In an interview, a school district director of communication shares his experiences about the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Ontario and offers timely advice for practitioners, including a proactive communications team and coordination of information with state and local health, police, and fire departments. (MLF)

Describes the working relationship between a board of education and the superintendent of schools. Outlines specific responsibilities of the superintendent. Discusses problems of policy development and administration and accountability of the school board to the community. (FMW)

Examines the role of the principal in restructuring schools. Skills to meet the restructuring needs of the school can be obtained through on-going principal development. Programs, activities, and support exist for principals who pursue development, but they must inaugurate the process themselves. (SLD)

Although the principal of a new school must tackle curriculum planning, staffing, and community relations, the greatest challenge is making sure the building opens smoothly and on time. A principal must be a key planner, an events coordinator, a good communicator, a maintenance supervisor, and a visionary leader. (MLH)

The way in which a school community deals with a crisis situation is a test of its sense of community. This guidebook, intended for Catholic-school principals, presents a detailed plan to help schools establish crisis-management teams and offers directions for their operation. Chapter 1 presents an overview of crisis management and focuses on how…

This book argues that principals must not only manage their schools, but more important, they must direct the learning in the schools. Chapter 1 describes the rewards, meaning, and challenges of an effective, learner-centered principalship. Chapter 2 details the personal and professional qualities of an effective principal, and chapter 3 describes…

This guidebook presents four decision frames--political, human resource, structural, and symbolic--that can be used by administrators to understand troublesome situations, anticipate trouble before it arises, and develop more comprehensive and effective strategies for leadership. The book is presented in the form of an ongoing dialogue between a…

In order to identify factors enabling superintendents to maintain their position, this study examines characteristics of superintendents serving in the same Oklahoma rural school districts for 12 years or more, a tenure longer than the national average of 5 years. Twenty-four superintendents were identified and interviewed by telephone. Data…

Findings of a study that examined the teacher-administrator relationship from a micropolitical perspective are presented in this paper. Data were derived from interviews with 12 new administrators from school districts within a 50-mile radius of a major metropolitan area in the eastern United States. The micropolitical analysis identifies power…

This chapter, taken from a guide to designing, implementing, and evaluating instruction and services for students with disabilities, addresses the issue of teacher collaboration. It provides information about the nature of teacher collaboration, its role in relation to special education service delivery as well as other school trends, its…

Although site-based management is very popular, it is not always well understood or implemented. Seeking a middle ground between leadership theory and practice, this practical guidebook provides a systemwide approach to site-based management as a school improvement strategy; integrates a student-oriented, strategic-planning process; identifies 9…

A survey was conducted of 114 (a 62.6% response rate) academic deans of predominantly IIA institutions (Carnegie Classification) to gather information concerning the equitable and fair treatment of department heads at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The survey revealed that the duties of department heads included teaching/research;…

This first volume of a six-volume study details the historical context of a particular school district (code-named "Milford") in order to examine the genesis and evolution of American education. The study's key research documents were the district school board's official minutes; additional modes of inquiry included participant…

This resource booklet attempts to describe the new directions of the department head role. In a recent study by Kenneth Leithwood, "The Secondary School Department Head," 1987, department heads identified democratic decision-making, human relations, planning for program and staff development, and teacher supervision as functions crucial…

Practical Research into Organizational Behavior and Effectiveness (PROBE) surveyed public school district superintendents in 1979 to compare their views on education to the lay opinions expressed in the annual Gallup Poll of the public's attitudes toward public schools. The study utilized a one-page questionnaire and focused on time management,…