Success in the Superintendency will help new and aspiring superintendents gain meaningful, practical information from award winning, experienced superintendents. The book's ten chapters cover topics identifiable to every superintendent_no matter how many years experience he or she has on the job. The author and editor of the book, Kay T. Worner, weaves information, advice, and research into each chapter making the book a valuable tool for all administrators. The tips, and scenarios for each chapter are inspired by thirty-six Superintendents of the Year representing various states and over twenty years of awards. Because of the wealth of information and advice, the book is ideal for graduate school students, beginning superintendents, and superintendents who seek some advice from those who are recognized by their peers as excellent leaders. The book is organized so that it is easily read chapter by chapter, or the reader can quickly search a topic of interest. Success in the Superintendency is a must have for every superintendent's professional library.
"Succeeding as a Female Superintendent provides a comprehensive look at the journey that several female superintendents took in pursuit of the top school leadership position. Real-life stories relate what these women encountered and how they dealt with a wide variety of issues. Suzanne L. Gilmour and Mary P. Kinsella share insights from interviews with a number of female superintendents and ask readers pertinent questions, urging them to reflect and write about their own readiness for the superintendency."--BOOK JACKET.
This comprehensive how-to guide for aspiring and new superintendents provides examples and covers the full range of topics from preparation through strategic planning.
These qualitative case studies give the prospective superintendent a real-life look at life on the other side of the district CEO’s desk. Two dozen superintendents reflect upon their first challenges and growth opportunities that arose during that all-important first year.
The importance of positive board/superintendent relationships cannot be understated. The need to balance competing political pressures to create the best possible learning opportunities for students is ever present. Most importantly, board/superintendent relationships should be cultivated with openness and transparency among each other and the public. This book is a resource for both board members and superintendents, and explores issues related to the board/superintendent relationship and superintendent hiring practices. The book includes contributions from experienced and new superintendents and board members on a wide range of topics that boards and superintendents must navigate together successfully in order to move districts in a positive direction for students, staff, parents, and communities. This book is unique in that the intended audience is both boards and superintendents. It is not a resource wherein “experts” tell board members how they should conduct board business, nor a resource that informs superintendents how to “manage” school boards. Instead, the book promotes and encourages a productive working relationship and partnership that moves school districts forward in a positive manner.
Abstract: The most male-dominated executive position of any profession in the United States. The typical superintendent is a married, white male, between 51-55 years old. Women spend an average of 10.2 years in the classroom before seeking an administrative position; men spend an average of 5 years. The slowest of all K-12 administrative positions to integrate women and people of color. With the majority of educators being women, they are a logical source of candidates that has only marginally been activated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to reveal the narrative of women superintendents as well as to describe their perceptions of success ascending to the superintendency. If women are to seek the superintendency they will need to view the position as one that will offer them success. But what is success for women in the superintendency? How do women in this position experience it? This study probes the lived experiences of women superintendents, including significant moments in their childhood, in search of better understanding their perceptions and experiences with success. A narrative approach was used in this study to capture the essence of participants' lives along with documents and artifacts. Feminist Theory was used as the theoretical lens from which to frame the research. The data was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. The findings surrounding female superintendents perceptions of themselves revealed four themes: identity, education, roles, and support. The findings surrounding women superintendents experiences with success is focused on relationship building and effective communication. The main conclusions drawn included aspiring superintendents need to obtain higher education degrees for advancement, site level administration and district office experience, and personal and professional support systems.
Too often, new superintendents—even if they have succeeded in other administrative positions—can undermine their successes by making critical novice mistakes, such as failing to recognize political stumbling blocks or unintentionally inviting school board member micromanagement. Moving into the Superintendency: How to Succeed in Making the Transition provides novice superintendents with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their new roles. Thomas Kersten, a highly experienced school administrator with eleven years of superintendent experience, shares the most practical and useful strategies that will help new superintendents optimize their early successes. Guiding beginning superintendents throughout their telling first year, Kersten’s professional advice will shorten the office’s initial learning curve, guarantee a smooth transition into this role, and set a foundation of professional skills upon which superintendents will build their careers.
"The goals and challenges for district leaders are constantly changing. Leadership and governance are only parts of the puzzle when other elements such as the NCLB legislation, budgets, standards and assessment, changing demographics, and public engagement are brought into the picture. Today's superintendent needs an effective tool to help steer the school district to success. Drawing on the experiences of nearly 200 superintendents over the past ten years, The Superintendent's Fieldbook offers guidance that can be referenced again and again. Written for current and future superintendents, principals, school board members and teachers, this valuable guide is divided into nine sections--each offering ideas to implement, practical lessons, exercises, and questions for reflective practice. The authors identify seven key "commonplaces" of the successful modern superintendent including: Leading within a governance structure; Understanding and addressing standards and assessment; Considering race, class, and the achievement gap; Developing your schools' principals from building managers to leaders of learning; Exploring collaborations with agencies of government and organizational allies; Engaging your community to construct a shared vision of the future. Vignettes describing real events and situations will help you connect lessons learned to your own district experiences, and help you and your district thrive in the rapidly changing world of education." -- Publisher.
"John Hoyle and his co-authors have done the impossible-they have produced a textbook on the superintendency that is both research based and readable. They have also bridged the gap between the world of those who believe everything is measurable and those who see leadership as spiritual and learning as a work in progress. This is a major addition to the field of educating school system leaders." Paul Houston, Executive Director American Association of School Administrators Paul Houston, Executive DirectorAmerican Association of School Administrators "Professors, workshop facilitators, school administration students, and superintendents will find the content and authors′ insights to be highly relevant and enlightening." Theodore J. Kowalski, Kuntz Family Chair in Educational Administration University of Dayton Theodore J. Kowalski, Kuntz Family Chair in Educational AdministrationUniversity of Dayton "This book represents an important contemporary effort to provide direction to the construction of a text-anchored curriculum for the preparation of superintendents." Michelle Young, Executive Director University Council for Educational Administration Michelle Young, Executive DirectorUniversity Council for Educational Administration Transform the role of superintendent into the district′s Chief Executive Officer! Executive CEOs need the management and executive skills to meet complex issues of budgets, personnel, information technologies, product accountability, and competition. Superintendents require many of the same skills to effectively manage their districts. The Superintendent as CEO identifies the knowledge and skill base needed by current and aspiring school district administrators to become high-performing CEOs of their districts and schools. The authors blend selected elements of the ISLLC and NCATE standards into the benchmark AASA Professional Standards for the Superintendency to outline the multiple ways of knowing and acting in the complex role of the CEO superintendent. This scholarly and friendly research- and field-based curricula for district CEOs, workshop planners, and doctoral preparation programs thoroughly examines: District vision and school culture Politics and school governance Internal and external communication Organizing for high performance Curriculum design and delivery Human resource management for student learning Intended for both practicing and aspiring superintendents, this book will provide the foundation for developing and cultivating the CEO leadership, values, and skills that superintendents will find helpful in moving from simply knowing to becoming the CEO.
