The superintendent/board relationship and its role in the improvement of Hispanic student achievement in an exemplary rated school district in Texas.

摘要

The literature points out that the last quarter of the 20 th century included many efforts to rethink and improve education in our nation's public schools. A dimension that has largely been overlooked has been the school district's leadership, governance, and teamwork (Goodman & Zimmerman, 2000). As Texas continues its rapid demographic transformation, the Hispanic population is projected to become the largest demographic group in a majority-minority state by the year 2008 (Murdock, 1997). This demographic shift requires that governance teams recognize, develop, and implement successful academic programs that address and meet the needs of Hispanic students. In order to best meet these demands, an effective superintendent and board relationship is more critical now than ever.; The purpose of this study was to examine the dynamics of a district governance team that provided for an effective superintendent/board relationship which led to high student achievement for all students. Four research questions guided this study to discover the superintendent and board's actual and perceived roles in creating Texas' highest achieving Hispanic majority district.; The research design was a single case study of Texas' single Hispanic majority Texas Education Agency Exemplary rated district. Trustworthiness was achieved in conducting the study and in the analysis of the data by the use of credibility, transferability, and dependability. Other measures utilized to strengthen the trustworthiness of the data consisted of pilot testing, triangulation of data, and attention to the tenets of ethics, member checks, and peer debriefings.; Findings of the study revealed that an effective superintendent and board relationship was critical in creating a learning environment that established a climate of caring and high expectations for all students, support and trust, a strong system of communication, successful districtwide initiatives and active and participative parental involvement. Conclusions include that the superintendent and board had a clear understanding of their roles and exhibited a strong commitment to meeting the needs of all students, teachers, and parents. The development of clearly defined goals served as the foundation to the superintendent and board relationship. Recommendations for future research include a similar study of multiple districts as more districts achieve Exemplary ratings.