Turnover of public school superintendents can be both costly and counterproductive for school districts. For those who are successful, who remain in one district as superintendent, and receive contract renewals from their school boards, it is important to uncover what may impact that success. Measures of personality have been applied to the fields…

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the essential political competencies needed by current or future superintendents when presented with challenges. Conceptual Framework. The conceptual framework for this study integrated elements of Adaptive Leadership, Political Intelligence, and the Taxonomy of Leadership Competencies to…

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to identify the political styles of exemplary suburban elementary school district superintendents and school board members in Southern California as perceived by superintendents. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to identify and explain the political strategies…

According to the California School Board Association, the role of the school board is to ensure that school districts are responsive to the values, beliefs, and priorities of their communities. Even though board members have a complex list of roles and responsibilities, CSBA assigns five primary major responsibilities: setting direction,…

The California Community College system is the largest system of higher education in the world, with 115 colleges organized into 73 districts, serving over 2 million students. By design, California's community college districts incorporate all of the state's territory. Virtually all Californians are within commuting distance of a community…

The California Community College system is the largest system of higher education in the world, with 114 colleges organized into 72 districts, serving over 2 million students. The colleges are publicly supported and locally oriented institutions that offer associate degrees, transfer education, and workforce development programs. They are part of…

Public education today faces a troubling set of challenges, including declining enrollment, staffing shortages, and polarized communities, with school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state? This study--described here and, in more detail, in a related report--of seven California school districts…

Almost daily, media headlines draw attention to students struggling academically and emotionally from interrupted learning, high student absenteeism, declining enrollment, teacher and leader burnout, staffing shortages, polarized communities, and school boards at the center of broader political debates. How did we arrive at this current state of…

School district superintendents and boards of education in the twenty-first century are facing unprecedented pressure to improve student achievement results. In order to compete, superintendents and boards of education must share the role of solution seeker to meet the challenge of increasing achievement for all students. This study sought to…

Jeremiah Stevens, director of alumni relations at Lake Forest Academy in suburban Chicago, contends with a bit of an unusual challenge. He must manage and motivate not one but two alumni boards. While alumni professionals may not share Stevens' particular circumstances, they certainly can relate to a struggle to jumpstart a languishing board and…

A district is as stable and grounded as its superintendent, according to some leaders and education experts. And given findings in a recent report from the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), which specifically states that the average tenure of urban superintendents increased from 2.3 years in 1999 to 3.6 years in 2010, an increase of 56…

Despite a vast amount of national research on superintendent tenure, a paucity of research exists as to the degree in which specific factors influence a superintendent's decision to leave a district. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors or combination of factors that may influence a superintendent's decision to leave a school…

Federal, state, and local accountability mandates (i.e., No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) and declining fiscal resources have put increasing pressure on school boards to find the "right" superintendent that can lead their district through this tumultuous period in public education. With over 50% of the current superintendents planning…

Running one of the nation's largest school districts typically comes with prestige and pay that draw would-be educational superstars, but also pressure and political complexity that cause them to burn out far faster than leaders of the majority of districts. A study published in the December issue of the American Educational Research Journal finds…

According to the literature, school districts are becoming increasingly political and complex. For superintendents to be successful in this environment they must exhibit great political skills in order to maintain positive working relationships with their boards of education. Thus, this study aimed to identify political skills that superintendents…