The purpose of this study was to identify leadership skills desired in effective principals as valued by public school superintendents. The population of this study was superintendents in the Mid-Hudson Valley region of New York (N=121). The study employed quantitative data analysis procedures. Superintendents were asked to respond to 30 items on…

In all its complexity, the superintendent's role is an essential one--to the school district as an organization and social institution, to the greater system of which the school district is a part, and to the profession and field of education. Most directly, the role and person within it are essential to the overall welfare of the school…

The author reports on a promise to name a chief academic officer as second in charge of the New York City schools which paved the way for Cathleen P. Black to succeed Joel I. Klein as the district's next chancellor. The compromise plan, announced amid intensifying debate over her selection by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, won a state waiver…

The number of school districts needing to focus their attention on ensuring that their students are receiving a 21st Century education has grown considerably with the creation of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the looming deadline of the 2014-2015 school year when the new assessments will be given. The assessment dates,…

Administrative demands, crisis management, and political challenges often strand superintendents miles away from the day-to-day work of teachers and students in the classroom. Even when superintendents strive to focus their work on the instructional core--the interactions among student, teacher, and content--those same commitments and crises…

This article will consider the career of Massillon Alexander Cassidy, a Progressive Era school superintendent in Lexington, Kentucky, 1886-1928. The authors' review of school board records, personal letters, newspapers, and scholarly accounts, presents a rich outline of one man's career in public education that is illustrative of how progressive…

Superintendents know they work and live in a giant fishbowl. School board members, teachers, community members and the news media have been known to scrutinize what kind of vehicle they drive, who they socialize with outside of work, whether they drink alcohol, where they live and when they leave the house each morning. But when the harsh glare of…

Given the growth of cyber charter schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more research is needed in this new wave of school reform. In fact, little research currently addresses the perceptions that district leaders have in regard to cyber charter schools and that is what this study proposed to address. District leaders interviewed included…

District educational leaders throughout the nation are answering the call to action to provide both equitable and excellent schools for all learners, particularly for students who have been traditionally marginalized. Yet ironically, we know little about how district leaders are responding to this call as the voices of superintendents are scarcely…

This article examines the literature on medical rounds to inform the recent move toward instructional rounds as a practice of districtwide improvement and professional learning for superintendents and administrators. Based on the practice of medical rounds as a method for creating shared norms and understandings about medicine and patient care,…

During the last two decades the intensity and complexity of educational reform in the United States of America have heightened interest among policymakers, practitioners, and professors in large-scale, systemic change. As a consequence, superintendents are being viewed as pivotal actors in the complex algorithm for managing districts and leading…

Data and information are critical tools of school improvement. They are the foundation for making informed education decisions for our schools, districts and the state. The 2019 edition of the Annual Condition of Education Report (COE) marks the 30th edition of the Iowa Department of Education report. Much has changed in the past 30 years since…

The Washington State Board of Education (SBE) and the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) submitted this 6th biennial joint report to the Governor, Legislative Education Committees, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The report outlines the collaborative work of the Boards, highlights accomplishments, and provides goals and…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the factors that affect public school superintendent turnover in five western states. An explanatory theory was developed to cover all of the possible variables and show the relationship between those variables. The questions that guided this research study were: (1) What environmental…

The purpose of this research was to analyze trends in the United States regarding contract disputes that exist in school districts. Court cases were identified at the state and federal level to determine the outcomes and the fact patterns of contract disputes. To gain the knowledge of how courts handle cases of contractual breach, contracts…