Doctorates on the defensive.I sit in a unique seat where I have reason to see hundreds of vitae from super intendents and other high-level school leaders across the country. It's not my preferred reading during sleepless sleep·less adj. 1. a. Marked by a lack of sleep: a sleepless night. b. Unable to sleep. 2. nights, but rather part of a process for over seeing the people and profile sections of the magazine each month. One of the credentials that always draws my eye is that of academic training. Often an indication of a doctorate degree in educational administration, either in hand or in the works, tops this resume category--an observation borne out by the latest AASA AASA American Association of School Administrators AASA Asian American Student Association AASA Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia AASA Aging and Adult Services Administration AASA Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army superintendency Su`per`in`tend´en`cy n. 1. The act of superintending; superintendence. study (to be released publicly next month) that found 50.7 percent of all superintendents hold a doctoral degree today. Our attention to this subject, admittedly long overdue, stems from the national report issued by Art Levine, the former dean at Columbia's Teachers College, back in early 2005 that tossed lots of hardball hard·ball n. 1. Baseball. 2. Informal The use of any means, however ruthless, to attain an objective. hardball Noun US & Canad 1. criticism at the way universities formally prepare those of you who read our magazine. His story about the impact of his denunciation DENUNCIATION, crim. law. This term is used by the civilians to signify the act by which au individual informs a public officer, whose duty it is to prosecute offenders, that a crime has been committed. It differs from a complaint. (q.v.) Vide 1 Bro. C. L. 447; 2 Id. 389; Ayl. Parer. leads off our issue (p. 10) in provocative style. But you'll also find an array of related fare--Terry Orr's examination of the leadership training landscape (p. 16); Tim Quinn's look into the Broad Superintendents Academy (which he manages) and how it is preparing many noneducators for urban superintendencies (p. 22); and an interesting feature about obtaining a doctorate in school leadership through an online university (p. 30). Supplementing these are first-person essays by a former Air Force general trained by Broad for the superintendency in Aurora Aurora, cities, United States Aurora (ərôr`ə, ô–). 1 City (1990 pop. 222,103), Adams and Arapahoe counties, N central Colo., a growing suburb on the east side of Denver; inc. 1903. , Colo. (p. 26), and a young superintendent in a remote part of Pennsylvania who is finishing his Ed.D. through web-based classes (p. 33). I hope this is just the start of our periodic look at the formal academic training of school system leaders as the demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. in the field right now suggest there will be many comings and goings in the superintendency in the immediate future. I would especially like to hear from those we're probably putting on the defensive--school leaders who indeed found merit in their more traditional doctoral programs. Please drop me a note. Jay P. Goldman Voice: 703-875-0745 E-mail: jgoldman@aasa.org |
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