Award-winning Colorado Springs Superintendent Trevor Burnley has dedicated his energies to the "kid business"; he recently adopted his two young grandchildren and works diligently to keep schoolchildren away from the eight-ball. Faced with a slashed budget, he had to cut staff and freeze salaries, earning teachers' resentment. He…

Although shared decision making wasn't always Harold Boyden's first priority during his 30 years as a Vermont district leader, he always sought out his staff's ideas. Boyden believes in picking his fights, knowing when to compromise, and delegating when appropriate. He prefers to spread out budgeting ownership, responsibility, and commitment. (MLH)

The reversals (including two harrowing racial incidents) confronting Ben Canada on the way to becoming Atlanta's chief educator have strengthened his convictions. Despite numerous achievements, he was bounced from Jackson (Mississippi) Schools over a school-prayer fiasco. In Atlanta, he has dealt with a school closing situation and now faces…

Although David Hornbeck became Philadelphia Schools' new superintendent in September 1994, critics are already saying the honeymoon is over. In a school system characterized by student absenteeism, high dropout rates, minimal community support, and declining resources, Hornbeck's reform agenda (Children Achieving) may receive inadequate support.…

Two years into her first superintendency, Detroit Superintendent Deborah McGriff has advanced an ambitious and controversial urban school reform package. The public school choice plan has been expanded, and 21 schools have adopted school-based-management plans despite union opposition. This fall, the district will abolish the general education…

Henry Barnard was "one of the men who revitalized the American common-school system", and as such, he is clearly worthy of a biography. Not only was his service a noted one to elementary education, but as college president and as the organizer of the United States Bureau of Education his activity also touched other parts of the country's…