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Starting one's first job as a school superintendent can be daunting. The job has become even tougher now because new superintendents don't have the luxury of expanding successful programs or reducing class sizes given the struggling economy. A new superintendent coming on board has to be incredibly savvy and a communicator to survive long enough to bring about change. In this article, superintendents offer some advice for new superintendents about to start their jobs.

A district is as stable and grounded as its superintendent, according to some leaders and education experts. And given findings in a recent report from the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), which specifically states that the average tenure of urban superintendents increased from 2.3 years in 1999 to 3.6 years in 2010, an increase of 56 percent, educators across the nation are celebrating. Specifically, longer superintendent tenure has a positive effect on student achievement, according to research by McREL, a nonprofit research group based in Denver. It found a positive correlation between longevity and academic achievement. District leaders who focus on the right goals, manage change effectively and stick around long enough to see results tend to have higher-performing students. In this article, "District Administration" editors look back over 15 years at the tenure of the men and women who have led the 10 largest districts in the nation.

Between 1979 and 2008, the number of school-age children (ages 5-17) in the United States who spoke a language other than English at home increased from 3.8 to 10.9 million, or from 9 to 21 percent of the population in this age range, according to the latest figures from the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES). The NCES also reveals that the Hispanic dropout rate is almost twice that of black students and three times that of white students. In 2008, 18 percent of dropouts were Hispanic, while 10 percent were black and 5 percent were white. The future of English language learners' (ELLs) success depends on strong district and community leaders who are willing to push for the best programs to ensure ELLs graduate from high school and have a bright future. Dallas (Texas) Independent School District, Kent (Washington) School District, Tucson (Arizona) Unified School District, San Francisco Unified School District and Washington County (Maryland) Public Schools may not be the only school districts that are doing well with ELL students, but they are school districts that have strategically planned to address the needs of ELL students. Each of the districts has its own approach, and some use a combination of programs. This article describes Kent's sheltered instruction, Dallas' dual language program, Washington County's best practices and Tucson's English immersion program.

When President Obama first signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), he took much criticism for spending more money--$787 billion more--when the nation was reeling from decades-old debt, a more than 9 percent unemployment rate and a mortgage crisis. But this measure has allowed public school district leaders to invest in cost-effective, energy-efficient facilities projects faster than they would have if they didn't have the federal funds. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ARRA offered unprecedented opportunities for state and local governments to reduce energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create jobs through implementing clean energy programs. At least $33.6 billion has been broken up and allocated to various departments and agencies to dole out to states, which in turn have filtered the money to various school districts to renovate or build new facilities, according to the 21st Century School Fund, a nonprofit organization designed to improve urban public school facilities. Some of the funds have been allocated for Qualified School Construction Bonds, which allow districts to borrow money at low or zero interest, saving millions of dollars. This article provides a more in-depth view of some of those projects.

This article discusses the life of Carlos A. Garcia, superintendent at the San Francisco Unified School District. Garcia was born in Chicago, but his parents shortly thereafter moved back to their homeland of Mexico for a few years. When Garcia was almost 5, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his parents worked in factories and Garcia was immersed in the barrio, a tough neighborhood that had high poverty and crime. His potentially rough life started to change when he was in seventh grade at Wilmington Junior High School. Student government advisor Rita Steele saw potential in him and told him he was a leader, pointing out that he was friendly with everyone, from "tough kids" to special education students. Prior to his post in San Francisco, Garcia had been a school superintendent for 11 years in other districts. In 2005, he left district leadership and became vice president of National Urban Markets at McGraw-Hill Education. His job was designed to help large school districts improve student performance through excellence in instruction, curriculum and assessment. In July 2007, Garcia became SFUSD's chief, returning to the district where he had been a middle school principal two decades ago. He says "To be honest, I like the fight; I like the stress; I like the challenges; I like solving problems. And I'm a big believer in social justice." By "social justice," he means racial equality. He points to AP or honor classes and how there are more Asian and white students in those classes compared to minority students.

