Interference by Group and by Individual by MICHAEL T. ADAMSON

Micromanagement by an individual school board member or by a group of members is equally destructive, but they stem from different points of understanding. A provider of training for school boards in Indiana sorts out what separates them.

A Grant-Writing Campaign Waged by Staff by BRIAN PEKAREK

Faced with a 5 percent reduction in the budget of his small district in Iowa, the superintendent coordinated his staff’s grant-writing efforts, bringing in new funds that comprised more than 11 percent of the operating budget. The author shares his simple steps.

Before Adopting a Laptop Initiative by ELIZABETH ROSS HUBBELL

A good technology audit will gather data through various tools — surveys, focus groups, classroom walkthroughs and interviews — to gain an understanding of what learning looks like in that school or district as you consider 1:1 computing.

What Do I Need From Our Teachers? by KIMBERLY MORITZ

A superintendent of a small, rural district wonders how she can more effectively influence the thinking and practices of her teachers. She has settled on a half dozen expectations she shares with them.

People

Our roundup of superintendents appointed to new posts and those retiring from service. Also, the Sidelight features the jazz-performing superintendent of Hopatcong, N.J.