With chapter contributions by leading experts" Public Relations in Schools, 4/e," provides a comprehensive view of how community relations affect organizational behavior and the effective management of districts and schools. With a focus on communication alternatives in modern technology and political demands for change it offers an integrated foundation of theory and craft to help practitioners facilitate a positive change in public relations. Beginning with the organizational characteristics of public relations this text offers coverage of specific duties assumed by administrative personnel in planning, collecting and analyzing data, media relations, funding campaigns, evaluating public relations activities, and responding to crisis situations. Features of the fourth edition include: - NEW! Greater focus on principals and their role in public relations. - NEW! Greater attention throughout the text on the use of technology in practice. - NEW! Greater attention to understanding and dealing with emerging school reform trends. NEW! A new chapter (Chapter 10) on communicating with parents and the community. - NEW! Chapter 7 is a revision distilled from chapters 7 and 8 of the previous edition combining the coverage of districts and schools. - Case Studies with end of chapter questions confront the reader with real-life situations designed to promote critical thinking in problem solving. Related books from Merrill Education: - The School Finance, First Edition, Craig E. Richards, Bruce D. Baker, and Preston Green, ISBN: 0-13-098458-2 - Human Resources Administration, Fifth Edition, L. Dean Webb and M. Scott Norton, ISBN: 0-13-239771-4 - The Human Resource Function in Educational Administration, Ninth Edition, Phillip Young, ISBN: 0-13-243541-1

The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, and Cases is the essential guide to succeeding as a superintendent or as an administrator in another district-level position. Comprehensive in both theory and practice, this textbook and reference guide examines the role and responsibilities of school district administration in professional, social, philosophical, and political frames, while balancing perspectives of rewards and challenges commonly expressed by school superintendents. Important topics covered include the emerging role of superintendent as communicator, the changing conditions in districts and schools, inadequate funding for public schools, and the treatment of policy administration, leadership roles, and community involvement. Fully updated, the Third Edition provides: greater emphasis on the challenges facing novice superintendents; new material on strategic planning and visioning; new and expanded coverage of contemporary issues such as inadequate district funding and social challenges; additional figures, tables, key terms, and other helpful learning tools; and more.

Theodore Kowalski addresses the administrative procedures associated with planning and managing school facilities. As noted at the outset, practitioner interest in school facilities has been growing rapidly in recent years because decades of neglect, poor planning, and cost cutting have created a situation in which large numbers of America's school buildings are in need of major repair or replacement. At the same time, the realization that costs related to repair and replacement have escalated significantly has fueled a new concern among school facility planning and management. Writing for school administrators, superintendents, and board members as well as graduate students in education, Kowalski discusses planning from the perspective of both individual facility projects and more comprehensive district-wide efforts. The responsibilities associated with administering school buildings are also approached from the individual school and district program perspectives. Following an introductory chapter that sketches the history of school facilities and the evolution of planning, Kowalski examines contemporary issues in school facilities planning and management. The remaining chapters are divided into two groups devoted to planning and the management of existing facilities, respectively. Turning his attention first to planning activities, Kowalski advocates a system-analysis approach that is based upon high levels data integration and used in conjunction with a vision-driven model of goal development. Particular attention is given to the potential participants of planning, alternative planning paradigms, and the potential pitfalls of various approaches. In the section on administering school buildings, an overview chapter is followed by separate treatments of school district maintenance, managing the individual school, and major contemporary problems associated with school facility management. Taken as a whole, Kowalski's work fills a major gap in the field by focusing attention on a key aspect of school administrative responsibility that, until now, has received little attention in the professional literature.

Over the past two decades, efforts to improve schools have significantly modified role expectations for principals. Today, school-level administrators are expected to be both visionary leaders and competent managers. Based on the conviction that administration is an amalgam of leadership and management, The School Principal emphasizes the need for practitioners to apply conceptual skills to make "what to do" decisions, to apply technical skills to make "how to do" decisions, and to apply relational skills to engage in democratic decision making. Kowalski frames the book with a discussion of the nature of schools, the roles of principals, and their need to improve schools. The book then provides a balanced treatment of leadership and management, covering issues of personal behavior, instructional leadership, relationship building issues, finances, facilities, personnel management, pupil services, and maintaining safe schools. The text closes with discussion of the vital aspects of practice for contemporary principals, addressing problem solving, collaborative change strategies, and personal commitment to being a principal. Special Features: Vignettes introduce the subject matter in the context of common challenges faced by practitioners. Knowledge-Based Questions and Skill-Based Activities prompt readers to engage with and reflect on the chapter content. The School Principal aligns with the Educational Leadership Consortium Council (ELCC) Standards. Treating principals as concurrently visionary leaders and competent managers, this excellent text addresses the needs of aspiring and practicing principals, providing the tools to build effective and efficient schools.

