Principals are tasked with being the instructional leaders in their schools--developing teacher's abilities through formal and informal classroom observations and feedback. But how can school districts ensure that principals have the skills they need to fulfill this crucial role? In Clarke County School District in Georgia, central-office leaders…

This report begins with conclusions drawn from a wide range of research, reports, and other sources that convey what superintendents say is driving their work. The focus first is on what they identify as the challenges and frustrations of the job and what they say are factors interfering with student progress. Then, discussion turns to the…

Beverly Hall has been superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools since 1999. Before coming to Atlanta, Hall was state district superintendent of Newark Public Schools, deputy chancellor for instruction of New York City Public Schools, superintendent of Community School District 27 in New York City, and a principal in Brooklyn. Hall chairs Harvard…

This article presents and analyzes the findings of two recent studies related to female school superintendents and their respective experiences with the "professional victim syndrome" and the consequences of their career decisions. Those findings are synthesized with research and literature related to leadership skills and dispositions…

The South is part of a dramatic education reform movement championed by a group of progressive governors and motivated by a desire to improve the region's economic future by bettering the education of its work force. Most southern states have significantly raised certification standards, teacher salaries, and per pupil expenditure. Georgia's…

This document presents edited interviews with four former superintendents of instruction--Ewald Nyquist of New York, Jack Nix of Georgia, Dolores Colburg of Montana, and John Pittenger of Pennsylvania. Although the states in which these persons held their positions are quite different, there are a number of commonalities in the problems they…

This guide initiated by the Area Media Committees for the state of Georgia provides a description of the role of the community in the development of school media programs as well as the responsibilities of educational personnel, including the superintendent, system media contact person, media coordinator, curriculum coordinator, system media…

The views of Georgia school superintendents on leadership preparation and the role of principals are examined to determine future directions and standards for preparing public educational leaders in the state. Data were collected from 182 (97 percent) of the state's total of 187 superintendents. In the first part of the paper, Georgia…