Successful communication strategies used by urban school district superintendents to build consensus in raising student achievement

2012-04-11The role of the superintendent has dramatically changed over the years. With the latest demands for increased accountability measures and district transparency from the state and federal governments, superintendents have had to increase their skills and areas of expertise not just in the basics of leadership, but to include skills in networking and building partnerships, translating complicated governmental policies, negotiating with union groups, focusing on student achievement and closing the gap between high and low performing sub-groups, while maintaining a sense of transparency with internal and external stakeholders to establish and maintain trust. This study explores how successful urban school district superintendents raise student achievement through effective communication and communication strategies to build consensus and implement school reform efforts. In addition to identifying the internal and external stakeholders to which information must be shared, the study also provides an analysis of effective messaging and communication strategies superintendents employ to build consensus and raise student achievement