In "Navigating School Board Politics," Carrie R. Sampson examines the political power of the US education system's publicly elected school boards, the reality of how they apply that power, and the resounding impact of their governance. The work makes the case that school boards, as both the direct link between local communities and…

"Outside Money in School Board Elections" documents and analyzes the injection of external funding into local elections. Local school board contests have recently become flashpoints of national donor interest. Some observers see this engagement as a needed boost for complacent school districts while others view it as a threat to local…

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…

Why are America's public schools falling so short of the mark in educating the nation's children? Why are they organized in ineffective ways that fly in the face of common sense, to the point that it is virtually impossible to get even the worst teachers out of the classroom? And why, after more than a quarter century of costly education reform,…

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…

Local school boards are responsible for the two most important issues in most people's lives--their money and their children. Why do school boards fail to develop into high-performance teams? Why do they often work as micromanagers rather than as moral and cultural leaders of their communities? This book explores the current state of board…

This book was designed to help school board members work together to create an effective school board. Guidelines are based on the premise that organizational effectiveness depends on individuals having the ability to recognize others' frames of reference and to utilize multiple frames. The four frames commonly used by leaders include the…

This book will empower everyone who works in education to build more support in Congress and state legislatures. It is full of personal anecdotes that illuminate successes, failures, and examples that teach from real-life experience. "Empowering School Leaders" is tailored for educators and designed to show them how to increase their political…

A democracy must tolerate many points of view without becoming divided. Therefore, public educators and the communities they serve are challenged to help students understand political and religious issues without proselytizing. This handbook provides guidelines for beginning the journey toward common ground, for moving from a climate of antagonism…

This is a research-based book to help school administrators understand and more effectively deal with the ethical compromises that arise as a result of the complex organizational and interpersonal demands of their leadership roles. The author combines personal knowledge, candid revelations, and interview data from five dedicated school…

The leadership turnover in America's largest school districts has increased so rapidly that the average urban superintendent tenure is only about two years. In fact, many urban superintendents are hired knowing that they will either be terminated or forced to resign in a short period of time. This cycle has created a class of superintendents who…

This book gives attention to governance structures and the allocation of power in school systems. It argues for radical changes, such as abolishing boards of education, that would give parents, teachers, and the community greater voice in educational policy decisions. For schools to change, not only must a new governance structure replace the old,…

How does one become an effective superintendent of schools? There is no simple formula as the turnover rate reflects difficulty of the position. Some maintain that the job cannot be done well due to politics, financial constraints, and time demands. As a former superintendent, the author rejects this negative view. In this highly readable,…

This monograph traces the legal history of the conflict between constitutional rights of expression in the schools and school boards' control of education. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the law and policy of free expression. Chapter 2 is a case study of "Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood School District," in which a high school principal…

This book challenges fundamental assumptions about the opportunities for equity-minded educational reform, using data from case studies of districts nationwide and their experiences with court-ordered detracking. The case studies show how white, upper middle class parents exercised a disproportionate amount of power in local school policy making…