The setting is Pleasantville, a mid-size Midwestern suburban school district with 9,500 students and a proud tradition of active parent involvement and strong public support for the schools. Mary Vicenzi was recruited by Pleasantville's nine-member school board, which was concerned above all else, unanimously and emphatically, with the need to…

To attack their community's homeless student problem, the Houston Board of Education last February opened a "lighted schoolhouse" as a temporary shelter. Houston's superintendent, Joan Raymond, is convinced that more school districts will need to provide residential care. The 20 children using the shelter were turned over to Children's…

Mastering the new professional standards for superintendents is important, but courageous risk-taking, timing, and judgment are the "heart-and-soul" factors of leadership. The usual board/superintendent relationship is inconsistent with site-based management and building autonomy. Perhaps boards should develop a clearly defined set of performance…

Two eastern superintendents explain how to develop sportsmanship in interscholastic athletics. A summit meeting in Superintendent Ritacco's district produced a policy governing sportsmanlike behavior in district athletics programs and community youth leagues. Superintendent Kerr's board embedded sportsmanship in a larger athletic philosophy that…

Realizing how difficult it is to pass tax issues today, many school boards with all good intentions place them on the ballot before the money is really needed. They do this so if the tax issues are not approved, they have another chance to get them passed before serious educational cuts have to be made. In states where school districts must rely…

This article discusses the technology immersion in the Minnetonka, Minn., School District. Imagine walking into a classroom where the teacher uses his finger on a giant touch screen to maneuver website data or diagram a sentence. Imagine every student in the class--even the one who hasn't spoken all semester--holding a response device to give the…

In this article, the authors present Edwin Diaz, superintendent of California's Gilroy Unified School District and discuss the common challenges and strategies among those education leaders who take on--and succeed at--the role of change agent and reformer. When Edwin Diaz became superintendent of California's Gilroy Unified School District in…

Because school violence is not confined to cities, even rural administrators and board members have become legally responsible for addressing the issue. To prevent lawsuits and ensure school safety, districts must have an official policy, knowledge about potentially disruptive students, law enforcement liaisons, and inservice education for…

Describes one small Illinois school district's experience with collective bargaining. Emphasizes the superintendent's role. (PKP)

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of being either an inside or outside candidate for a superintendency. (PKP)

Much confusion exists today among board of education members and superintendents about governance roles, especially when a district is low performing and the public is demanding bold reform. Part of the confusion comes from the definition of reform. To many Americans, school reform means fine-tuning what education historian David B. Tyack calls…

For a decade, Ashland school district required the 70 average for athletes--a higher threshold than the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association standard that many of the state's schools follow. That standard has no minimum GPA, merely requiring that students do not flunk more than one major subject during a marking period. Parents began…

Discusses court decisions in relation to the Equal Access Act and provides two sample policies for schools to follow. One limits student activities, and the second allows noncurriculum-related student meetings. (MD)

Drivers' lack of concentration, distraction, and misjudgment are the major causes of all school bus accidents. Examples are provided of exemplary bus driver training and safety programs. (MLF)

Religious fundamentalists are joining forces with taxpayers, senior citizens, and other conservatives to win seats on local and state school boards and reshape educational policy. School board elections offer an easy entry to politics. Christian fundamentalists target multicultural curricula, independent thinking activities, sex and AIDS…