The Superintendent's Fieldbook

A Guide for Leaders of Learning
Nelda H. Cambron-McCabe - Miami University, Ohio, USA
Luvern L. Cunningham - The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
James S. Harvey - National Superintendents Roundtable
Robert H. Koff - Danforth Foundation
The Superintendent's Fieldbook
August 2004 | 368 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781412906104
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Description

"Much of what we know about how to be successful in our roles as superintendent is generally learned the hard way. Having a resource to turn to in an effort to mitigate the trial and error nature of our approaches in dealing with the challenges of today's superintendency provides a compelling reason to pick up the book."
Howard Smith, Superintendent of Schools
Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, Sleepy Hollow, NY

"New and current superintendents, or prospective school leaders should read this book. I think the authors tied in a lot of leadership theory and practices that would compliment individual styles of school superintendents."
Gina Segobiano, Superintendent
Signal Hill School District, Belleville, Illinois

Learn how to navigate effectively through the new demands facing districts and schools!

The goals and challenges for district leaders are constantly changing. Leadership and governance are only parts of the puzzle when other elements such as the NCLB legislation, budgets, standards and assessment, changing demographics, and public engagement are brought into the picture. Today's superintendent needs an effective tool to help steer the school district to success.

Drawing on the experiences of nearly 200 superintendents over the past ten years, The Superintendent's Fieldbook offers guidance that can be referenced again and again. Written for current and future superintendents, principals, school board members and teachers, this valuable guide is divided into nine sections--each offering ideas to implement, practical lessons, exercises, and questions for reflective practice.

The authors identify seven key "commonplaces" of the successful modern superintendent including:

  • Leading within a governance structure
  • Understanding and addressing standards and assessment
  • Considering race, class, and the achievement gap
  • Developing your schools' principals from building managers to leaders of learning
  • Exploring collaborations with agencies of government and organizational allies
  • Engaging your community to construct a shared vision of the future

Vignettes describing real events and situations will help you connect lessons learned to your own district experiences, and help you and your district thrive in the rapidly changing world of education.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

  • I. Orientation
  • 1. Preface
  • 2. Introduction: Leading Learning in New Times
  • 3. The "Commonplaces" of School Leadership
  • II. Leading Your Schools
  • 1. Orientation: Leadership Theory for the Theoretically Challenged
  • 2. Thinking About Your Organization
  • 3. Encouraging Adaptive Leadership
  • 4. Creating Your Learning Organization
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • III. Coping With Governance Challenges
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. It's Rough Out There
  • 3. Working With Your Board
  • 4. Dealing With Your Unions
  • 5. General Rules of the Road
  • 6. Reflective Practice
  • IV. Understanding Standards and Assessment
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. Where We Are on Standards and Assessment
  • 3. What the Data Tell You
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • V. Addressing Race and Class
  • 1. Orientation: Why Race and Class?
  • 2. Difficult Conversations
  • 3. What's Going On Inside Schools
  • 4. . . . And What's Going On Outside Them
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • VI. Developing Your Principals
  • 1. Leading Student Learning
  • 2. The Instructional Leader's Toolkit
  • 3. Facilitating Change
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • VII. Collaborating With Your Allies
  • 1. Orientation: What Is Collaboration?
  • 2. What Does Collaboration Require?
  • 3. Collaboration in the Field: Early Care and Education
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • VIII. Engaging Your Community
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. Public Engagement
  • 3. Working With Your News and Media Outlets
  • 4. Communications Planning
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • IX. So What Does All This Mean?
  • 1. Reconciling Commonplaces and Images
  • 2. Four Leadership Styles
  • 3. Questions for Reflective Practice

Appendices

Appendices

Appendix A: The Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix A: The Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix B: Members of the Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix B: Members of the Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix C: Contributors

Appendix C: Contributors

Index

Index

Additional materials

Description

"Much of what we know about how to be successful in our roles as superintendent is generally learned the hard way. Having a resource to turn to in an effort to mitigate the trial and error nature of our approaches in dealing with the challenges of today's superintendency provides a compelling reason to pick up the book."
Howard Smith, Superintendent of Schools
Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, Sleepy Hollow, NY

"New and current superintendents, or prospective school leaders should read this book. I think the authors tied in a lot of leadership theory and practices that would compliment individual styles of school superintendents."
Gina Segobiano, Superintendent
Signal Hill School District, Belleville, Illinois

Learn how to navigate effectively through the new demands facing districts and schools!

