"Challenges Facing Suburban Schools: Promising Responses to Changing Student Populations" provides a demographic, political, economic and sociological overview of the changing nature of suburban schools. It describes the nature of student diversity in the changing suburbs and issues with student achievement. Administrative…

These qualitative case studies give the prospective superintendent a real-life look at life on the other side of the district CEO's desk. Two dozen superintendents reflect upon their first challenges and growth opportunities that arose during that all-important first year. They tell it like it is, no sugar-coating. The experiences they listed, in…

Every building administrator must be proactive to accomplish the demands of educating children for the twenty-first century. This entails making ethical decisions, building relationships, prioritizing school safety, and developing excellent communication skills that utilize data as a baseline. As a new administrator, it is very difficult to be an…

This is a practical, bold, no-holds barred look at challenges facing educational leaders and the university programs that prepare them through mid-century. It examines key continuities and discontinuities of current times for school, education, and society. Both practice and preparation occur in contested social space, the implications of which…

Too often, new superintendents--even if they have succeeded in other administrative positions--can undermine their successes by making critical novice mistakes, such as failing to recognize political stumbling blocks or unintentionally inviting school board member micromanagement. "Moving into the Superintendency: How to Succeed in Making the…

Experts and reformers have suggested many promising ideas for improving schools and ramping up student learning, but in too many cases, proposals for change run up against resistance, confusion, and anxiety from key stakeholders such as teachers, parents, students, and members of the broader public. To propel change--and to sustain it--school…

This book should be read by anyone concerned about the future of education in the United States. It was written for students, parents, educators, administrators, and policy makers because it will require effort from all these individuals to create meaningful change in the education system. This book discusses why the education system needs to…

"Introduction to Effective Music Teaching: Artistry and Attitude" provides the prospective teacher with front-line tested strategies and approaches that are based on current research and the author's three decades of service as a public school music educator, department chairman, and public school district music administrator. Starting with a…

"Success in the Superintendency" will help new and aspiring superintendents gain meaningful, practical information from award winning, experienced superintendents. The book's ten chapters cover topics identifiable to every superintendent--no matter how many years experience he or she has on the job. The author and editor of the book, Kay T.…

Dramatic reductions in the dollars available for public education require a new and systemic approach to balancing school district budgets. This manual provides numerous examples of successful budget reduction strategies based on a six-step process that has demonstrated its effectiveness in small, medium, and large school districts. Supported by…

This book is designed to provide beginning administrators with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed during their first year, shortening the initial learning curve and helping them make smooth transitions from teaching to their first administrative positions. Too often, beginning administrators undermine their success by making critical…

This must-have study offers a definitive look at the state of school leadership in the United States. It provides a detailed picture of the men and women leading the nation's schools, based on a representative sample of school leaders nationwide. The American Association of School Administrators has conducted an authoritative "State of the…

This book combines theoretical debate and empirical evidence of the effectiveness and relevancy of local school boards today. Original theorists of competing school board governance theories, current researchers, and researcher/practitioners provided the latest empirical data about the role of school boards as well as applications for…

This is the first book to bring into focus the full scope of professional practice in educational leadership. This book probes the limitations of traditional research in fully comprehending the true nature of leadership, and points out how future research must be expanded to deal with understanding the complexity of educational leadership…

Principals in today's schools face a wide range of requests and demands from a variety of sources that are often conflicting. There are government mandates, rules and regulations such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). There are state rules and regulations for program review, curriculum…