Throughout the planning process for a school district merger in a northwestern Pennsylvania school district, effective communication proved to be a challenge. Formed in 1932, this school district of approximately 1400 students was part of a utopian community; one established by a transportation system's corporation that was a major industrial…

This study examines principal preparation programs from the perspective of readiness to confront and/or support special education issues at the school building level. The purpose of this research was to answer the following questions: (1) What is the principal's readiness level upon program completion in dealing with special education issues in…

As the understanding of burnout continues to be refined, studies that examine school principals and burnout will be helpful to those who provide support to school leaders and are concerned about principal attrition and pending shortages. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between burnout and gender, age, and years experience…

This study focuses on arguably the most important evidence related to preparing and licensing school district superintendents--the first year of practice in this challenging position. Subjects in this research were novice superintendents in office during January, 2005, in four states: California, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio. The primary…

School principals play an important role concerning technology use within their schools. While school districts across the nation are spending considerable resources in order to provide technical infrastructure to teachers and students, questions remain concerning the priority principals place in how teachers and students use technology within the…

Peter Senge's message during the 2005 American Association of School Administrators (AASA) conference reminded people that they live not only in a school system, but also within a highly diverse, global community. Their individual and organizational policies, practices, and behaviors, can and do impact the learning experience for those they…

Recent research shows that a developmental school counseling program can be an important tool for improving student academic achievement and school community well-being. Yet, it appears that school administrators do not take advantage of the school counseling resource, often assigning school counselors to tasks that are outside of their area of…

Carl Upchurch was born and raised in Philadelphia in the 1950's. His mother, uncle and grandmother socialized him during his early childhood. His grandmother was his primary caregiver and a prostitute, his father drifted in and out of his life, and his uncle died in a gunfight. All this shaped Upchurch as a person and led to his development of the…

In an effort to be comprehensive, schools often outline sweeping plans for improvement in multiple goal areas. Although well-intended, the efforts may be either too diffuse to have much impact, or so overwhelming that staff become immobilized. A school that chooses to proceed in too limited a manner, on the other hand, may run the risk of…

Superintendents are faced with conflicts every day. The conflicts arise around issues of personnel, community roles, funding, politics, and work/life balance. Good leadership involves an understanding of how to deal with conflict, whom to involve in the conflict resolution, how to set up structures and processes that ensure conflict doesn't…

The literature on school reform is very extensive. An interesting addition to it are reports on broad-scale system reform describing how primarily large urban districts are restructuring in an effort to close the persistent achievement gaps existing among students of different racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. As compared to reform at…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are places where teachers work with intentionality to improve their own craft for the benefit of students. Teachers and administrators study collaboratively and analyze student learning results to improve academic achievement for all students. Administrators working to implement PLCs seek to expand…

Crises create heroes. But just as superheroes are always fighting crime, educators spend too much time putting out fires, and frequently do not get to the root of the problem that might have prevented the situation in the first place. The authors advocate for educational organization around four goals: (1) clear expectations for students; (2) the…

Research on the enduring contribution of leadership to student achievement can be integrated as part of a system planning model. This article offers a formative sample in the convergence of two dissimilar forces: (1) the stability of school culture, whose rock-solid nature resembles a tectonic plate; and (2) the flowing energy of administrators…

America's public education system still holds the best promise to provide educational access to all children. However, public education has come under fire within the past two decades for not serving all student needs. Therefore, increasing demands are being placed on public schools to reform in order to improve achievement. Critical to the…