April 2008 Number 4, Vol. 65The Work of TransformationJohn Kotter on fomenting change in a school system
by Amelia Newcomb
Ask an education leader how to adapt the schools nimbly to a fast-paced global society and you may get silence. But John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor, has plenty to share on leadership and change in an education environment in this Q&A with The School Administrator.
Similar Reading: AASA training on Kotter's change process
by Phillip C. Schlechty
The author has participated in many gatherings where business leaders have been invited to provide educational leaders with advice about leading their schools. Some proved satisfying, but some others proved disastrous.
Similar Reading: Helping a community rethink its schools and Claudia Mansfield Sutton: Status of superintendent pipeline
by Francis M. Duffy
Not all systemic change is transformational change. The author, a professor of change leadership in education at Gallaudet University, clarifies the alternative definitions and describes the components of a transformational journey in a school system.
Similar Reading: Donald H. Stinson: District reinvention and Learning from Baldrige winners and Conditions for transformational change and Additional resources
by Dave Markward and J. Jay Marino
Using the Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence framework as a guide, these leaders of an Iowa school district earnestly launched a continuous improvement journey three years ago. They see indications the district is “improving on purpose.”
Similar Reading: Mary Leiker: Applying Senge's principles
by Lee L. Jenkins
The author of From Systems Thinking to Systemic Action outlines 12 questions a school system lead might want to ask before acting on the root causes of what ails the school district.
Similar Reading: Leslie Goldring Ford: Acting like a system
by Don E. Lifto and J. Bradford Senden
When it’s time for the school district to stage a community vote on a school bond measure or a tax levy, you can count on Web-savvy, anti-public education groups to be out in force. The authors’ research finds the opposition generally is categorized into four types. They offer tactics for dealing with each.
A Mighty Warrior Roars by Jay P. Goldman
Rudy Crew, long a tenacious battler for his ideas, is now being hailed as 2008 National Superintendent of the Year.
Two Years Later, Washoe's Baby Takes Major Steps by Doug Eadie
In December 2005, the strategic governing team of the Washoe County, Nev., Public Schools took a dramatic step forward on the governance front. Where are they today?
Chocolate Milk Tastes Better When I Am Not Being Violated by Michael Smith
The superintendent in Oakland, Ill., admits some of the best things about being an administrator are dealing with kindergarten kids. Except one day he discovered they have a dark side.
Why We Send Our Students Off on Excursions by James Henry Russell
Four reasons the superintendent in Texarkana, Texas, finds it is advantageous to promote educational travel opportunities in other states and foreign countries for his students.
Crazy or Stupid? by Paul D. Houston
Accountability should flow both ways. School leaders are told accountability is essential by people who refuse to be accountable for underfunding schools and who think simple answers exist for complex problems.
People
Tracking promotions, retirements and recent honors among superintendents nationwide. The Sidelight shines on an Indiana superintendent who has turned her passion for making creative jewelry into a web-based money-making enterprise.
Online Assessment: Put Down Your Pencils by Lane B. Mills
No. 2 pencils might be suffering from “bubbling withdrawal” in many school systems as more districts are introducing online testing to assess student learning.
Deterring Crime Through Environmental Design by Terrance M. Tucker
If school violence could touch a peaceful Amish community in rural Pennsylvania, how safe and secure is anyone’s school campus? The author tries to answer a piece of the question though a crime prevention del.
The Road Less Traveled Probably Isn't Paved by Sarah D. Jerome
The important role schools can play in guiding well-balanced children to become healthy citizens of the world. Unfortunately, most of the school-age children needing mental health services do not receive them.
Now You See Them, Now You Don't: Enrollment Trends by Noelle M. Ellerson
What AASA sees in the complex national picture of shifting student enrollment from some types of communities to others.