Confrontational Leadership
BY MARK E. FORNER
The author’s doctoral research identified four core leadership practices of rural superintendents whose districts achieved above-average academic marks. Among the things he discovered were the importance of direct, personal conversations and the need for taking a hard line.
Tech Leadership in Small, Rural Places
BY MICHELLE R. DAVIS
How do school districts that can’t afford a full-time position overseeing instructional technology cope with such limitations? These system leaders have devised creative strategies, including using a cadre of trained students for tech support in the schools.
Small World, Major Tasks
BY SCOTT LaFEE
Superintendents in rural America face most of the same challenges today as big-city counterparts, though often with far less human and financial resources to find solutions. Yet most find the rural outlook on school affairs suits them just fine.
When Someone’s Not the Right Fit
BY JILL A. MORTIMER
A superintendent’s candid account of what can happen when one’s professional outlook doesn’t come close to matching a small community’s prevailing culture and the board’s demands.
Personal Discoveries by a Central-Office First-Timer
BY PATRICIA J. WEST-SMITH
When the author made the common career move from principal to central-office administration, she found her professional world took on some unanticipated questions. She reflects on the impact of her new role on her relationships.
STARTING POINT
Ready on the set for a superintendent who has taken to creating a film about the merits of public schooling.
STATE OF THE SUPERINTENDENCY
Salaries by District Size
What difference does the size of the district make when it comes to base pay?
BEST OF THE BLOGS
Four short excerpts from some of the more thoughtful blogs maintained by AASA members.
ETHICAL EDUCATOR
Idle Bystanders
What to do about students who stood by watching a bully act against a special-needs pupil and did nothing to intervene.
LEGAL BRIEF
Student Privacy Pitfalls in the Digital Age
BY JOY BASKIN
It’s not a new concern, but new technologies increase the risk that private information will be collected or revealed.
BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT
Complications of a Split Board
BY GENE I. MAEROFF
When board members are divided, it may take a superintendent with special people skills to act like Elmer’s glue to help patch over the differences.
TECH LEADERSHIP
#Help! Someone’s Impersonating Me on Twitter
BY TERRY MORAWSKI
Imagine the mayhem that would be created by a Twitter imposter who announces school is called off for bad weather.
MY VIEW
From the Superintendency to Hollywood Film Producer
BY ROCKY D. KILLION
Increasingly frustrated by anti-public education rhetoric, an Indiana superintendent produced a new documentary film to set the record straight.
OUR VIEW
The Sameness of Mission Statements
BY CATHARINE BIDDLE AND KAI A. SCHAFFT
The co-authors’ examination of school districts’ mission statements discovered little differentiation in the wording about the values communities hold most dear.
MY VIEW
Learning Customer Service From the Best
BY BOLGEN VARGAS
A grocery chain nationally recognized for the way it treats its customers has inspired the Rochester, N.Y., superintendent to adopt some lessons in his system.
RESOURCE BANK
Recent doctoral research studied five superintendents’ strategies for developing their leadership teams.
WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK
Zach Kelehear, associate dean, College of Education, University of South Carolina, and AASA member since 2002, on writing Leading Without Being Stung (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2013)
BOOK REVIEWS
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