The 2020-21 AASA Superintendent Salary & Benefits Study marks the ninth consecutive edition of this study. The 2020-2021 version employed a slightly revised and updated survey instrument. The survey tracks the demographics, salary, benefits, and other elements of the employment agreements of school superintendents throughout the country. The…

This study examined the performance of superintendents and leaders of the Arab education system in Israel in reducing achievement gaps and promoting curricula that empower and advance students. In-depth interviews were conducted with school governance officials in an attempt to address these key issues: (1) The steps administrators in the Arab…

Across the country, school district superintendents are transforming into community school leaders. Responsible for systems of learning that also include school nutrition, bussing, safety, finances, community engagement, and so much more, superintendents recognize that they need a different strategy to effectively address the learning needs of the…

The Great Recession caused many school districts across the country to make numerous cuts in their annual budget models. As a result of these austerity measures, administrators often reduced arts education offerings. In the current study, we highlight how budget reductions in three districts negatively impacted music education curricula, and how…

We reviewed and synthesized 35 peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2014-2018 that investigated district leaders', principals', and/or teachers' interpretations of and experiences with Race to the Top teacher evaluation systems. We analyzed evidence of how educators' prior experiences, beliefs, values, organizational contexts, and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate New York State school superintendent job satisfaction and the potential contributing factors to their job satisfaction in an era of reduced resources and increased accountability. Sharp, Malone and Walter (2002) created a 49-item survey entitled the Positive Aspects and Motivation Survey and used it in…

While state policymakers are ultimately responsible for public schools statewide, their influence over local school districts has always been incomplete at best. State chiefs, the ostensible leaders of state education agencies, have limited powers and local school boards ultimately control most of the money and staff. As a result, when state…

A public school superintendent, as the chief executive officer in a district, is in a unique position to influence the programs addressing the needs of gifted students in that district. A superintendent's beliefs could impact program content, resource allocation, and priority status. This study looked at superintendents' perceptions of the North…

This case study is designed for aspiring principal and superintendent leadership candidates who are studying transitions, change theory in organizations, or board/superintendent relations. It examines the arduous process of closing a school and making huge cuts in a small district because of declining enrollment and expenditures that far…

This case study is the first known employing flow in educational administration in the United States. Using Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory and Dantley's purpose-driven leadership, an administrator's practices were examined with respect to two guiding questions: (a) is purposefulness integral to closing extant gaps in achievement, and (b) are the…

Since the late 1980s, standards for students and teachers began to be the focus of education, creating demands and pressures on school leaders to become more than managers of a school. This change of focus expanded to include principals and required school leaders to possess instructional leadership qualities beyond managerial skills. In 2010, the…

The purpose of this study was to identify successful strategies for the preparation, recruitment, and retention of women of color superintendents. The superintendents selected for this study were women of color who worked in urban districts in California, and had had the traditional experience of being a teacher, site administrator, and district…

The purpose of this study was to explore quality of life and demographic influences among Illinois school district superintendents. Quality of Life was defined as "individual's subjective evaluation of the degree to which his or her most important needs, goals, and values are fulfilled" (Frisch, 1992, p. 29) leading to general state of…

This descriptive qualitative case study examined how rural superintendents implement the eight turnaround principles to foster and sustain improvement in the school district organization. The eight turnaround principles are as follows: school leadership, school climate and culture, effective instruction, curriculum, assessment and intervention…

This qualitative phenomenological case study investigated the role of the superintendent in the design of schools. Superintendents wear many hats, which require them to be a listener, communicator, facilitator, manager, instructional leader, and planner (Copeland, 2013). Communicating with the constituents is essential and is synonymous with the…