School Administrator: August 2017

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An Opioid Crisis Hits Home
BY EMBER CONLEY
A superintendent in Utah became the public voice and a calming presence after two 8th graders and best friends overdosed on a synthetic drug within days of each other.

• A Pennsylvania district tackles a scourge
• Stocking naloxone among school nurses’ tools
• One parent’s advice to others

Channeling Grief Into Kindness
BY MARK L. ADLER
The suicide of his teenage son after cyberbullying by a classmate turns a superintendent passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues among students and educators.

• Promoting kindness

Dyslexia: Hiding in Plain Sight
BY SHELDON BERMAN AND SARA B. STETSON
Even with availability of resources, a suburban school system finds reading and language-based learning challenges are dominating conversations between parents and professionals. The authors say dyslexia may hold the key to why it is so hard to improve performance.

Nursing the Whole Child
BY MARY E. NEWELL
In the schools of Kent, Wash., nursing staff address health obstacles, poverty, hunger and homelessness to give student learning a fighting chance.

STARTING POINT
Strength of character emerges when superintendents face human crises.

STATE OF THE SUPERINTENDENCY
Evergreen Clauses
About a third of superintendents hold these contractual clauses.

BEST OF THE BLOGS
Excerpts from informative and insightful superintendents’ blogs.

ETHICAL EDUCATOR
Cleaning Out a 'Rats' Nest'
A new superintendent is offered carte blanche by his board to fire central-office staffers whom it considers “problem people.”

SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter's Parallel Posts for Bilingual Access
BY DEVIN VODICKA
School leaders in diverse communities want to ensure timely information flows to families.

LEGAL BRIEF
Protecting Student Privacy in a Digital Age
BY SARA C. CLARK
A few practices suggested by a school boards lawyer can help school leaders balance the district’s interests with expectations of privacy.

BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT
Leader's Role in Orienting Board Newcomers
BY ALFRED J. ANNUNZIATA
Building personal trust from the beginning of a term is something the superintendent can bring about.

MY VIEW
Our Perceptions of Education Policy
BY TODD H. GAZDA
State legislatures repackage and tweak burdensome ideas of the past rather than granting flexibility to localities under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

OUR VIEW
Pardon the Disruption
BY BRIAN K. CREASMAN, NICHOLAS J. POLYAK AND MICHAEL LUBELFELD
School leaders already are disrupting education for the better in places, but taxpayer-funded vouchers and school choice aren’t what they have in mind.

MY VIEW
Shortchanging Athletics in Our Students' Lives
BY KEVIN R. FITZGERALD
A superintendent contends the most effective tool in dealing with students at risk is after-school activities, yet educators are too quick to disqualify them.

MY VIEW
School Reform Shortchanges Me: A Student's Take
BY CLAIRE A. BOWER
A high school senior’s lament about the “regimented mentality” she finds in school, stemming from the obsession with state testing.

Reading & Resources

• Book Reviews
• Why I Wrote This Book...
• Abstract
• Bits & Pieces

 

  

PRESIDENT’S CORNER
Preparing Skills for Tomorrow and Safety Today
BY GAIL PLETNICK
Keeping pace with the rapid transition of jobs from the information age to the innovation age.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE
A Glimpse of '50s America Today in Cuba
BY DANIEL A. DOMENECH
Observations from an education study mission that included school visits.

PEOPLE WATCH
An update on AASA members moving up and on in their careers.

PROFILE: James G. Merrill
BY PAUL RIEDE
In taking the reins in Wake County, N.C., the superintendent’s priority was to lower the district’s profile.