Can D.C.'s Search Make the Grade? (washingtonpost.com) Typically, a new superintendent arrives in a city, hailed as the answer to every problem -- low test scores, poor attendance, embarrassing graduation rates. When change does not occur overnight, or perhaps at all, disappointment sets in. The superintendent departs for the next school district, and the cycle begins anew. [by way of...AssortedStuff]

In keeping with my superintendent theme... Tim Stahmer points to an article by PBS education reporter John Merrow about the methodology used by most urban school district when searching for a new superintendent. Tim points out a very interesting quote from the article...

School districts hire just one person, not a team, and when that individual arrives, he has to spend a lot of time and energy figuring out which of the colleagues he has inherited are trustworthy and competent, and which are not. Who resents regime change, and who welcomes it? It's a minefield that has destroyed many capable leaders.