Identifies common assumptions and fallacies that greatly increase superintendents' risk of job failure. Knowing how to enlist others to assist with a career crisis and designing a "golden parachute" retirement plan can make all the difference to a superintendent planning a career move. (MLH)

To attack their community's homeless student problem, the Houston Board of Education last February opened a "lighted schoolhouse" as a temporary shelter. Houston's superintendent, Joan Raymond, is convinced that more school districts will need to provide residential care. The 20 children using the shelter were turned over to Children's…

Describes the work and personal experiences of two female school superintendents, how they view themselves as professionals, the concerns they have in relation to their jobs, and how these concerns relate to their being women. How they balance their roles as women and superintendents is explored. (SLD)

Uses two theoretical frameworks to examine principal effectiveness: a taxonomy of necessary people-management skills and the professional socialization process. Surveys 450 principals and 208 superintendents in California who had been appointed to their present position in 1989 or later. Results show strong agreement regarding critical skills for…

The psychological fallout of school restructuring can paralyze central office staff. Superintendents need effective incentives to keep people engaged in organization-building. They must create a trusting, risk-taking environment, develop a shared mission, empower staff to make decisions, provide learning opportunities, afford professional…

Describes how the Cincinnati (Ohio) Public Schools reorganized to achieve a 50% reduction of central-office jobs. Downsizing aims to reduce the organization's size and create a new organizational culture that is more efficient, leaner, and more responsive. Superintendents must set institutional goals, create a new organizational chart, decide who…

Describes the experiences of four superintendents who put upholding the law--and satisfying their own conscience--ahead of political pressure. (MLF)

In this interview, John Forte, Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools' assistant superintendent for general services, explains how he uses his training and professional experience to oversee a smoothly running operation in one of the nation's largest school districts. His real challenge is providing extra support to students in low-income areas.…

A California school board approved a transition scheme that involved a five-month overlap period during which the soon-to-retire superintendent was joined by a deputy superintendent. The deputy superintendent's primary responsibility was to get acquainted with the district. Separate impressions from each person are offered to help other school…

A veteran school leader advises aspiring superintendents to focus their job search according to desired geographical area, type of community, and salary range and to prepare thoroughly for interviews. On-the-job success strategies include watching professional image, finding out about predecessors, communicating educational goals, honing public…

The Management Profile, an integrated appraisal method designed to determine school leaders' individual strengths and weaknesses, is a three-tiered model of leadership roles, functions, and tasks. After receiving a confidential report profiling their individual management characteristics, administrators can develop a professional development plan…

The traditional trustee-superintendent relationship is based on trustees' lack of direct access to knowledge and both parties' expectation that the paid expert (the superintendent) should do the work. This article calls for a drastically revised board-superintendent relationship and outlines new ways to recruit board members and move current…

Opponents depict outcome-based education as an unproven one-size-fits-all experiment. Uncompromising attacks, principally from conservative Christian groups and tradition-minded parents and educators, are obstructing meaningful reform and costing some superintendents their jobs. Sidebars show how certain districts responded to the backlash, decode…

Mastering the new professional standards for superintendents is important, but courageous risk-taking, timing, and judgment are the "heart-and-soul" factors of leadership. The usual board/superintendent relationship is inconsistent with site-based management and building autonomy. Perhaps boards should develop a clearly defined set of performance…

Following the August 1991 state takeover of the Paterson (New Jersey) Schools, the new district superintendent launched a program to improve the city's four worst elementary schools. The process involved creating an administrative team to evaluate principals and school programs, replacing key staff, forming a partnership with Columbia University's…