The School Administrator

November 2011 Number 10, Vol. 68Rookies and RetireesPersonal tales from first-year and final-year superintendents

Features

Superintendent Rookies
Four first-year, first-time superintendents’ personal and candid accounts of notable moments on an adventurous ride.
Similar Reading:
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Superintendent Retirees
Personal reflections of four retiring superintendents on their final months on the job.
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Welcome to the Jungle: The First 100 Days of a Superintendency
by ART STELLAR
The new superintendent’s transition can build a platform for later success while avoiding serious missteps. But the author, who has served as superintendent in seven districts, concedes there are no guarantees.
Similar Reading: Mr. Murphy’s Laws for the New Superintendent and Coaching Rookie Superintendents to Find Success
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Profile: Jo Ann Matthews

A Force for Workplace Understanding by Liz Griffin

Louisiana superintendent Jo Ann Matthews faces the hard facts with a sense of optimism.

Departments

BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT

Corporate Boards and Substantive Leadership by BILL NEMIR

Community members want and expect a board of education that makes hard choices thoughtfully and deliberately without the rancor the author observed at a session he attended in a school district.

FOCUS

Creating Connections Through a House Formation by HENRY B. RUSSELL

Banishing student anonymity among the faculty of his district’s 1,700-student high schools has been addressed through the formation of smaller learning units in Independence, Mo. The author is the district’s former superintendent.

Adding Instructional Time at No Greater Cost by JOHN T. FITZSIMONS

A suburban district produced a practical and inexpensive solution for revising the school schedule that expands classroom contact. To make the change, the district overcame inertia, outside pressure and contractual restrictions.

PEOPLE

People

This month’s assortment of appointments, retirements, deaths and honors in the AASA membership ranks.

PUNCHBACK: ANSWERING CRITICS

When Foes Attack,Silence Is Seldom Golden by BRAD HUGHES

Not every public criticism of an administrative decision merits a reaction beyond hitting the delete key, yet too often leaders say, “Criticism just slides off my back,” when a longer-range view would see potential harm from an unanswered charge.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

The Buck Stopped Here by PATRICIA E. NEUDECKER

Two important lessons that linger from overseeing an emergency early in her tenure as a superintendent.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE

A Close-Up Look at India’s Schools by DANIEL A. DOMENECH

Contrasting pictures of the K-12 education system observed during a recent educators’ trip to the world’s second-most-populous country.

AASA SCHOOL SOLUTIONS

Growth Models for the Data Rich, Information Poor by JOHN L. GATTA

The promising notion of the local growth model as a value-added measuring stick that simplifies the work of the school district.

The School Administrator

Features

Profile: Jo Ann Matthews

Departments

Book Reviews