August 2017: School Administrator
Articles on the opioid crisis, grief after loss and other school safety and health issues
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Additional Articles
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Pennsylvania District Embraces Science-Based Curriculum on Opioid AbuseWhen this superintendent saw the ravages that opioids were having on the suburban area outside of Pittsburgh, Pa., he knew the schools had to act to stem the human devastation.
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Advice from One Parent to Another
A superintendent in Utah became the public voice and a calming presence after two 8th graders and best friends overdosed on a synthetic drug within days of each other.
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Promoting Kindness
The suicide of his teenage son after cyberbullying by a classmate turns a superintendent passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues among students and educators.
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Dyslexia: Hiding in Plain Sight
Dyslexia is less understood and more prevalent than many realize and, because we identify it too late, it may hold the key to why it is so hard to improve reading performance.
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Nursing the Whole Child
In the schools of Kent, Wash., nursing staff address health obstacles, poverty, hunger and homelessness to give student learning a fighting chance.
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Evergreen ClausesAbout a third of superintendents hold these contractual clauses.
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Cleaning Out a 'Rats' Nest'A new superintendent is offered carte blanche by his board to fire central-office staffers whom it considers “problem people.”
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Twitter's Parallel Posts for Bilingual AccessSchool leaders in diverse communities want to ensure timely information flows to families.
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Protecting Student Privacy in a Digital AgeA few practices suggested by a school boards lawyer can help school leaders balance the district’s interests with expectations of privacy.
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Leader's Role in Orienting Board Newcomers
Building personal trust from the beginning of a term is something the superintendent can bring about.
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Our Perceptions of Education PolicyState legislatures repackage and tweak burdensome ideas of the past rather than granting flexibility to localities under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
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Pardon the Disruption
Three superintendents on Betsy DeVos and "disrupting" education.
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Shortchanging Athletics in Our Students' Lives
A superintendent contends the most effective tool in dealing with students at risk is after-school activities, yet educators are too quick to disqualify them.
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School Reform Shortchanges Me: A Student's Take
Student writes open letter to Secretary DeVos.
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Preparing Skills for Tomorrow and Safety TodayWhen my husband was a young boy, he worked as a pinsetter for the local bowling alley. The job was pretty straightforward as were the skills required. When the pins were knocked down, he placed them back in the correct order.
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A Glimpse of '50s America Today in CubaObservations from an education study mission that included school visits.
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A Trifecta Winner With a Steady HandIn taking the reins in Wake County, N.C., the superintendent’s priority was to lower the district’s profile.
Staff
Editor's Note
Strength in Crisis Moments
Being the head of an organization responsible for the well-being of hundreds or many thousands of children means superintendents often deal with heartbreaking situations. That puts their leadership on full display in the most vulnerable moments of crisis.
Two outstanding examples appear in these pages this month. Ember Conley and Mark Adler never hesitated when I invited them to address their personal handlings of human tragedies during the previous year.
Conley is superintendent of Park City schools in Utah, where two 8th-grade boys fatally overdosed last September on synthetic opioids purchased over the internet. As she details in her article “An Opioid Crisis Hits Home,” Conley used her public platform to engage unnerved parents, students and educators.
Adler, too, has been eager to turn the depths of his family’s tragedy — the suicide of his 15-year-old son, a victim of cyberbullying — into a positive force. The superintendent in Ralston, Neb., describes in “Channeling Grief Into Kindness” how he and his wife Joni have been waging a public campaign to promote acts of personal kindness.
I fully believe their stories demonstrate the strength of character that resides so prevalently in the ranks of superintendents. Our communities should be grateful for that.
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