Uses multidimensional ethical framework to critique 15 Virginia superintendents' responses to the achievement gap as measured by the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. Questions majority of superintendents' readiness to deal with moral and ethical issues related to achievement gap. (Contains 24 references.) (PKP)

Describes what motivates educators to become superintendents, what causes them to resign, and what school boards can do to increase the likelihood they will stay by reducing negative factors and increasing positive ones. (PKP)

Investigates superintendent searches to determine the degree of similarity between the leadership qualities and characteristics recommended by the Standards for School Leaders (Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium) and the superintendent qualities desired by school boards. Finds that school boards valued standards that emphasized…

Discusses superintendent's role in school-community relations. (Contains 13 references.)(PKP)

Examines the rankings of professional journals by superintendents hired from inside the school district compared with those hired from outside. Finds little or no differences between two groups in the rankings of four top journals: "Educational Leadership", "Phi Delta Kappan", "The School Administrator," and "The American School Board Journal."…

Uses nationwide survey to analyze superintendent attrition and supply patterns. Finds patterns are normal, thus dispelling the myth of a significant shortage. (Contains 50 references.) (PKP)

Findings are reported from a series of studies of staff development coordinators, principals, and superintendents carried out in Georgia. The staff development needs of the three groups are identified, ranked, and compared. Implications for staff developers are proposed. (IAH)

Before meeting with top-level administrative staff, a newly appointed superintendent should devise some working principles, such as disclosing management style, reviewing staff job responsibilities, meeting privately with each team member, listing school system problems and priorities for handling them, holding regular staff metings, delegating…

A survey of 835 former superintendents showed that the greatest superintendent turnover (16 percent) occurred in the smallest districts. Tenure was also affected by school board stability and expectations, salary, gender, educational attainment, district per pupil expenditure, age, ethnic background, and other variables. (MLH)

Using need theory as a framework, describes research examining top-rated school superintendents' needs for power, achievement, and affiliation. Identifies distinctive motivational profiles using the job choice exercise, supplemented by telephone interviews. Results indicated that need for power (coupled with low affiliation) was the dominant…

A relationship between a school board and a superintendent succeeds when both parties promise to cooperate, work at it daily, and check regularly to see how they are doing. Provides a 13-item checklist and diagnoses of score ranges. (MLF)

A western Maryland district that lost three weeks last year resulting from inclement weather avoided lengthening the school year by adding an extra period to the school day in March And April, canceling inservice days, and eliminating two school holidays. Ending classes at mid-June avoided overheated classrooms and interference with teacher…

To take fear out of public speaking, superintendents and other school executives are advised to have something interesting to say, set aside time to practice, use eye contact to advantage, pay attention to body language, be wary of using humor or gimmicks, lean toward relatively short presentations, keep abreast of current events, realize people…

Based on a 40-year-old superintendent's experience in an Ohio school district, this article examines 5 prevalent myths regarding job demands and priorities, teacher morale, new program implementation, and the need to study the whole picture. Successful superintendents build on previous experience by remaining accessible, being good listeners, and…

Superintendent dismissal cases may be grouped into two major categories (nonrenewals and terminations) that can be divided into three levels: cases based primarily on the contract, on legislation, or on constitutional rights. Superintendents have been much more successful in challenging terminations than nonrenewals. Numerous issues and cases are…