The School Administrator

January 2004Foreign TravelSchool leaders reap tangible benefits from overseas study

Features

Foreign Exchange
by Carol Brzozowski
In a global society, foreign study missions provide U.S. school leaders with the information and insights they need to strengthen what’s delivered in their schools and to gain a better appreciation of the distinctive qualities of the American system. Recent participants on overseas trips describe the benefits they reaped from their experiences.
Similar Reading: Deal With Public Perceptions Before and After You Travel and Applying for Overseas Education Missions and Points for Viewing and Points of View
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Navigating Whole-District Change
by Francis M. Duffy
Moving an organization toward higher performance is not a linear projection. Real-life change doesn’t happen in predictable stages. Given the complex and puzzling environment of school systems, the author cautions educators that change needs to be navigated, not managed. He provides eight principles for transforming an entire school system into a high-performing organization of learners.
Similar Reading: Additional Resources
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System Change Through Community Schools
by Martin J. Blank and Dan Cady
Community schools make a difference in the lives of students in ways that traditional schools, acting alone, do not. These two leaders of the community schools movement tell stories of superintendent leadership in four small to mid-size districts that illustrate how schools are changing from the inside out. The authors share how superintendents braided state and community services to solve problems of family mobility, insufficient health care and unsafe neighborhoods.read more | purchase issue
Examining Elections Past
by Don E. Lifto and J. Bradford Senden
Veteran educators discuss how to do a post-mortem on school district election results to investigate what worked or what did not to plan for your next successful bond or operating levy vote. Understanding exactly who participated in a recent finance election is one starting point.read more | purchase issue

Profile

A Crusader for Early Literacy by Jay P. Goldman

The superintendent in Kennewick, Wash., Paul W. Rosier, is a big-picture guy who has focused on early literacy skills with excellent results.read more

Departments

Board-Savvy Superintendent

Surviving Your First Contract by Judith A. Ferguson

Practical considerations for superintendents who want to ensure a civil relationship with the board extends beyond the terms of their first contract. The author is a past president of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators.read more

Guest Columns

Songs of Life for School Leaders by William R. Capps

In Alaska, the native Americans speak of education being about the songs of life. School administrators need to embrace the songs of life too, but it is all too easy to forsake the beauty of the lyric and melody in the rut of leadership.read more

Your Actions Speak Volumes About You by Sarah J. Noonan

Conduct a self-audit by thinking about whether your actions are consistent with what’s important to you. By doing so, you can recognize if you suffer from a credibility gap.read more

People

People

Tech Leadership

Unconventional Wisdom About Buying Technology by Michael F. Sullivan

Conventional wisdom says you shouldn’t buy anything in education until you see the research. But what about that research?read more

President’s Corner

Good News To Share With Gusto by John R. Lawrence, president, AASA

Executive Perspective

Aligning Body and Mind by Paul D. Houston, executive director, AASA

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