There is growing concern about the pervasive underrepresentation of qualified Black women superintendents, despite women significantly outnumbering men in public education. This study sought to shed light on the lived experiences of Black women superintendents in North Carolina. The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to gain…

When Dr. Tina Lupton and Dr. Timisha Barnes-Jones joined the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Opportunity Culture implementation was happening in the midst of COVID. Lupton, the executive director of professional learning, and Barnes-Jones, the area superintendent for a network of 15 transformation schools, used their experience in other…

The tendency of charter schools to increase school segregation has been well established, but less is known about what school administrators perceive as the mechanisms causing segregation among charters and traditional public schools. Using the results of exploratory surveys of North Carolina charter school directors and district superintendents,…

Research shows that trauma-informed practices in schools can increase student performance and well-being. School social workers are well-suited to bring these practices to their system but are most successful when partnering with public-school superintendents. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand public-school…

Curriculum adoption and implementation is not a onetime event for districts and schools. It is a multi-year process involving district leadership in multiple units (e.g., curriculum office, finance office, superintendent office, student services), school leadership, instructional staff, students and their caregivers, and other relevant community…

The purpose of this study was to determine if mentorship and sponsorship could help identify the potential political pitfalls or "hidden rules" of senior-level leadership to increase the identification, recruitment, and retention of minority women, specifically African American women in the role of superintendent or executive at the…

Researchers examined the relationship between superintendent longevity and district variables on standardized test scores for students in North Carolina. The authors used hierarchical multiple regression to understand if superintendent-specific variables explained variance in student performance over and above district-based variables documented…

This study profiles superintendents in North Carolina public-school districts for academic year 2020-2021. We focus on superintendent gender, race, educational experiences, highest degrees earned, and professional longevity; and personal characteristics such as age and marital and parenting status, and the relationship between gender and race and…

Studies of school superintendents have captured the attention of educational researchers and practitioners alike for decades. Often, these studies have focused on the leadership styles of superintendents, their changing roles and responsibilities over time, and the politics inherently linked to being the leader of an entire school system. However,…

This research study was designed to add to the existing but limited literature that explores perceived barriers and challenges African-American women superintendents experienced while ascending and serving in the superintendency. According to the literature, African-American women are underrepresented in the role of public school superintendents.…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe/summarize the perceptions of the North Carolina Educator Evaluation System (NCEES) for 10 educational leaders in two small rural school districts in eastern North Carolina. This study was conducted through the problem definition lens. The 10 educational leaders for this study included two…

A public school superintendent, as the chief executive officer in a district, is in a unique position to influence the programs addressing the needs of gifted students in that district. A superintendent's beliefs could impact program content, resource allocation, and priority status. This study looked at superintendents' perceptions of the North…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate an innovative online doctoral course on the pre-service exploration of the superintendency in order to advocate for effective teaching practices in response to calls from the field. To this end, a review of literature was utilized in order to frame and illustrate the course, bringing forth key concepts,…

Superintendents leading school districts, particularly in hard-to-staff areas, face immense challenges in recruiting and retaining high-quality, well-trained teachers, principals, and district leaders. Many large urban areas as well as their rural counterparts have high concentrations of intergenerational poverty and unemployment. Rural areas are…

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) of the State Board of Education are working on a new teacher licensure pathways proposal, Pathways to Excellence for Teaching Professionals (Model). This proposal, if enacted, would restructure the state's system…