It is tempting to assume that we know what our parents, our community, and our employees want from our schools. It is comforting to think that we know what they support. It is also dangerous. This article encourages school systems to let go of assumptions and to start asking the important questions that will lead school boards and administrators…

In a world of high tech and low touch, it is easy for public relations programs to stray from tried-and-true interpersonal strategies long associated with solid communication planning. New technologies allow communications professionals to quickly send e-mails and telephone calls to selected groups. Social media sites provide users immediate…

Pay satisfaction was assessed according to different facets (pay level, benefits, pay structure, and pay raises) and potential referent groups (teachers and elementary school principals) for a random sample of male elementary school principals. A structural model approach was used that considers facets of the pay process, potential others as…

This study explored the perspectives of 350 California superintendents from various-sized school districts in relation to their ability to support student learning while addressing the numerous and complex personnel, social, and economic challenges faced by schools. Specifically, this study investigated the attitudes and opinions of district…

Technological advances have revolutionized the communication patterns and behaviors of district leaders. In this information-based society, the ability of the leader to select the form of communication most appropriate to the context and situation qualifies his or her effectiveness at communication. The findings emerging from this study highlight…

Michigan's intermediate school districts were created by constitutional convention in 1962. Between their inception and 2000, few units of government were less visible and less understood. This article chronicles the emergence of one intermediate school district as an aggressive force for change in education and a locus of activity for community…

In an interview conducted shortly after assuming the presidency of the National School Public Relations Association, Marsha Chappelow shared her insights and vision for the association. Her vision stresses the importance of ensuring that the association remain a relevant resource for school district leaders as the expectations on schools intensify…

This study used a school-linked service integration model as a unit of analysis--namely, Missouri Communities That Care. It examined collaboration as a developmental process of reform for fragmented service delivery as viewed through the lens of social capital theory. As such, six research questions emerged. Findings reveal that for schools to…

Passing property tax issues is an increasing challenge for many school districts. This article examines 21 school levy strategies identified through a literature review associated with successful school levy campaigns. These strategies were then used as a framework to evaluate one district's attempts to pass a school bond levy. Whereas the study…

This article considers how the private finance initiative, a contract for infrastructure, affected teachers' perceptions of efficacy, job satisfaction, and morale at an urban secondary school in the United Kingdom. Qualitative data collection techniques, including unstructured observation and semistructured personal interviews, were utilized to…

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…

By examining data from interviews with students in the Upward Bound program (a federally sponsored program that provides academic support to students at risk who are preparing for college entrance), this study seeks to strengthen an understanding of the role of trust among urban youth at risk in the educational organizations that serve them. This…

The concept of trust has become commonplace in discussions of school culture, with increasing numbers of researchers arguing that trust is an essential component of positive school communities. In this article, we explore the role of trust and distrust in the involvement of Latino parents in the educational process. After providing a theoretical…

To develop trust, leaders must understand the determinants of a trusting organization. This study examined how an elementary school principal, new to a school that had been designated "in need of improvement," reacted to this status and worked to develop trust in a climate of low trust and increasing public accountability. Hoy and Tschannen-Moran…

This article presents an analysis of data collected during an evaluation of a Carnegie initiative, Schools for a New Society, implemented in a large urban district in the South. Findings suggest that the initiative's four strategic assumptions have been addressed at least partially: First, school and community representatives have jointly…