This study involving superintendents from four states sought to identify the nature and quality of help provided by outgoing superintendents to their successors, and to capture data regarding differences in the helpfulness of that support, depending on whether the superintendent moved to a new superintendency, retired from the position, or was…

Superintendents leading school districts, particularly in hard-to-staff areas, face immense challenges in recruiting and retaining high-quality, well-trained teachers, principals, and district leaders. Many large urban areas as well as their rural counterparts have high concentrations of intergenerational poverty and unemployment. Rural areas are…

Indiana recently gained status as a national leader in educational reform. At the same time, a record number of superintendents retired, with 62 retirements in 2012 and 2013, representing 21% of superintendents in the state. The purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing superintendents' decisions to retire during this time.…

This article focuses on preparation and access to the superintendency and is based on a research study conducted in 2010 that included data gathered from four recently retired, reputationally successful superintendents. While intended to examine career pathways that best prepare future superintendents, the study revealed that specific positions…

This article examines high superintendency turnover through rural community members' perceptions of such attrition in their districts. Findings indicate that community members perceived high turnover as negative and believed that turnover was created by financial pressures, rural community resistance to educational trends, and bias against…

The concluding year of a lengthy career in school administration carries its share of emotional highs and lows. For those leaving the superintendency, it's also an opportunity to reflect on professional accomplishments, the chance to recount one's tangible impact on the lives of hundreds of fellow educators and thousands of school-age children…

This article reports that across the country, retired superintendents are finding fulfillment as mentors, either formally or informally, spontaneously or planned. Some are paid, but most are volunteers who remember their first year running a school district and want to ease the transition for others. Some want to focus on leadership development.…

Some superintendents and school board members tout early retirement plans as a way to reduce school personnel costs and offer attractive employee benefit at the same time. However, such plans are not always a sound idea. Potential benefits depend on a district's financial outlook, its staffing structure, and its goals for students. (MLH)

At 75, encouraged by an 18-year veteran board member who decided to seek election to the state legislature, the author decided to run for election to the five-member regional school board that represents the voters in the four-town New Hampshire seacoast. He had been superintendent of a five-town area in New Hampshire and in the Boston suburb of…

After 38 years as a teacher and school administrator, including 24 years as the superintendent in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Donald Draayer, the author of this article, has discovered that retirement is not one transition, but many, affecting all aspects of life. He is finding that retirement is like virgin soil. The ground must be cleared, plowed and…

Describes career changes and retirement choices made by outgoing "career" superintendents. Choices ranged from teaching and consulting to administering philanthropic organizations and launching a charter-boat business. (MLH)

A retired superintendent decided to become an educational consultant. A thorough self-assessment convinced him that speaking in front of groups and running training sessions constituted a perfect occupation. After attending a National Speakers Association meeting, he learned entrepreneurial and self-marketing skills that have paid off handsomely.…

A "retired" school leader who has held five interim superintendencies explains why his unanticipated second career has been professionally and financially rewarding. Interims should maintain a daily log, greet staff and students, share what they know, set an example, be enthusiastic, support the incoming superintendent, and have fun. (MLH)

For school executives, annuities have become the preferred retirement vehicle, because other private-sector investments (some deferred compensation and profit-sharing plans) are closed to public employees. This article explains Internal Revenue Code sections 403 (b) and 457 and 1986 Tax Reform Act provisions related to tax-sheltered annuity plans.…

Despite steep odds, the American Association of School Administrators is renewing its effort to ease the financial sacrifice of border-hopping superintendents. A 1998 legislative initiative, the Retirement Account Portability Act, drew 50 cosponsors. A similar legislative push is expected in 1999. (MLH)