The spouse of a former superintendent provides suggestions for minimizing, though never eliminating, harmful repercussions on their mates. Expectations of being a public persona, socializing with board members, sacrificing free time, responding to public criticism, and dealing with boards' private agendas demand creative coping approaches.…

Experience and research on superintendents reveal the enormous conflict and tension in a changing, ambiguous position. This article discusses the significance of "outsider" superintendents. It examines how outsider status (negatively) influences superintendents' effectiveness, how these effects can be reduced, and whether women and minorities…

Introduces a theme issue that focuses on the vulnerability thesis as it relates to public-school superintendents and what that means for superintendent-education programs and the practice of school supervision. The issue is designed to reexamine earlier work by Callahan (1962) and indicate where others have misread, misinterpreted, and misused…

In discussing school superintendent vulnerability, the paper addresses diverse meanings among scholars of Callahan's vulnerability thesis, highlighting other articles within this theme issue. The paper reflects on discussions of Callahan's "Education and the Cult of Efficacy" before its 1962 publication and investigates the relation…

Despite greater job pressures, school system leaders can find their shining moments in advocating for children and their learning. As visionary leaders, superintendents must confront four challenges: local and state school-governance complexities, school funding for teachers and facilities, accountability for student performance, and…

To overcome cynicism, a New Jersey superintendent used his bully pulpit to convene community members in dialog about their schools' future. Enlightened public engagement led to facility improvements, technology infrastructure funding, expanded afterschool programs, critical-issues forums, state-aide advocacy efforts, and a culture of…

Public confidence figured significantly in the Rockwood (Missouri) School District's improvement efforts. Rockwood's public-engagement strategy is based partly on meeting people where they live and work and partly on Spotlight Productions, a conceptual visual and performing arts/community-education center that allows observation of school programs…

Telephone interviews with several California principals and superintendents disclosed inconsistent principal-evaluation procedures. Principals said they were concerned about possible negative influences of covert superintendent and/or board agendas and district micromanagement of schools on their evaluations. Strategies for improving practice and…

Although many superintendents remain leery of the charter reform movement, some (in Flagstaff, Arizona; Springfield, Massachusetts; and San Carlos, California), see beyond threats to a districtwide innovation model. Taking charters' lead, Flagstaff opened a magnet school and a full-day kindergarten. Another superintendent chartered his entire…

In the summer 1996 issue of this journal, Donal M. Sacken analyzed 252 cases of administrator-initiated litigation arising from adverse personnel decisions. Chester C. Kent criticizes Sacken for specifically: (1) the indiscriminate mixture of involuntary demotions with demotions and terminations for cause; (2) creating a nontraditional format as a…

In a school-based decision-making environment, a primary role of central office leadership is preparing school councils to carry out their responsibilities effectively. Challenges include reluctant participants, time constraints, the tendency to administer, and legal complexities. A Kentucky school district has developed a forum where…

To succeed, educational leaders must be able to forge working relationships with many people and be mediators and mentors, negotiators and networkers. Administrators must be self-confident, be able to modulate emotions, be unusually persuasive, cultivate positive relationships, and continually develop their emotional intelligence. The right kind…

Creating a theory of school leadership involves adopting an all-encompassing perspective that includes the entire school landscape. One sidebar quotes Thomas Sergiovanni on forging covenants on a school's shared values; a second summarizes standards for school leaders called for by the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium; and a third…

Two eastern superintendents explain how to develop sportsmanship in interscholastic athletics. A summit meeting in Superintendent Ritacco's district produced a policy governing sportsmanlike behavior in district athletics programs and community youth leagues. Superintendent Kerr's board embedded sportsmanship in a larger athletic philosophy that…

A principal must identify a school's existing culture before attempting to change it. Expectation diagnosis is an interactive, four-step process for diagnosing and reshaping school culture and climate. Superintendents who ignore individual schools' climate and culture may be overlooking early indicators of declining achievement. (MLH)