Women in education are strongly represented in the classroom but are much less likely to become school district superintendents. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how women who have been superintendents for at least 3 years experienced mentoring and role preparation as they worked to attain the position. A transcendental…

This study sought to determine whether there was correlation between a superintendent's use of a transformational leadership and levels of collective teacher efficacy. Four research questions were answered in this study: Is there a statistically significant correlation between collective teacher efficacy and school district superintendents'…

Politically charged education issues roiled the 2022 races for seats on state boards of education, yet none of the boards flipped partisan control. However, majority parties expanded their representation on boards in Colorado, Kansas, and Utah so far. Of the 63 seats on the ballot for 12 state boards, 35 incumbent candidates were reelected. This…

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 public school district superintendent turnover rates reached concerning levels in Oregon. This study explored relationships between superintendent longevity and superintendents' experiences with the school board, experiences in the school district, experiences related to their own health and safety, and…

This study sought to determine whether there was a statistically significant correlation between school board behaviors and characteristics, and a superintendent's use of a transformational leadership model. The study was grounded in four research questions: Is there a statistically significant correlation between board behaviors and…

There are many African American women in leadership positions such as Assistant Superintendents, Network Superintendents, Directors, Principals, Assistant Principals, and Coaches. There is a disconnect for African American women in leadership and the highest position of authority in a school district. This leads to the question, what are the…

Research has begun to articulate actions of social justice leaders, but as a field we still know little about how a broad range of leaders view and enact equitable practice. In this study, we use a set of "leadership for equity" rubrics to examine how 114 school and district leaders rated and provided evidence of equitable or inequitable…

When a highly qualified candidate learns the search will be conducted confidentially, a positive response is almost certain, in the author's experience running superintendent searches since 1988. Just as likely, the prospective candidate responds negatively to being told the search process will not be confidential. Confidentiality is the item of…

When Deborah Peterson reluctantly accepted the principalship of Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon, a high-poverty school no other qualified applicants would touch that her supervisor assigned to her, books for new principals were no help. The books suggested actions like crafting a school vision and developing professional learning…

Oregon's Legislature in 2011 affirmed a clear and ambitious goal for the State, known as the "40-40-20" goal, which states that by 2025 all adult Oregonians will hold a high school diploma or equivalent, 40% of them will have an associate's degree or a meaningful postsecondary certificate, and 40% will hold a bachelor's degree or…

Understanding antecedents to superintendent leadership development is crucial for the continued improvement of schools. This qualitative study seeks to identify skills superintendents consider critical to their position, antecedents that developed those skills, and provide an increased understanding of the methods needed for developing current and…

Citizens now expect access to information, particularly from public institutions like local school districts. They demand input and accountability. Cultural and technological changes, such as the Internet, make it possible for districts to comply. Yet transparency--the easily seen and understood actions of a school district and the thinking behind…

This article examines whether centrally developed initiatives at the state level have an impact on how districts in the U.S. think about their role in providing direction and support for student learning, and also examines how districts view the strategies that state governments use to initiate change at the local level. Our focus is on smaller…

In this article, the author describes the factors that made their response to intervention (RTI) project in Oregon successful. Primarily, these include school-based factors such as the initial collective skill and knowledge in a district, the degree to which the foundations of a multi-tiered instructional model and data-based decision making are…

School district administrator openings are occurring across Texas and many other states at an increasing rate. The high rate of turnover in the superintendency has become a national problem. Texas was chosen for the study due to the total number of school districts in the state and the high percent of rural districts. The other selected states,…