This article reports the findings of a snapshot study of the superintendency conducted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). The findings revealed that superintendents were evaluated highly by their boards, but the number of leaders who received the highest ratings have declined during the past six years. The report, which…

This article features Long Beach Unified School District, the 2003 winner of a prestigious prize in urban education. The district of more than 90,000 students is the first winner of the award to return to the competition as a finalist. Its reappearance on the list after earning the prize in 2003 raises interesting questions about how districts…

While many people are just getting comfortable with the Internet and e-mail, Web 2.0 technologies are already changing the playing field for education. Though definitions of Web 2.0 vary, the one constant is that Internet users are now content providers rather than content receivers. The top-down approach of the Web has been replaced with users…

In late 1999, philanthropist Susie Buffett wanted to make the smartest possible investment to improve public education in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. She and her then-foundation president, Dan Pedersen, spoke with Superintendent John Mackiel regarding how he would choose to use private funds to enhance opportunities for Omaha's 46,000…

The purpose of this study was to redress the paucity of research regarding superintendents and their role in implementing parent and community involvement policies. Another aim was to examine which types of parent and community involvement practices, if any, may be related to student achievement. A mixed methods inquiry was applied. The Measure of…

Since the introduction of computers into the public school arena over forty years ago, educators have been convinced that the integration of computer technology into the public school classroom will transform education. Joining educators are state and federal governments. Public schools and others involved in the process of computer technology…

The purpose of this study was to examine the existence and implications of relational aggression toward female educational administrators. This qualitative study examined the impacts of relational aggression toward ten female superintendents, their observations of relational aggression in the workplace, strategies to overcome relational…

No Child Left Behind has increased the demand for evidence of student achievement in America's public schools. As a result, the importance of the role of superintendent as instructional leader has increased. Some superintendents have responded to this demand by mandating that principals increase their presence in classrooms; yet, research on…

With an emphasis on the role of local school administrators, this study focused on a change model for occupational education programs involving: (1) motivation, (2) structure and authority, (3) goal development, (4) resources, (5) mobilization, and (6) outcomes. The study, based on interviews with 23 public school superintendents, revealed that…

Presents case histories of four fictitious superintendents to exemplify a few personal characteristics that can lead to failure. (Author/IRT)

School superintendents and assistant superintendents discuss the stress of their jobs and the ways in which they cope with that stress. (IRT)

This report begins with background information on the demographic changes affecting Wyoming public education. Following that, there is a short section on the methodology used for this report. The next section provides a general description of the principal and superintendent workforces, which is followed by a short section on leader certification.…