LETTERS

School Administrator, Sept, 1998

Worthy Attention on Spouses

Martha Bruckner's article ("Private Lives of Public Leaders: A Spousal Perspective") in the June issue is very timely and provides excellent insights about the on-and-off job roles of educational leaders.

LARRY L. DLUGOSH

Associate Professor and Chair,

Department of Educational Administration,

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Martha Bruckner's article about the human side of this business in the June issue is great stuff. I am sharing it with my wife and a son-in-law who aspires to be a school administrator and already is consumed with his duties as a high school language arts teacher and coach of three sports, husband and father.

All of what Bruckner said of superintendents also applies to me--particularly as I chase around the country as president of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Just this past weekend, I spent the entire time cloistered in my home office working. I thank God that I have an understanding wife, but I just know she has some of the same feelings described in the study.

Bruckner deserves thanks for offering us all some food for thought.

THOMAS J. BUDNIK

School Improvement Planning Coordinator,

Heartland Area Education Agency,

Johnston, Iowa

I wish my wife and I had had the opportunity to read Martha Bruckner's article before my administrative career began in earnest.

I was "drafted" into the superintendency at a small school in Montana and have served in that capacity in three districts for the past 18 years. Knowing in advance what to expect as a family would have been very helpful.

Bruckner has put into writing what my wife and I have struggled with for years. It doesn't make it any easier, but it definitely makes it less our problem and more a problem of the profession in general, and that takes a bit of the sting out of it.

I am sending Bruckner's article to our state administrators association and suggest it be shared at the annual meeting for new and prospective administrators.

DAVE PETERS

Superintendent,

Whitefish School District No. 44,

Whitefish, Mont.

Marital Discord

As a school leader in transition, I can relate to many of the issues regarding board agendas and community individuality described in Helen Sharp's insightful article ("For Better or Worse") in the June issue. Having served in the superintendency for 11 years in Michigan (the last seven in one district), I have experienced my welcome now come to an end. Is there such a thing as a seven-year professional itch?

My wife is also a superintendent, which has really helped me to understand and deal with the consequences of "wearing out my welcome."

The marital discord Sharp speaks of should be reserved for board/superintendent relations rather than our personal relationships. Indeed, we cannot overlook our most important partner.

ALBERT R. MELOY

Superintendent,

Adrian, Mich.

My compliments to Helen Sharp on a great article ("For Better or Worse") in the June issue.

Family pressures is a topic I talk a lot about in my work so I will be recommending her piece to all of my members.

WALT WARFIELD

Executive Director,

Illinois Association of School Administrators,

Springfield, Ill.

A Shared Vision

Paul Houston's Executive Perspective column ("School Reform or Reform School") in the May issue made my day!

He deserves thanks for sharing his insight and vision, which is the direction our state school reform (now called transformation) has taken and was our vision when we wrote it.

I served as state assistant superintendent in charge of the 21" Century Schools legislation and am now seeing some of the changes as I serve as a local superintendent. It is doable, but as Houston said, "It takes real imagination and commitment on our part."

JOYCE REINKE

Superintendent,

Santiam Canyon School District,

Mill City, Ore.

Lots of Good Reading

As an avid reader, I enjoyed the collection of articles that comprised the cover story in your June issue, "Books That Made a Difference."

In my role as director of secondary instruction for the St. Vrain Valley School District in Colorado, I participate with colleagues in book talks about works that are relevant to instructional leadership and school reform. This article will give us lots of choices for next year.

MARIA L. GOODLOE

Director of Secondary Instruction,

St. Vrain Valley School District,

Longmont, Colo.

A 20-Year Flashback

I am an art educator with the school district in Novi, Mich., where a colleague passed out to the staff a copy of David Sousa's article, "The Ramifications of Brain Research" (January 1998).

I found his discussion intriguing as I was educated in an unusual art education curriculum at Virginia Commonwealth University during the mid-1970s, and this sounds so much like what I was told then about how sensory art experiences are true learning.

JENNIFER HARVEY

Art Teacher,

Novi Community School District,

Novi, Mich.