As public education undergoes profound changes, school superintendents must join the dialogue surrounding this evolution in schools. Strategies for doing this are presented here. The book focuses on connecting the practical with the intellectual in ways that will make sense to people who are daily inundated with practical problems. It supports the…

This publication comes in answer to many requests for a brief study of forums which engage the interests of young people. It presents a summary of much material which has flowed into the Office of Education as a result of its sponsorship of community wide public forums. It is presented to educators and laymen in the hope that it will give valuable…

The "Educational Directory" is released in four parts as rapidly as the data become available. This first part of the 1935 directory, published by the Office of Education, focuses on State and county school officers. The contents include: (1) United States Office of Education; (2) Principal State school officers; and (3) County and other…

Reviews major aspects of the school negotiation process and advises superintendents and administrators to select and clarify the superintendent's approach to collective bargaining, study past contracts and bargaining situations, organize a negotiating team, and help all board members understand their role in the negotiation process. (Author/MLF)

Data from 45 school districts in western South Dakota indicate that the principal administrative problem of rural superintendents is maintaining a quality staff of teachers who can work with the unique strengths and weaknesses found in a rural setting. (CM)

Data on perceived sense-of-power and perceived threat-of-sanction, gathered from a probability sample of 129 Detroit suburban teachers through questionnaires and interviews, indicate both the principal and superintendent are perceived as controlling curriculum decision making. Teachers feel that they should be major curricular influence, but it is…

Describes the characteristics of school superintendents, research and training programs for their improvement, and shifts in the social, economic, and political milieu which have caused changes in their role and functions. (Author/MJL)

Describes a survey of superintendents from 116 districts that asked them about important concerns and current and future major problems. Concerns included communications and public relations; and problems included staff conflicts and finance difficulties. (JM)

The job behaviors of local school superintendents were self-reported along four dimensions: (1) the issues addressed; (2) the individuals contacted; (3) behaviors performed; and (4) information sources used. The job profiles obtained were contrasted with reported findings for chief executive officers and managers in the private sector. (Author/GDC)

Examines two reform efforts that indicate promising strategies for changing and improving urban school district decision- and policy-making systems, particularly as those systems reflect the relationships among boards of education, school superintendents, and the school district bureaucracy. (Author/IRT)

Surveyed 1500 school district superintendents nationwide to determine why teachers are placed on probation. Found that, from 230 responding districts, 139 teachers were placed on probation the first year, with the number increasing to 156 in the second year and declining to 64 the third year. Proposes that teachers be involved in their own…

A severe space crunch and dismal academic performance prompted a Texas school district to adopt multitrack year-round education. Six years later, crowding is under control and test scores and attendance are up. In an interview, the superintendent and assistant superintendent discuss the district's success with this controversial schedule. (MLF)

The common ground process is an ongoing effort for inviting, scrutinizing, debating, and selecting ideas or making decisions about improving schools. Superintendents should assign a full-time communications person to executive staff, create a communications team, conduct a full-scale communications audit, listen better, urge the silent majority to…

Discusses the political nature of urban school districts, the job of urban school superintendents, and the continuing impact of Brown v. Board of Education. Examines demographic changes experienced in many urban areas since Brown; highlights the impact of white flight, federal and state education policy, and school takeovers on urban districts;…

Examines superintendents', principals', and teachers' coping strategies for dealing with externally imposed problems or disruptive change in four Manitoba school divisions. Identifies seven major coping strategies and analyzes them in terms of strategic choice theory versus environmental determinist theory. Contains 30 references. (SV)