If it was not the worst budget cycle in decades, it was one of the worst for school district administrators trying to juggle union-negotiated salary increases, higher fuel and food prices, and federal mandates with less money, district leaders and education experts say. While most districts have increased budgets for the 2008-2009 school year over last year, the increases do not meet the higher costs of fuel, insurance and food, according to the American Association of School Administrators' (AASA) public policy department members. Few districts will see decreased budgets this year, below the 2007-2008 school year, but if the budget includes fewer funds from the state or local sources, districts still have to make cuts. And if fuel and food costs are higher than budgeted, they have to make more cuts. It is a perfect storm of conditions for districts in part because of the collapse of homeowners' loans and the nation's mortgage fiasco, which lower local property revenues that help fund school district budgets; state money reductions in part due to lower sales tax revenue because consumer spending is low; and districts' own rising costs for fuel and food, according to Daniel Domenech, AASA executive director. This article discusses creative ways that some K-12 districts have taken in order to cut and stretch their budget dollars.

This article discusses one of the best defenses against a violent threat in schools -- practicing emergency and lockdown drills. In some buildings, classroom doors lack locks and exterior doors are old. Other buildings have public announcement systems that do not work well throughout a school building, or that lack speakers in restrooms. Still others have classrooms without telephones or main offices that are not centrally located, allowing visitors to enter without being detected. Fortified facilities and equipment play a big role in security, but being alert and informed is most important. The first and best line of defense is a well-trained, highly alert and informed staff and student body. Aside from having emergency response plans, every district should practice emergency drill scenarios, even if it is not mandated statewide, to ensure students and staffs are kept as safe as possible during potentially violent scenarios. Aside from the typical, age-old fire drill and tornado drill in tornado-prone states, more state legislatures are mandating lockdown drills. Drills are helpful when they ensure teachers and staff members communicate well with one another and take measures to keep track of and account for every student in the building. Drills are also about ensuring students obey the nearest adult's direction without question. The main point of a drill is to have it be a learning experience. After an emergency drill, students and staff should be able to discuss and decompress from the event. Psychological counselors should also visit classrooms to help students or staff members who might have relived a prior, unrelated trauma during the drill.

Web 2.0 tools and technologies, or second generation tools, help districts to save time and money, and eliminate the need to transfer or move files back and forth across computers. Many Web 2.0 tools help students think critically and solve problems, which falls under the 21st-century skills. The second-generation tools are growing in popularity in schools, helping administrators and teachers organize their work and make curriculum connections with students who do not know how to communicate, or simply live without computers and these social tools. This article features Pennsylvania's technology plan using Web 2.0 tools. Connie Sitterley, director of instructional technology at PENNCREST School District in Saegertown, Pennsylvania, created the district's strategic plan. One of Sitterley's goals was to have students use Web 2.0 tools in computer labs and on the one or two computers in each secondary classroom.

With every new case of school violence, district leaders are urged to be proactive in hopes of averting potential violence. Experts say part of that proactive work comes from a threat assessment plan that every district should have. While every district that receives funds from the U.S. Department of Education for school safety is required to have a crisis management plan--which includes plans for any emergency, such as natural disasters and terrorist acts--districts are not yet required to have a threat assessment plan. A threat assessment plan will vary from district to district, but overall it is a structured plan that is set in motion after someone witnesses or hears a threat. That person then is encouraged to report it to a teacher or another adult. From there, the incident should be reported to the school principal and then to the security director's office for review. If it involves a middle or high level risk, such as an assault or death threat, then it is reported to law enforcement agencies. The threat assessment plan uses specific strategies to determine both the credibility and seriousness of a threat and the likelihood it will be carried out, according to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). In this article, the author discusses the need to have a threat assessment plan in every district and describes some basic components of effective threat assessment procedures that any district can use.

This article profiles Wanda Bamberg, superintendent of the Aldine (Texas) Independent School District. Bamberg is used to high expectations regardless of the circumstances. She is a firecracker of sorts who talks much and expects much from her staff members, teachers, and students, who are mostly at-risk, Black and Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged. In just one example of success, Bamberg, who was the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for six years before she became superintendent, steered the district toward narrowing the achievement gap among low-income middle school students in math compared to their non-low-income counterparts statewide. In 2007, Aldine outperformed other Texas districts serving students with similar income levels in reading and math at all grade levels. In the same year, Aldine's Black, Hispanic, and low-income students were more proficient that their state counterparts in reading and math at all grade levels.