LETTERS - Letter to the Editor

School Administrator, March, 1996

A Direct Hit For Job Seekers

BY PATRICIA A. KLEINE

Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio

* Congratulations to Sally Pancrazio and Patricia First on an excellent lead article in the October issue ("An Eye on the Ivy: Moving from the Superintendency to a Professorship"). I plan to reference it in all of my communications to interested job candidates and adjunct professors in educational administration.

Their suggestions on how to improve one's marketability (such as the need to avoid military references and "attractive women" comments) are right on target. Not that I wish to stereotype, but the references to "my old coaching days" also wear thin with search committees.

Thanks for a straightforward, direct hit to applicants for positions in departments of educational leadership.

Common Queries

BY WILLIAM M. GORDON

Professor of Educational Leadership, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio

* I have just completed reading the collection of articles about transitioning from the superintendency to a professorship in the October issue. The articles are well done.

Like some of the authors, I have spent most of my professional career in higher education, and it is not uncommon for me to receive inquiries from superintendents or principals concerning teaching opportunities at the university level. The advice of Sally Pancrazio and Patricia First is well-organized and offers answers to many questions our potential colleagues should be asking and answering.

I have taken the liberty of making several copies that I will use to respond to my next few inquiries.

Still on the Edge

BY RONALD F. LARKIN

Superintendent, New Brunswick Public Schools, New Brunswick, New Jersey

* It was good to see that Richard Wallace is still on the cutting edge of education. I really enjoyed his article ("So You Want to be a Professor?") in the October issue.

It seems from his writing, however, that Wallace has become a little bureaucratic and misses the action of the superintendency.

Audit Experience

BY R. ROBERT JONES

Superintendent, Madison School District, Phoenix, Arizona

* The two articles in your December issue about curriculum audits ("Jump Starting Reform Through a Curriculum Audit" and "What the Curriculum Audit Reveals About Schools") were excellent.

Having been through two audits of this type myself, I found them to be a great database for making any school district better at educating its students. The way the results are presented, however, can mean the difference between moving forward with an action plan everyone can buy into or spinning your wheels in controversy.

If you are not careful, your stakeholders--fellow administrators, teachers, board members and parents to whom the audit findings are presented--may react by trying to fix blame for the problems rather than working together to make things better. Preparing your public for this information is critical to their acceptance.

Any school district willing to open itself up voluntarily to a curriculum audit should be commended for its willingness to improve. I've found the better you prepare your public for the findings of the audit, the better your chances will be to move forward.

A Remedial Tool

BY NEIL P. HYCHE

Retired Superintendent, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

* As a member of the Professional Education Personnel Evaluation Program responsible for evaluating superintendents in Alabama, I was extremely impressed with the article by Jane Hammond ("Managing for High Performance") in the November issue.

With your permission, I intend to use this for staff development once our evaluation process identifies areas for improvement among our superintendents. Hammond deserves thanks for this meaningful presentation of her work.