Patrick Welsh, a veteran Alexandria, Virginia high school English teacher who often writes for the Outlook section of the Washington Post, describes what a new superintendent faces in Alexandria: "constant negotiations with and back-biting from a crowd of self-appointed community experts who think they know best how to run a school system." No superintendent can survive the minefield of aggressive, well-educated parents together with a divided school board that has strong opinions on everything, Welsh writes, which means that the district will likely face a never-ending stream of superintendents who come in lauded and depart vilified.
"They'll love the new superintendent-until the discord begins," by Patrick Welsh, Washington Post, June 17, 2001