In the past, school and college administrators relied heavily on advice from colleagues, largely because they had an internal orientation toward their work. As the social, political, and economic influence of external forces became more apparent, they learned to value input from a range of stakeholders. Robert Taft, former governor of Ohio, is a…

School consolidation in rural districts has been ongoing since the 1800s. Although many district personnel tout economic inefficiency as a reason for consolidation to occur, micropolitics among school board members, parents, and the business community often drive the consolidation process. This article presents a qualitative case study of Webster…

The Superintendency is one of the most important jobs in America. The future of countless families depends on how successful superintendents are in their positions. Research shows that student academic achievement increases when superintendents remain in one district for as few as three years; however, there are many threats to long-term…

High school band teacher, Mr. Alex Smith, received a request from the Republican presidential campaign for the marching band to perform at an upcoming local rally at which both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates would appear. With support from the principal and superintendent, Mr. Smith moved forward with plans for a Monday…

Amid today's heightened attention on student achievement, school boards find their responsibilities intensified and transformed. In this age of accountability, all school boards need to consider how best to maintain a focus on student achievement and promote it through district and school policies. "The Essential School Board Book" answers this…

Whether the sex of school board presidents affects their responsiveness to constituents, the operations of their school boards, and the roles of their boards in school district governance was studied for 128 female and 240 male presidents. Only limited differences were found, but women were more likely to view representing the community as a major…

The superintendent of Coventry (Rhode Island) Schools explains how he converted annual town meetings from uncivil, interminable budget-slashing sessions to expressions of community support for student-centered reforms and a construction/renovation bond issue. The board grasped assessment difficulties by taking state-mandated tests for…

Six school board members discuss the most crucial community relations problems facing their school system and what their school boards can and should do about them. (MF)

The ability of the superintendent to communicate ethical leadership to the community and demonstrate a positive relationship with the board president and the board of education has considerable influence on communities' perceptions of the quality of educational programs and the academic achievement of children. This investigation employed…

This kit of ten documents treats in capsule form some of the more critical and immediate problems and responsibilities confronting school boards. The purpose of the study was to collect, synthesize and interpret the very latest research for school board members. The topics covered were identified as critical and timely areas of concern by an…

The common ground process is an ongoing effort for inviting, scrutinizing, debating, and selecting ideas or making decisions about improving schools. Superintendents should assign a full-time communications person to executive staff, create a communications team, conduct a full-scale communications audit, listen better, urge the silent majority to…

Attaining good public relations may be the most important and most difficult job facing a school board. To meet this problem, a communications expert should be hired at the assistant superintendent level to develop and implement a communications plan. This expert should hold strong credentials and be recruited and hired directly by the…

Among the first of the Model Cities programs, Dayton's program was directed by African American community activists, who instituted important school and neighborhood reforms but blocked efforts to racially desegregate the public schools. The story of Dayton's Model Cities Demonstration Project raises important questions about whether urban renewal…

The Philadelphia Commission on Decentralization and Community Participation offers plans for reforms on the school and district level. On the school level, three options are suggested: (1) informal community participation in decision-making; (2) advisory participation in the form of an elected or appointed committee from the community; or, (3)…