This paper analyzes the changing public school superintendency. It reports on a study that identified the roles of the superintendent in facilitating positive and productive community involvement in the educational process, as well as the strategies and tactics used by superintendents as they mold community climates to create receptivity for educational improvement. Two large districts in southern Texas were chosen for the study, both having been characterized by discord between the community and the schools. The focus is on two new superintendents and the roles, strategies, and actions they employed to align their respective districts with the community. To provide background information, the text discusses "The superintendent and the community" and "The superintendent and change." The study methodology followed an emergent naturalistic multiple-case-study format and incorporated M. Q. Patton's theory that qualitative methods are particularly oriented toward exploration, discovery, and inductive logic. A pilot study was conducted to fine-tune interview questions. The findings show three major leadership roles are part of the superintendent's job: political leadership, educational leadership, and managerial leadership. The strategies and tactics enacted through the leadership roles are discussed. (Contains 41 references and 8 figures.) (RJM)