachers. Salaries for chief business officials have kept pace with those of classroom teachers.…

Examines the increasing tensions in the local governance structures of American urban public education by discussing variations in local political processes. Addresses ways in which the legal system can balance the needs of mayors who seek a greater role in reforming school governance with the needs of boards of education eager to maintain their…

Investigates teachers' and superintendents' perceptions of principal leadership behaviors of female secondary principals in randomly selected Ohio school districts, using Philip Hallinger's Principal Instructional Management Scale. In areas such as framing and coordinating school goals, supervising instruction, coordinating curriculum, and…

Advice about the role of the superintendent in the grievance and arbitration process: Be sure you are not violating the teachers' contract; check past practice; examine the basis of your decision; work closely with the school board's attorney; and plan for future related questions. (MLF)

Describes common characteristics of effective leaders, such as insight, strong interpersonal skills, self-growth, flexibility, and communications. Includes examples of effective leadership provided by an assistant superintendent, a middle-school principal, and an elementary-school principal. (PKP)

Interviews with married women superintendents and some of their husbands indicate the importance of developing a relationship of mutual support. (MLF)

Describes a New York school district's experience with using an assessment center to help select the superintendent. The key was designing in-basket and role-playing exercises to test candidates' competencies and training board members to evaluate results properly. (MLH)

Judgment analysis was used to determine whether 65 superintendents of large and medium school districts used all available information to make decisions about effective educational programs in simulated environments. Superintendents judged 75 numerical profiles of environmental conditions. Subjects relied on only part of the available information…