On the morning of Dec. 12, 2006, hundreds of federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended upon six Swift and Co. meat-packing plants in Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Utah affecting communities. These federal crackdowns on illegal immigrants reverberate in schools too, forcing superintendents to confront some…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the interactions among superintendents' chief executive school officers, multicultural attitudes and actions for children from marginalized populations. Design/methodology/approach: Members of the American Association of School Administrators, 945 school superintendents, completed the self-reported,…

This article reports how superintendents and school principals nationwide have been working to find the right balance in easing public concerns about a drug-resistant bacterium that has sickened students in dozens of states this year and caused the reported deaths of at least four young people in the last month. Even as they have acted…

The study was designed to provide information on Hispanic administrators in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The data was obtained from Kentucky school Superintendents or their designees in 175 public school districts. The Hispanic survey contained six questions. The survey was mailed to Kentucky Superintendents on April 21, 2008. A follow-up survey…

Amid stepped-up school accountability pressures under the No Child Left Behind Act, many teachers appear to be adjusting how they do their jobs. However, principals and district leaders are not necessarily in control of those instructional changes, a new study concludes. Using data collected through surveys of math teachers, principals, and…

Proponents of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) hail it as vital legislation that supports a civil rights agenda because of explicit recognition that achievement gaps are unacceptable. One way to make sense of NCLB's impact on school divisions and to understand whether NCLB recognizes the complexity of why minority and low-socioeconomic-background…

When Jerry D. Weast became the superintendent of the Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools in 1999, he spent the summer poring over student-achievement results and demographic trends. Then he created a map to illustrate what he'd found. The map divided the suburban district, just outside the nation's capital, into two distinct areas, which…

Background: Massive retirements, increased expectations, and mounting political pressures have resulted in a diminished talent pool for school superintendents. For school boards of the 124 school districts on Long Island, New York, the selection of a superintendent has been further complicated by sky-rocketing taxes and scandals leading to an…

The long-term concern relative to education inequity indicates that the nation's youth will not be adequately prepared for the global and highly competitive marketplace of the 21st century (Casner-Lotto & Barrington, 2006). Initiatives to address this concern persist, including the creation of the virtual charter school (Vanourek, 2006;…

Since the passage of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a superintendent's role has been redefined and more focus has been placed on student achievement. Research demonstrates that rural public schools are faced with an educational crisis. Rural districts are faced with an epidemic of declining enrollments/budgets, increased drop-out rates, low…

Fourteen questions to help a board decide what it will do if its teachers go on strike. (IRT)

Notes on topics such as verbal and nonverbal cues for ending a conversation; attitudes of unmarried couples living together; and responsibilities of school superintendents. (JF)

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), as the representative of the top school executives in all 50 states and six territories, is one of the most influential education organizations in the country. (Author/MLF)

ADDRESSED PRIMARILY TO SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, THIS BOOKLET IS BASED ON RESEARCH AND THE EXPERIENCE OF SOUTHERN SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS IN INSTITUTING FACULTY DESEGREGATION. EXISTING PRACTICES AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS ARE OUTLINED. THERE IS ALSO AN ANNOTATED SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. THIS DOCUMENT IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR 50 CENTS FROM…

Role expectations for the public school superintendent have outstripped the capacity of most individuals to fill them. Superintendents must now deal with an ever-increasing number of political interest groups who raise complex issues for the school system. In light of these developments, the tenure of superintendents is politically hazardous as…