The goals and challenges for district leaders are constantly changing. Leadership and governance are only parts of the puzzle when other elements such as the NCLB legislation, budgets, standards and assessment, changing demographics, and public engagement are brought into the picture. Today's superintendent needs an effective tool to help steer the school district to success.

Drawing on the experiences of nearly 200 superintendents over the past ten years, The Superintendent's Fieldbook offers guidance that can be referenced again and again. Written for current and future superintendents, principals, school board members and teachers, this valuable guide is divided into nine sections--each offering ideas to implement, practical lessons, exercises, and questions for reflective practice.

The authors identify seven key "commonplaces" of the successful modern superintendent including:

  • Leading within a governance structure
  • Understanding and addressing standards and assessment
  • Considering race, class, and the achievement gap
  • Developing your schools' principals from building managers to leaders of learning
  • Exploring collaborations with agencies of government and organizational allies
  • Engaging your community to construct a shared vision of the future

Vignettes describing real events and situations will help you connect lessons learned to your own district experiences, and help you and your district thrive in the rapidly changing world of education.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

  • I. Orientation
  • 1. Preface
  • 2. Introduction: Leading Learning in New Times
  • 3. The "Commonplaces" of School Leadership
  • II. Leading Your Schools
  • 1. Orientation: Leadership Theory for the Theoretically Challenged
  • 2. Thinking About Your Organization
  • 3. Encouraging Adaptive Leadership
  • 4. Creating Your Learning Organization
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • III. Coping With Governance Challenges
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. It's Rough Out There
  • 3. Working With Your Board
  • 4. Dealing With Your Unions
  • 5. General Rules of the Road
  • 6. Reflective Practice
  • IV. Understanding Standards and Assessment
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. Where We Are on Standards and Assessment
  • 3. What the Data Tell You
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • V. Addressing Race and Class
  • 1. Orientation: Why Race and Class?
  • 2. Difficult Conversations
  • 3. What's Going On Inside Schools
  • 4. . . . And What's Going On Outside Them
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • VI. Developing Your Principals
  • 1. Leading Student Learning
  • 2. The Instructional Leader's Toolkit
  • 3. Facilitating Change
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • VII. Collaborating With Your Allies
  • 1. Orientation: What Is Collaboration?
  • 2. What Does Collaboration Require?
  • 3. Collaboration in the Field: Early Care and Education
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • VIII. Engaging Your Community
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. Public Engagement
  • 3. Working With Your News and Media Outlets
  • 4. Communications Planning
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • IX. So What Does All This Mean?
  • 1. Reconciling Commonplaces and Images
  • 2. Four Leadership Styles
  • 3. Questions for Reflective Practice

Appendices

Appendices

Appendix A: The Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix A: The Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix B: Members of the Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix B: Members of the Forum for the American School Superintendent

Appendix C: Contributors

Appendix C: Contributors

Index

Index

Additional materials

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The Superintendent's Fieldbook

A Guide for Leaders of Learning

Nelda H. Cambron-McCabe , Luvern L. Cunningham , James S. Harvey , Robert H. Koff
Cancel Print

August 2004 | 368 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Hardcover 27/02/2023 9781412906104 $105.95

"Much of what we know about how to be successful in our roles as superintendent is generally learned the hard way. Having a resource to turn to in an effort to mitigate the trial and error nature of our approaches in dealing with the challenges of today's superintendency provides a compelling reason to pick up the book."
Howard Smith, Superintendent of Schools
Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, Sleepy Hollow, NY

"New and current superintendents, or prospective school leaders should read this book. I think the authors tied in a lot of leadership theory and practices that would compliment individual styles of school superintendents."
Gina Segobiano, Superintendent
Signal Hill School District, Belleville, Illinois

Learn how to navigate effectively through the new demands facing districts and schools!

