The Answer Sheet: educational leadership


Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 12/31/2010

A wrong-headed experiment in school leadership
By Valerie Strauss
Can you imagine the military anointing a school superintendent as a brigadier general? Of course you can’t, but this won’t surprise you: The Board of Education in Wake County, N.C., tapped a brigadier general who has no experience in instruction or academic leadership to be the new superintendent of the 143,000-student school system. He did work for Michelle Rhee in D.C. public schools, though.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 12/31/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership | Tags:  educational leadership, gen. anthony tata, non-traditional superintendents, wake county public schools

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 11/29/2010

Willingham: Why Black deserves a chance to run NYC schools
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes: "Understanding and actually attending to teachers’ perspectives on New York City classrooms in 2010 is probably mostly a matter of listening, and of valuing what teachers have to say." That's why, he says, Cathy Black deserves a chance to run the schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 11/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers | Tags:  cathie black, cathleen black, daniel willingham, educational leadership, new york city schools, new york city schools chancellor, nyc schools, nyc schools chancellor

Posted at 08:59 AM ET, 11/28/2010

Why non-educator school chiefs aren't the answer
By Valerie Strauss
Historian Larry Cuban looks at how big-city school systems decided to reach into the corporate ranks to find school superintendents, and why they are no silver bullet to improving schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:59 AM ET, 11/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership, Educational leadership, Educational leadership | Tags:  cathie black, cathleen black, educational leadership, qualifications for superintendents, school reform, school superintendents, schools, superintendents

Posted at 09:21 AM ET, 11/15/2010

NYC Chancellor Cathie Black, in her own words
By Valerie Strauss
In an effort to learn about Cathleen Black, the woman that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg chose to succeed Joel Klein as head of the city’s public schools, I turned to the book she wrote: “Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life.)”

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:21 AM ET, 11/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Educational leadership | Tags:  basic black, cathie black, cathleen black, educational leadership, joel klein, leadership, mayor bloomberg, naep, new york city schools, nyc schools, school leadership