Across the country, school district superintendents are transforming into community school leaders. Responsible for systems of learning that also include school nutrition, bussing, safety, finances, community engagement, and so much more, superintendents recognize that they need a different strategy to effectively address the learning needs of the…

NGSS Early Implementers is a four-year initiative created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This evaluation report describes how site and district administrators are making critical contributions to the…

Six years ago, to gauge the challenges facing new school system leaders, "The School Administrator" tracked the challenges of six superintendents who had assumed their first superintendency in summer 2001. The story of their experiences, "Superintendent Rookies," appeared in the magazine's October 2002 issue. The six…

This playbook draws from the findings of "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades," the largest empirical study of this grade level conducted to date. The "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" study was designed to find out what higher-performing schools do differently. The result is a compelling set of specific, actionable…

The coprincipalship has been suggested as an organizational structure that addresses the increasing workload and time demands of the principal as well as the shortage of qualified applicants for the position. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study of coprincipals in public and private schools in California, Illinois,…

In this article, the author first discusses what he did in preparation for the superintendency. He was a teacher for 16 years and an administrator for 10 more. He completed the California School Leadership Academy, the state's two-tier administrative training program, and the Superintendents Academy put on by the Association of California School…

This study examined the job and growth satisfaction of secondary school administrators. Three sets of variables (job, organizational, and personal characteristics) were tested in terms of their impact on 2 related but distinct dependent variables: job and growth satisfaction. The participants included 153 school administrators, 66 principals, and…

School principals must respond to legal guidelines directing program development for special needs children and help coordinate the many agencies serving them. They also need opportunities to learn about specific programs. Six strategies are offered to help principals set school tone and build effective administrative support for special education…

To discover the ways that superintendents describe their perceptions and beliefs regarding their roles as instructional leaders, researchers interviewed 81 California superintendents selected on the basis of continuing upward trends in student achievement in their districts over a 3-year period. The participants were divided into nine groups that…

In this article, the author describes how Superintendent Jimmy Cunningham recognized the moment he parted ways with his urban colleagues on just how school funding should be meted out in Arkansas. The Arkansas Supreme Court had declared the state's school funding system unconstitutional so the Arkansas Association of School Administrators had…

This paper reports on findings of a research study on the district-level control of principals in 12 effective school districts in California. Primary research objectives were (1) to expand knowledge on the nature of administrative control, (2) to develop a better understanding of the processes and activities in effective school districts, and (3)…

A migrant education resource teacher from California describes the personal and professional benefits she obtained from her participation in the Springfield project, a role-playing seminar/workshop for administrators. (TE)

Describes the development of a Title VII bilingual program in a California community where Hispanics constitute 46 percent of the population. Examines change strategies used over a ten-year period of renewal. (NEC)

This guidebook includes information compiled by the "Audit Manual" committee of Community College Internal Auditors (CCIA) from several California community college districts regarding their internal auditing practices. The first section of the guidebook discusses the purpose of internal audits, indicating that audits assist members of…

This resource notebook presents samples of training materials and local policies and procedures and is intended to accompany an overview document which provides information on California legislation concerning surrogate parents in special education. Part 1 provides a summary of special education laws, services, and parent and student rights. Part…