The goals and challenges for district leaders are constantly changing. Leadership and governance are only parts of the puzzle when other elements such as the NCLB legislation, budgets, standards and assessment, changing demographics, and public engagement are brought into the picture. Today's superintendent needs an effective tool to help steer the school district to success.

Drawing on the experiences of nearly 200 superintendents over the past ten years, The Superintendent's Fieldbook offers guidance that can be referenced again and again. Written for current and future superintendents, principals, school board members and teachers, this valuable guide is divided into nine sections--each offering ideas to implement, practical lessons, exercises, and questions for reflective practice.

The authors identify seven key "commonplaces" of the successful modern superintendent including:

  • Leading within a governance structure
  • Understanding and addressing standards and assessment
  • Considering race, class, and the achievement gap
  • Developing your schools' principals from building managers to leaders of learning
  • Exploring collaborations with agencies of government and organizational allies
  • Engaging your community to construct a shared vision of the future

Vignettes describing real events and situations will help you connect lessons learned to your own district experiences, and help you and your district thrive in the rapidly changing world of education.


Table Of Contents:

  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Authors
  • I. Orientation
  • 1. Preface
  • 2. Introduction: Leading Learning in New Times
  • 3. The "Commonplaces" of School Leadership
  • II. Leading Your Schools
  • 1. Orientation: Leadership Theory for the Theoretically Challenged
  • 2. Thinking About Your Organization
  • 3. Encouraging Adaptive Leadership
  • 4. Creating Your Learning Organization
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • III. Coping With Governance Challenges
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. It's Rough Out There
  • 3. Working With Your Board
  • 4. Dealing With Your Unions
  • 5. General Rules of the Road
  • 6. Reflective Practice
  • IV. Understanding Standards and Assessment
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. Where We Are on Standards and Assessment
  • 3. What the Data Tell You
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • V. Addressing Race and Class
  • 1. Orientation: Why Race and Class?
  • 2. Difficult Conversations
  • 3. What's Going On Inside Schools
  • 4. . . . And What's Going On Outside Them
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • VI. Developing Your Principals
  • 1. Leading Student Learning
  • 2. The Instructional Leader's Toolkit
  • 3. Facilitating Change
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • VII. Collaborating With Your Allies
  • 1. Orientation: What Is Collaboration?
  • 2. What Does Collaboration Require?
  • 3. Collaboration in the Field: Early Care and Education
  • 4. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • VIII. Engaging Your Community
  • 1. Orientation
  • 2. Public Engagement
  • 3. Working With Your News and Media Outlets
  • 4. Communications Planning
  • 5. Reflective Practice
  • IX. So What Does All This Mean?
  • 1. Reconciling Commonplaces and Images
  • 2. Four Leadership Styles
  • 3. Questions for Reflective Practice
  • Appendices
  • Appendix A: The Forum for the American School Superintendent
  • Appendix B: Members of the Forum for the American School Superintendent
  • Appendix C: Contributors
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

"Much of what we know about how to be successful in our roles as superintendent is generally learned the hard way. Having a resource to turn to in an effort to mitigate the trial and error nature of our approaches in dealing with the challenges of today's superintendency provides a compelling reason to pick up the book."
Howard Smith, Superintendent of Schools, Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, Sleepy Hollow, NY
"New and current superintendents, or prospective school leaders should read this book. I think the authors tied in a lot of leadership theory and practices that would compliment individual styles of school superintendents."
Gina Segobiano, Superintendent, Signal Hill School District, Belleville, Illinois
"Being a superintendent, I can speak to the fact that I can use the tips and techniques presented with my staff and school community."
Glenn Sewell, Superintendent/Principal, Wheatland Union High School District, CA

Recommendations