Drawing on multiyear field observations of educational administrators, I examine several parallels between the work of educational administration and school ethnography. These parallels emerge in response to structural challenges faced by administrators who work in schools and other educational programs. The parallels themselves suggest several unexamined complementarities between ethnographic and administrative orientations toward the schools. They also challenge popular and theoretical dichotomies regarding educational “research” and “practice.” SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, SCHOOL ETHNOGRAPHY