As communities become increasingly diverse and criticism of traditional public schools intensifies, some states, such as North Carolina, have enacted legislation that encourages alternative forms of schooling. This condition has resulted in new challenges for principals to communicate broadly and often with stakeholders in an effort to build…

In the past, school and college administrators relied heavily on advice from colleagues, largely because they had an internal orientation toward their work. As the social, political, and economic influence of external forces became more apparent, they learned to value input from a range of stakeholders. Robert Taft, former governor of Ohio, is a…

As the current president of National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), Barbara Chester has the responsibility of representing the organization's members in their efforts as advocates for children. Principal Chester's answers to the interview questions reflect the challenges facing schools and the role that principals need to…

From returning phone calls to traversing the political landscape to building trust, American Association of School Administrators (AASA) president Mark Bielang covers a lot of territory as he describes the public relations challenges confronting today's school administrators. Having just concluded his term as AASA president, Mr. Bielang has served…

This article investigates the importance of parent and community engagement in curriculum development, along with curriculum leadership, engaging stakeholders, and the importance of curriculum. Parent and community member engagement is examined in light of curriculum committee participation as reported by Missouri superintendents. Survey responses…

Through the use of the ethnomethodological lens of narrative inquiry, we argue that the relationship between school and community is an important ingredient that shapes a child's development and adaptation in any society. Our argument is based on the personal and professional experiences and observations of a Barbara L. Jackson Scholar who worked…

This article proposes Hackman and Oldham's (1980) model of work group design to structure parent groups for involvement in school activities and decision making. Parent interviews from three studies of parental involvement provide examples to support this proposal. Participants in these studies described experiences working in groups. Parents'…

A growing body of research has examined trust and trusting relationships between and among various members of the school community. This research includes teacher trust in the principal, parent trust in the principal, and student trust in the principal. In this article, we review the existing literature in these three areas and then identify how…

This article emphasizes the paramount importance of the human resources function in the school system--specifically, in the implementation of an effective school public relations program and in the quality of leadership given by the administrators and the professional and classified staffs. The article submits that school administrators at every…

This study investigated the effects of formalized and centralized school structures on 2 emergent concepts in the study of school reform, trust, and collaboration. Trust and collaboration were examined from the perspective of parents, as opposed to internal school agents such as teachers or students. Three hierarchical multiple regressions…

This article reports the findings of a collective case study of 2 low-performing, predominantly minority urban schools. The research shows that principals were able to improve the quality of parent-teacher relationships using multidimensional strategies that addressed the needs of teachers and parents. The findings suggest that strategies to…

This discussion summarizes comments made at the National Academy for Superintendents held at The Ohio State University focusing on changes practitioners have experienced in the area of school communication. The article examines how broad community themes, linking education to the entire community fabric, have resonated and better served the…

Effective communication and public relations are recognized as core competencies for school administration as evidenced by national standards guiding preparation and licensing in most states. Even so, surprisingly little research has been conducted by doctoral students and professors on these two subjects. This article presents a case for…

The ability of the superintendent to communicate ethical leadership to the community and demonstrate a positive relationship with the board president and the board of education has considerable influence on communities' perceptions of the quality of educational programs and the academic achievement of children. This investigation employed…

The quality of superintendent-school board relationships has a direct impact on the success of any school system through the power of good public relations. The traditional roles of superintendents and school boards and the artificial division of labor between the two no longer serve our school systems well. In this article, I apply a model of…