Both superintendents and principals create a foundation for student achievement, school culture, and the vision of a school building or district. When combined, these two similar yet distinct administrative roles become one unique position with less time and resources to fulfill individual job responsibilities. A dual-role administrator is defined…

This study makes use of a data set detailing instances of public school superintendent turnover in the commonwealth of Kentucky between 2014 and 2023. A quantitative research design was used to analyze descriptive statistics and salary changes based on a set of demographic and descriptive variables in the sample of 205 superintendent turnovers…

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a light on structural problems in education. Changing conditions, policy recommendations, and pressure from local communities have caused strain among educators and administrators across the nation. For rural districts already strained by shortages of teachers and administrators, the pandemic particularly raised…

As a result of extensive media coverage, the tragedies at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are etched into the collective memory of American society. Shortly after the events at Sandy Hook, the National Rifle Association (NRA) presented a program to address student safety by arming…

The goals for this quantitative study were to examine superintendents' perceptions regarding their own supervision and evaluation of principals in a rural state. Five research questions guided the qualitative inquiry: (1) What are the perceptions of superintendents' regarding their supervision of principals?; (2) What are the perceptions of…

Research has consistently shown that the quality of teachers working with students has a greater impact on academic achievement than any other school-related factor. However, close to a third of new teachers continue to leave the profession within their first 5 years of employment. In particular, hard-to-staff rural schools have struggled to…

Rural school leaders encounter an array of complex issues that require legal counsel. Student discipline, contract disputes, employee conduct, special education, and a host of other topics require school boards and superintendents to utilize school attorneys. This descriptive phenomenological study explored the daily experiences of ten school…

This qualitative multiple case study is a follow-up to a study completed in 2007 that examined characteristics of rural school districts experiencing a high rate of superintendent turnover. The original study design incorporated extensive interviews with participants across four rural school districts; triangulating interview results with…

This qualitative phenomenological narrative inquiry research study used narrative inquiry to investigate rural superintendents' experiences with the application of principle-centered leadership in their districts. Ten superintendents from rural districts in east Texas were interviewed. Narratives were analyzed by organizing, describing,…

Understanding the context of rural school settings is critical to beginning school district leaders. Rural communities present multifaceted challenges that leaders must embrace as diverse community expectations unfold. The majority of Kansas school districts are in rural settings. Mentoring and induction shapes the experiences encountered during…