Superintendents explain methods they have used to introduce new school board members to the nature of the office they hold. (IRT)

Captures the shock, pain, and disappointment of a superintendent who was abruptly fired by his board president. Advice hinges on bettering one's bargaining position, developing an action plan, and learning to anticipate people problems before they arise. Lacking meaningful employment, the former superintendent has become a writer and house…

Recognizing the effect of learning styles can lead one to modify approaches in order to communicate more effectively. Administering and discussing a learning style assessment between school boards and administration will help everybody understand the sources of some past problems and avoid future ones. (MLF)

Describes five tactics that striking teachers use against superintendents and school boards. Notes their effect on administrator resignations and school levy defeats, and lists three ways administrators can build mutual support, including sharing strike experiences, getting professional associations' support, and establishing statewide networks of…

The key to succeeding in superintendent-board relationships is fitting the school board into a three-part framework of policies, meetings, and goals. Advice is also provided concerning budgeting, becoming acquainted with board members, and handling disagreements. A sidebar classifies board members as builders, shopkeepers, mechanics, cheerleaders,…

An extended interview process is designed to give the superintendent and the school board a better opportunity to get to know prospective school executives. Each job applicant spends eight or nine hours in activities that offer a revealing look at the candidates. (MLF)

To establish good working relationships with their school boards, superintendents should (1) be willing to be vulnerable, (2) be open and accurate, (3) be consistently civil, (4) seek compromise, (5) avoid complacency, and (6) remember that the relationship with each individual board member is unique. (PGD)

Offers new superintendents some practical survival strategies, including knowing the board, administrators, and union; understanding the power base and the power of administrator visibility; building good board meetings; and holding their families dear. (MLH)

Provides newly hired superintendents with factors to consider when negotiating 10 elements of their own contracts: salary, insurance, term of office, relocation expenses, vacation, sick leave, travel expenses, administrative authority, automobile use, and exit expenses. (PGD)

Bernard Hatch, the aggressive superintendent of schools in Dayton, Ohio, was voted out by the board of education despite an excellent record of accomplishments. His fate bodes ill for urban school districts in general, where those with the integrity and grit to do what is necessary often become unpopular. (TE)

A new superintendent established an equal access to information policy with board members by answering questions submitted by individual board members and then sending the questions and answers to all board members--without identifying who asked the question. (MLF)

Intelligent, abrasive, and combative, Baltimore County School Superintendent Stuart Berger is committed to fighting hard for change. Charged with implementing the district's ambitious educational objectives, Berger has pushed for all-day kindergartens, school breakfast programs, an office of family services, improved middle school programs, and a…

Beginning superintendents should reconsider before buying homes and settling into new communities. Today's superintendent, like the Old West hired gun, has a short, precarious tenure. Superintendents should be prepared, learn to recognize signs of trouble, quit while they're ahead, and keep their (metaphorical) bags packed. Board hostility is…

School superintendents asked to relate the most difficult personnel problems of their careers and how they dealt with those crises agreed that sensational cases are easier to handle than those requiring delicacy and patience. Anecdotes illustrate the superintendents' problems and their solutions. (MLF)

A veteran superintendent outlines an eight-step method for achieving success, including assessing the situation, avoiding board overload, coping with stress, deemphasizing egoism, learning to live in the gray zone between policy formation and administration, ensuring effective board decisions, identifying prospective board members, and knowing…