MILWAUKEE, July 28 (UPI) -- School superintendents across the country say lack of clout keeps them from improving schools.
A University of Washington survey of the nation's 100 largest districts finds nine out of 10 urban school superintendents sayig they need more authority to fix bad schools and boost student achievement.
Collectively, the superintendents oversee 6.5 million students.
In "An Impossible Job?" -- a report studying key school leaders and offering policy solutions -- the superintendents warned many of their best efforts at reform are stymied by the way power is divided among inflexible teacher unions, micromanaging school boards and other pressure groups.
The overwhelming majority of school administrators said they have little chance of significantly changing things, or improving student performance without clearer authority to hire, fire and move teachers, reconfigure bad schools and adjust the curriculum.
The study was done by UW's Center on Reinventing Public Education.