This is the eBook of the printed book and may not include any media, website access codes, or print supplements that may come packaged with the bound book. A collection of case studies for prospective school administrators that emphasizes problem solving, decision-making, and effective management. Based on the conviction that effective practice in school administration requires both leadership and management, this text provides a mix of problems that require administrative decisions as presented in 24 open-ended case studies. In today’s reform-minded, information-based society, practitioners must be able to frame problems correctly and then make effective decisions to ameliorate them. As leaders, district and school-level administrators are expected to focus on what should be done to improve schools; as managers, they are expected to focus on how to do things successfully. The cases in this book are designed to make students think about common problems of practice by encouraging them to bridge theory and practice. Each case provides an active form of learning, allowing students to demonstrate their ability to apply knowledge to common problem situations.

The book is a unique and necessary contribution to the literature on school administration. Research, theory, and practice were melded to produce a book that can be used as a primary or supplemental text or as professional growth resource for practitioners. Communication scholars, especially since 1990, have concluded that competence must be defined and studied in the context of professions. As such, a growing number of medical schools, law schools, and business schools have integrated communication into their curricula. This book provides a resource for such integration into the study and practice of district and school administration.

The heightened interest in and the rapid expansion of adult education has become a trend in a variety of environments. In order to serve these developing areas, educators, personnel directors, as well as staff development specialists require improved methods for planning learning activities within their own unique organizational contexts. In The Organization and Planning of Adult Education Kowalski examines the issues created by providing a social service in diverse organizational settings and presents a format for initiating and developing adult education programs. In order to comprehend the complexity of the context of programming within an organization, two novel components are included: first, a typology of sponsoring organizations is presented. This allows the reader to study program development in greater detail through a categorization of the sponsoring institutions. Second, organizational theory is applied to the process of programming in adult education. To be successful, the adult educator must be able to analyze both the existing organizational climate as well as to devise programs compatible with this environment. Kowalski has written a valuable resource and guide for those faced with the responsibilities of planning adult education programs in their own particular setting.

This must-have study offers a definitive look at the state of school leadership in the United States. It provides a detailed picture of the men and women leading the nation's schools, based on a representative sample of school leaders nationwide. The American Association of School Administrators has conducted an authoritative State of the Superintendency report every decade since 1923. This report provides research on American school superintendents in 2010. Data were collected via an electronic survey from just under 1,900 superintendents across the United States. This report is a valuable resource for school leaders, aspiring school leaders, and those charged with preparing and supporting school leaders. It is essential reading for a range of audiences, including superintendents, aspiring superintendents, school board members, professors of education administration, superintendent search consultants, education researchers, and others looking for up-to-the-minute data on education leadership. Reported findings in the 2010 study include: ·Personal characteristics ·Career development ·Professional education ·School-board relationships ·Opinions on a broad range of professional, educational, political, and social issues

This must-have study offers a definitive look at the state of school leadership in the United States. It provides a detailed picture of the men and women leading the nation's schools, based on a representative sample of school leaders nationwide. The American Association of School Administrators has conducted an authoritative State of the Superintendency report every decade since 1923. This report provides research on American school superintendents in 2010. Data were collected via an electronic survey from just under 1,900 superintendents across the United States. This report is a valuable resource for school leaders, aspiring school leaders, and those charged with preparing and supporting school leaders. It is essential reading for a range of audiences, including superintendents, aspiring superintendents, school board members, professors of education administration, superintendent search consultants, education researchers, and others looking for up-to-the-minute data on education leadership. Reported findings in the 2010 study include: ·Personal characteristics ·Career development ·Professional education ·School-board relationships ·Opinions on a broad range of professional, educational, political, and social issues