Leadership: An Agenda for School Improvement, Six Steps to an Effective Mentoring Program, Effectively Embracing the Political Challenges of the Superintendency, and Exerting Leadership Through the Budget-Building Process 

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Contents

Leadership: An Agenda for School Improvement

Leadership has taken its rightful place on the school reform agenda. It is increasingly accepted – at both the federal and state levels – that school improvement cannot succeed without effective leadership. But it’s not enough for something to be on the agenda. We need to know what to do about it.

Six Steps to an Effective Mentoring Program

By Joshua T.D. Alexander and M. Wayne Alexander

By the end of the academic year, new teachers often feel frustrated, stressed, and disenchanted with the profession. The task of finding ways to reduce the stress felt by new teachers and the accompanying turnover rests with the superintendent and the building principal. Many districts have set up mentoring programs for novice teachers.

Embracing the Political Challenges of the Superintendency

By Joe A. Schroeder

As leaders in the district and in the community, public school superintendents face considerable challenges, many of which are fundamentally political in nature. For new superintendents, such political trials trigger great apprehension but also present many of the best opportunities for making a significant impact as the district leader.

Exerting Leadership Through the Budget-Building Process

By James J. Bird

Building a budget is not just another task; rather, it is the fundamental task upon which all other district operations depend. New superintendents must be aware of and focus on the importance of budget-building leadership along several dimensions.

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Robert S. McCord, Editor

The American Association of School Administrators is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders across the United States.