With reference to the "Columbus principle" of innovative boldness endorsed in the article immediately preceeding this one, this columnist observes that, historically, Columbus may have been a good navigator but was a failure in management and died broke. (TE)

Superintendent Philip Geiger recently risked unpopularity in one suburban New Jersey district by privatizing the bus service and using savings for a truckload of classroom computers. Armed with an MBA and a passion for zero-based budgeting, Geiger has also braved union displeasure by advocating faculty workload increases in students' interest. An…

Profiles Floyd Wiggins, Jr., veteran school security chief for Richmond (Virginia) Public Schools. Besides a security force, the district uses hand-held metal-detectors and police-dog raids in its secondary schools and is considering use of student identification cards, security video cameras, and a larger parent volunteer force. Wiggins feels…

"The Executive Educator" inaugurates its "Profiles in Excellence" series by honoring 10 schools and principals who have made outstanding efforts to increase parents' involvement in their children's education. Chosen by a panel of preeminent judges, this year's winners, from eastern and midwestern states, will each receive an…

Shows how a former high school principal (with no doctorate, central office experience, or big-city political savvy) pulled the Cincinnati (Ohio) schools out of a $76 million debt and implemented reforms recommended by the Buenger Commission. The new superintendent slashed central office positions, reorganized 86 schools into 9 minidistricts, and…

Whether speaking of health clinics, budget shortfalls, or discipline issues, Wicomico County (Maryland) School Superintendent Evelyn Holman invariably encases discussions in her own set of priorities. Building student self-esteem through mental health clinics is laudable, but preparing students for college and future employment is foremost.…

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…

Intelligent, abrasive, and combative, Baltimore County School Superintendent Stuart Berger is committed to fighting hard for change. Charged with implementing the district's ambitious educational objectives, Berger has pushed for all-day kindergartens, school breakfast programs, an office of family services, improved middle school programs, and a…

Profiles Ann Blakeney Clark, dynamic North Carolina middle school principal who knows her 750 students by name, insists on individualized education plans, carefully matches students with appropriate teachers. Clark's walk-around management style allows her to catch students and teachers in act of doing things right. Having instituted team teaching…

Dade County (Florida) Public School Superintendent Octavio Visiedo demonstrated his four-star leadership capabilities in the wake of Hurricane Andrew's devastation. For weeks, Visiedo tirelessly directed military personnel and school workers in massive clean-up and repair efforts. When all but 10 of the district's 287 schools opened in…

Presents Paul Salmon's old-fashioned, common-sense guidelines for success in practical school administration. The maxims advise on problem ownership; the value of selective neglect; the importance of empowerment, enthusiasm, and effective communication; and the need for positive reinforcement, cultivation of support, and good relations with media,…

According to Stanley Pogrow, creator of HOTS program to teach disadvantaged students higher order thinking skills, strong curriculum and pedagogy should accompany every technological marvel. Pogrow believes education departments let schools down by producing philosophy, rather than tools teachers need. His next invention is SuperMath, which will…

Melissa Caudle, principal of a New Orleans high school for behaviorally disordered students, has written a book on crisis-alert systems and confiscated loads of weapons. Her career has been devoted to helping neglected, abused, delinquent, and gang-prone adolescents. The school's program, which stresses personal accountability, conflict…

As New York City Schools' Chancellor Joseph Fernandez and staff worked to save jobs and essential services without drastically cutting services or fragmenting the teaching force, they uncovered layers of scandal and corruption. Board was uncooperative and too inexperienced to understand subtle differences between policymaking and administration.…

Having learned power struggles and budget-busting practices can block the best educational improvement efforts, former Sacramento schools chief has assumed leadership of Tacoma schools, less visible district with 20,000 fewer students. What matters to Superintendent Rudy Crew is roots, balance in life, and the chance to stretch an urban school…