School Administrator

January 2013

Data's Driving Force

A grounding for instructional and organizational health

January 2013 Number 1 Vol. 70

Features

Data-Savvy School Systems
BY HEATHER ZAVADSKY
Five districts where collecting sound data on students was the starting point for improving student instruction.

Marian Kisch on inconsistent data use

Data as the Driver
BY KENT L. BECHLER
While superintendent of a California school system, the author began the school improvement process by attending first to organizational health before making smart use of collected data.

Charlotte Danielson on Teacher Evaluation and Quality
School Administrator’s Liz Griffin interviews the creator of the Framework for Teaching about what constitutes a quality classroom observation, the challenge in using growth models and the evolution of Danielson’s work over time.

The Triple Challenge of Evaluating Teachers
BY CINDY WEBER
The superintendent of a Michigan district details the adoption of an evaluation framework that dispelled suspicions, added clarity and created a partnership between teachers and administrators.

Redefining First-Year Teacher Support
BY KATHY R. FOX AND CAROL P. MCNULTY
The authors tracked a prized graduate of their university’s program through her first year running a classroom, where they discovered support structures sadly lacking.

Karen Owen on hands-on mentoring of rookies

Frontline

STARTING POINT
Contributor Kent Bechler emphasizes school district culture, then sees the fruits of academic growth.

STATE OF THE SUPERINTENDENCY
Age Entering the Field
Men and women enter the executive office at markedly different points in their school administrative careers.

BEST OF THE BLOGS
Thoughtful excerpts from five superintendents’ blogs.

ETHICAL EDUCATOR
Overvaluing Volunteers
The use of community volunteers to staff school libraries leads to employee reductions and a drop in school taxes. Our four-person panel sorts out the dilemma.

LEGAL BRIEF
Tough Economics, and Your Role’s Reassigned
BY MICHELE HANDZEL
Superintendents are being pressured to accept contract terms that give their boards the broad authority to add to their responsibilities or diminish the superintendent’s role in the district.

BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT
New Rules for Communicating When Connected 24/7
BY NICHOLAS D. CARUSO JR.
The explosion of social media means the superintendent no longer has the luxury of time. It’s more likely board members will hear about a problem outside the chain of command.

MY VIEW
What Inspires You?
BY KIMBERLY MORITZ
The author is grateful for school activities as a youth where she learned to plan, lead and speak publicly — exactly the skills she draws on as a superintendent.

MY VIEW
Creating a Collaborative Vision in Two Years
BY STEPHEN H. GUTHRIE
After 10 months of research and debate over the district’s new vision statement, the superintendent found two obstacles still standing between him and adoption.

ReadingandResources

RESOURCE BANK
A dissertation on which traits school board presidents value the most in a candidate for superintendent.

BOOK REVIEWS

BookCharterSchoolExperiment

The Charter School Experiment
edited by
Christopher Lubienski
and Peter Weitzel
Reviewed by
Darroll Hargraves

Collaborative School Improvement
by Trent E. Kaufman, Emily Dolci Grimm and Allison E. Miller
Reviewed by
Lyle C. Ailshie

Me in the Making
by Walter Milton Jr.
Reviewed by
Diane E. Reed

Opening Minds
by Peter H. Johnston
Reveiewed by
Vickey M. Giles

The Principal’s Guide to the First 100 Days of the School Year
by Shawn Joseph
Reviewed by
Paul A. Shaw

Transforming
Teaching and Learning Through Data-Driven
Decision Making
by Ellen B. Mandinach and Sharnell S. Jackson
Reviewed by
Ronald S. Thomas

AASAInsight

PRESIDENT’S CORNER
Data Use With Insight and Integrity
BY BENNY L. GOODEN
In the current fascination with data-based decisions, educators shouldn’t fear admitting biases for or against a methodology or program when investing scarce resources.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE
A Comparative Look at Russian Schools
BY DANIEL A. DOMENECH
AASA’s chief reports on some surprising observations of schools during his education trip to Russia under the auspices of the People to People Ambassador Program.

PEOPLE WATCH
The most recent comings and goings of AASA members around the country.

PROFILE
Lisa Skiles Parady
BY MARIAN KISCH
Before trekking 2,500 miles to the North Slope of Alaska, she worked on the family ranch in Wyoming, earned a law degree and spent two decades in state government posts.

Plus