Research conducted over the last decade yields no simple solution to increasing job satisfaction among educators. Factors affecting job satisfaction include management styles, demographics, financial support, and class size, to name a few. Focused upon is the role of school administrators in developing and maintaining satisfied teachers. (seven…

Women and minorities are still underrepresented in the superintendency. Search consultants can tackle discrimination by helping a school board consider desirable administrator competencies and personality traits and by advancing outstanding "nontraditional" candidates. Candidates should take consultants' advice about networking, resume…

Despite politicians' claims to the contrary, public schools are not holding back the economy, and most future jobs will require only modest skill growth. Economists attribute today's economic growth not to improved schools, but to greater efficiency, downward price pressure, and experimentation with lower interest rates. (MLH)

A superintendent who was nearly appointed New York City Schools chancellor explains the physical and mental stamina his job requires. Most school executives don't recognize job stresses leading to physical disorders, adverse effects on family life, and alcoholism. Since superintendents' demise usually centers on political/interpersonal conflicts,…

Connecticut Governor Lowell P. Weicker recently assumed state responsibility for ending racial and economic segregation in suburban and inner-city schools through cooperative, comprehensive five-year planning efforts. Most substantial gains for minority students occur when desegregation plans are metropolitan or countywide. Efforts to combine…

Discusses trade-offs and ramifications of technology use in schools. Cutbacks in proven staples of mental development (arts, music, drama, and physical education) are used to finance technology programs. Youngsters often use educational software for mindless fun. Few advocates consider how extended computer usage affects children's developing…

Presents a check list of three-tiered rubrics to help administrators assess their own technological literacy in information systems use, record keeping and budgeting, data use, communication skills, online research, identification of teacher and student competencies, envisioning and planning, and ethical use and policy making. (MLH)

Research, while limited, finds that service learning positively affects participants as to social development, academic achievement, civic awareness, and career exploration. High-quality programs maximize student outcomes. The difference between service learning and community service is linkage to standards and specific curriculum content. Key…

Henrico County (Virginia) Public Schools' alternative programs are becoming lifelines for troubled and/or underachieving students at all grade levels. Each program is well structured; stresses high behavior, achievement, and attendance standards; and has small classes, a caring ambience, supportive parents, and clear, consistent expectations for…

School accountability report cards generally focus on standardized test scores, dropout/graduation rates, and postgraduation plans. Citizens also want information on safety, teacher qualifications, and average class size. Administrators should define their audience, clarify purpose, carefully select indicators, and consider format, presentation,…

Management by spontaneity shuns job descriptions, supervisory duties, needs assessment, strategic planning, group process, and problem solving. Not for the fainthearted, MBS requires knowledge of psychology, lawyerly skills, and philosophic wisdom. MBS remains untested, as current job descriptions have confined authors to MBO and TQM. (MLH)

Three educators review two reports about education in the future. The reviewers address the question of which predictions seem most probable and least probable in the reports. (MD)

Describes the challenge and dilemmas facing administrators and school boards in recruiting exemplary teachers for low-performing schools. Provides examples from several urban school districts. Lists some of the political, managerial, and instructional dilemmas that superintendents' face trying to redistribute exemplary teachers and administrators…

Superintendents, principals, and teachers can no longer work in isolation or on parallel tracks. Leaders must be role models, engage in meaningful dialogue about children, and create new learning opportunities for the adults teaching them. Schools must cultivate talented leaders, not managers, to create what does not exist. (MLH)

Of three reinvention avenues (market forces, limited competition, and systemic change), the last offers most hope for public schoolchildren. The new economy's most precious resource is people, not technology. Like the Broad Foundation, schools should enlist talented people, redefine roles, build leadership capacity, provide incentives for results,…