A veteran superintendent outlines an eight-step method for achieving success, including assessing the situation, avoiding board overload, coping with stress, deemphasizing egoism, learning to live in the gray zone between policy formation and administration, ensuring effective board decisions, identifying prospective board members, and knowing…

A growing number of small consulting firms--many composed of retired superintendents and university professors--have entered the marketplace to help school boards find new district leadership. Also, 39 state school boards associations now operate search businesses. This article profiles 23 independent firms that handle superintendent searches,…

Evaluation of the on-the-job performance of school district superintendents as they implement school board policy is explored, drawing on the results of a federally supported project on improvement of administrator performance evaluation that is part of the work of the Center for Research on Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation. (SLD)

There is a scarcity of learning materials on school boards; students spend weeks studying national government, somewhat less time on state government, even less time on local government, and practically no time on school board operations. Advice is given and resources listed for remedying this situation and encouraging student participation in…

Recent research attributes school governance conflicts to board-superintendent disagreement over policymaking roles, deficient board training, and increased teacher demand for inclusion in the policymaking process. Other research underlines the need for better board training and for undoing a historical board culture that delegates only trivial…

Instead of issuing boilerplate announcements of superintendent vacancies, school boards must be specific about district needs and wants. Boards hunting superintendents should decide what is important, publicize their decision widely, communicate district needs to search firm, interview only candidates who meet these criteria, use community and…

Although communicating with news media is important, direct, personal discussion should be the foundation of school board members' communication efforts. Other forms are supplementary. Advice is given on dealing with anger and criticism, arguing strategically, and developing conversational logic. A sidebar offers tips for dealing with the press.…

Total professionalism is based on 10 principles governing how individuals think, decide, and behave: connection, inquiry, focus on the future, clarity, inclusiveness, win-win attitude, accountability, improvement, alignment, and contribution. Possible board of education scenarios and dilemmas are presented to illustrate each principle. (MLH)

Most frequently made collective-bargaining errors include mistaking rhetoric for reality, negotiating every teacher demand, settling too soon, failing to resolve board conflict, allowing unions to define the comparison base, accepting ambiguous solutions, circumventing the bargaining team, not seeking counsel, waving "red flags," and trusting the…

With patience and savvy, superintendents can recover from the sting of dismissal. Incumbents should be alert to warning signs, such as decreasing board-superintendent communications and board rejection of superintendent recommendations. Sidebars offer tips on fighting back with good cause, obtaining legal support, and surviving the endgame. (MLH)

Communication between meetings helps board members gain necessary knowledge of education and district operations. A strong committee system strengthens that communication. Committees on curriculum, finance, buildings and grounds, transportation, and personnel/policy allow board members to develop leadership skills and become familiar with key…

In 1992, a high-school student and a math teacher sued the Cleveland Public Schools in Federal District Court, contending that the board's opening prayers violated the establishment clause and the Ohio Constitution. The 6th Circuit Court upheld this suit, saying school-board prayer differs from permissible legislative prayer. (MLH)

Public deliberation is a little-used concept that gets people talking about education and working together to improve it. Study circles discuss each solution's pros and cons, explore people's deeper motivations, weigh others' views carefully, work through conflicting emotions, and identify common ground. Pueblo, Colorado's process is profiled.…

Poor listening can have dramatic consequences; relatively minor mistakes can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings. In stressful situations, board members should use extra thinking time, focus on the person speaking, look interested, ask questions, paraphrase, empathize, and pause before reacting to angry outbursts. (MLH)

An Illinois district created a collaborative contract agreement that lays a foundation for future multiyear contracts. In the process, participants learned to build a participative district atmosphere benefitting all three leadership parties, seek compromise, avoid unnecessary contract language changes, allow minimal publicity about sessions, and…