Trying to Stay Ahead of the Game

Book excerpt: School superintendents and principals say that good leadership can turn around even the most troubled schools, but that politics and bureaucracy too often stand in the way. Large majorities say they need more autonomy to reward good teachers and fire ineffective ones. More than half of superintendents say they have to work around the system to get things done, and more than half of principals say they feel so overwhelmed by day-to-day tasks that their ability to provide vision is stymied.