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School & District Management Series

New Visions of Leadership

This °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳ series covers leadership issues in education—including governance, management, and labor relations.

School & District Management Agitator for Choice Leaves Her Mark
Through the Center for Education Reform, Jeanne Allen has supplied an arsenal of ammunition in the battle for charter schools and vouchers and a steady stream of jabs at teachers' unions, school boards, and others she collectively dismisses as "the blob."
Jeff Archer, November 12, 2003
8 min read
School & District Management Agent of Change
To his critics, Eric J. Smith, superintendent of Anne Arundel County, Md., public schools, is uncompromising, but that's also what his fans say. A year in the life of this hard-charging superintendent shows what it takes to overhaul a school system.
Jeff Archer, July 9, 2003
19 min read
School & District Management Vallas' Big Plans Raise New Hope for Philadelphia
In a city whose hopes for better schools have soared and fallen with successive superintendents, Paul G. Vallas has simultaneously created a buzz of excitement and raised many a skeptical eyebrow.
Catherine Gewertz, May 14, 2003
10 min read
School & District Management Doing the 'Right' Thing
Gene Hickok, the undersecretary of education in charge of making the No Child Left Behind Act a reality and a true-believer conservative with a history of hackle-raising, may be developing a taste for shades of gray.
Michelle R. Davis, April 16, 2003
13 min read
School & District Management Mass. Chief Steers Steady Course Through Conflicts
David Driscoll, Massachusetts' commissioner of education, is running late. For the man who oversees the commonwealth's 1,903 schools, it's a typical morning in a busy year.
John Gehring, March 5, 2003
8 min read
School & District Management Software Mogul Helps Guide Calif. Schools
Five years ago, former Silicon Valley software mogul Reed Hastings returned to academia and kicked off a chain of events that has catapulted him to the upper echelons of education leadership in the nation's largest state.
Caroline Hendrie, February 26, 2003
10 min read
School & District Management Hartford Reshuffles as Lead Actors Exit
With a new school board set to take office this week, the Hartford, Conn., district is winding up a year of dramatic leadership changes. Not only will the event mark the end of a five-year state takeover, it also comes on the heels of the resignation of Superintendent Anthony S. Amato, who is credited with putting student performance on an upward climb.
Jeff Archer, December 4, 2002
8 min read
School & District Management Restoring the Faith
Under Mike Moses' leadership, the Dallas public schools are regaining credibility in the community, and making academic strides, after years of turmoil.
Michelle Galley, October 2, 2002
8 min read
School & District Management Long Passage
Chicago's teachers' union president wants to push the organization in new directions. Many within the membership don't want to travel those routes.
Julie Blair, June 5, 2002
24 min read
School & District Management Novice Principals Put Huge Strain on N.Y.C. Schools
With about half the city's public schools being led by someone with less than three years' experience on the job and more than 260 principals eligible to retire at the end of this school year, the New York City school system is scrambling to prepare new leaders.

Jeff Archer, May 29, 2002
8 min read
School & District Management Venture Fund Seeds School Innovations
Venture philanthropists have sought to distinguish themselves from traditional gift-giving organizations. They've raised a few eyebrows in the foundation world, where some argue that the business-investment strategy is a bad fit for trying to solve social ills like poverty, crime, and inferior education.
Jeff Archer, April 24, 2002
11 min read
School & District Management Principals: So Much to Do, So Little Time
In a recent meeting arranged for °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳ by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, six administrators who together boast nearly 90 years of experience as principals detailed a seemingly boundless job.
Jeff Archer, April 17, 2002
7 min read
School & District Management Minneapolis Labor Leaders Mold A Different Kind of Union
The president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers knows that her youngest union members don't rush home after school to paint union placards.
Julie Blair, January 30, 2002
4 min read
Teaching Profession Gen-Xers Apathetic About Union Label
Leaders of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are aiming to overhaul the way they do business in an attempt to make their institutions more meaningful to younger teachers. Includes "Minneapolis Labor Leaders Mold a Different Kind of Union."
Julie Blair, January 30, 2002
16 min read