Best of the Blogs
School Administrator, September 2020


“I’m so much more aware, so much more mindful, right now. I realize how much of my life was done on autopilot before. Going through the motions, not considering where I was or how I was feeling, just doing what came next. I don’t miss that feeling, where you are always busy but never doing anything that matters. I feel more purposeful.”

From “5 Things” by Amy Illingworth, assistant superintendent of educational services, Encinitas Union High School District, Encinitas, Calif., on her blog Reflections on Leadership and Learning


“I feel a moral obligation to use my position to say what’s on my heart and embrace how we can change to help this situation. On the other hand, I am cautious because words can be so easily be misconstrued, and I don’t want to voice to cause pain or make matters worse.”

From “We Believe in an Inclusive Environment … “ by Andrew Rikli, superintendent, Papillion-Lavista School District 27, Papillion, Neb., on his blog Be Known 

“We want to be the best. That is not a negative trait. But it can have negative consequences if we don’t understand that improvement is not about a place or a destination. We don’t arrive at best and then stop.”

From “Better Not Best” by Kimberly Pietsch Miller, superintendent, Bexley City Schools, Bexley, Ohio, on her Superintendent’s Blog 

“While education leadership serves as a useful context to conduct an explicit discussion of systemic and individual acts of racism, since it’s a moral imperative among leaders to remedy inequities that result from these acts, it wouldn’t matter.”

From “Hope Is Not A Strategy. But It’s All We Got” by Allen J. Mucerino, superintendent, Alvord Unified School District, Corona, Calif., on his eponymous blog 

Read the full postings of these and other members’ blogs at www.aasa.org/SAblogs.aspx.


FLASHBACK SEPTEMBER 2000
In the cover story, Thomas Sergiovanni detailed the responsibility of superintendents to shape organizational climate amidst state mandates and high-stakes testing. … Peter Negroni made his case for a “radical role” for superintendents that put them at the center of teaching and learning. … In his article “The Superintendent as Staff Developer,” Richard DuFour elaborated on individualized professional development plans for staff members. … AASA President Benjamin Canada titled his column “What Kind of Leader Are You?” … Executive Director Paul Houston’s monthly commentary on accountability carried the headline “Bombing Children Into the Stone Age.” … Eight letters to the editor addressed a range of topics, including women in the superintendency, a published commentary by a superintendent’s executive secretary and ISO 9000 certification. … Among the 32 advertisers were Xerox, Sodexho Marriott, Compaq Computer and Chancery Software.