Quandaries of the Small-District Superintendency

Thomas L. Alsbury, Seattle Pacific University, USASharon Gieselmann, University of Evansville, USAChad Lochmiller, Indiana University, USATeena McDonald, Washington State University, USA Susan Printy, Michigan State University, USACristóbal Rodríguez, Howard University, USA William G. Ruff, Montana State University, USACorrie Stone-Johnson, University at Buffalo, SUNY, USADebra Touchton, Stetson University, USAKatheryn S. Whitaker, University of Northern Colorado, USA

• 1. Introduction; Michele Acker-Hocevar, Adrienne E. Hyle, Gary Ivory, and Rhonda McClellan 2. Developing a Leadership Platform; Gary Ivory 3. Pursuing a Vision on Which There is Disagreement; William G. Ruff and Sharon Gieselmann 4. District Superintendents as Instructional Leaders?; Thomas L. Alsbury and Kathryn S. Whitaker 5. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions: Can Using Transformational Leadership and Mindfulness Theory Help You Make the Right Ones?; Teena McDonald 6. Complexity Theory, Networking, and the Work of Small District Superintendents; Corrie Stone-Johnson 7. Generational Diversity and Feminist Epistemology for Building Inclusive, Democratic, Collaborative Community; Deb Touchton and Michele Acker-Hocevar 8. Promoting the Success of Every Student with Integrity, Fairness, and in an Ethical Manner: What if the Way Is Not Clear?; Gary Ivory, Cristóbal Rodríguez, and Rhonda McClellan 9. Political Perspectives on Resource Allocation in Rural School Districts; Chad R. Lochmiller 10. Which Superintendent is Best-Equipped for the Competing Demands of a District?; Susan Printy 11. The Self and Leader Expertise; Rhonda McClellan, Gary Ivory, and Adrienne E. Hyle

"Today's superintendent has one of the hardest jobs in America. You're on an island all by yourself at times. At the same time, public education is under more scrutiny that ever before. What Quandaries of the Small-District Superintendency does is provide real-life scenarios and a multitude of perspectives to help new and aspiring superintendents grow and thrive on the job and ultimately become educational thought leaders." Daniel A. Domenech, Executive Director, AASA, The School Superintendents Association"A majority of the nation's school systems serve less than 1400 students and operate with limited human resources. Commonly, this reality has not received adequate attention in the profession's literature. For this reason, Quandaries of the Small-District Superintendency is a unique and important contribution to the knowledge base, one that examines problems of practice through the eyes of small-district superintendents." - Theodore J. Kowalski, Professor and the Kuntz Family Endowed Chair, University of Dayton, USA"Quandaries of the Small-District Superintendency promises to be an excellent teaching tool for those preparing for district-level (or even school-level) leadership roles. The text effectively marries the experiential realities of sitting district leaders with current national standards and expectations for effective educational leaders and with relevant theoretical perspectives of academicians. This integration provides rich teaching andlearning opportunities for those aspiring to demanding and organizationally complex educational leadership roles." - Diana Pounder, Dean of the College of Education, University of Central Arkansas, USA"This book offers valuable insights into the changing landscape of small district superintendents and validates the need to reestablish familiarity with their work. It is an important resource for university faculty and students as well as new and experienced administrators who will routinely face these issues. I recommend it enthusiastically." - Lars G. Björk, Professor of Educational Leadership Studies, University of Kentucky, USA