This is a practitioner research study that examines what it takes to co-create school contexts that support strong school communities and instructional practices. This practitioner inquiry study took a case study approach and looked closely at the relationships cultivated between and among teachers and administrators grappling to advance students'…

Public schools are faced with a shortage of women superintendents in the United States. Although women dominate the teaching profession and outnumber men in educational leadership and doctoral programs in education, there is a disproportionate number of men compared to women leading the nation's public schools. Using feminist theory and social…

This study used a quantitative survey in the form of an online self-administered questionnaire to explore and describe the views of school leaders on chronic absenteeism in New Jersey public schools. The first of its kind, this statewide survey was designed for the purpose of understanding how school leaders perceive the importance of equity in…

Salary differences between male and female superintendents start at the beginning of their careers and continue throughout employment (Biasi & Sarsons, 2022; Blau & Kahn, 2017). This practice draws attention to the lack of gender equity, as evidenced by the unequal distribution of power, wealth, and benefits between males and females…

School principals play an invaluable role in schools', teachers', and students' success; therefore, it is of particular importance that we learn, through empirical research, about the factors related to recruiting and selecting school principals. This study critically reviewed 64 empirical literature studies that were published in the United…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption in education across the United States. Prior to the pandemic, students in third grade struggled with low reading proficiency, a difficulty that predicts persistent academic struggles, school dropout, and even delinquency. Districts in South Carolina and around the United States adapted to the…

The problem that this study investigated is whether a set of characteristics (gender, age, region, race/ethnicity, and path to licensure) predict the level of interest of principals in pursuing the superintendency. This quantitative, correlational study aimed to address this problem by investigating if demographic factors can predict K-12…

Although the population of Latin@s continues to increase in the United States, the number of Latino males in educational leadership is largely disproportional (Associated Press, 2018). This brought about the inquiry as to why more Latino males do not reach the highest position in education, superintendent. To my dismay, "there is a glaring…

The purpose of this action research study is to understand how public school district administrators' leadership styles impact the success of high school Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. I used the action research model which included a literature review, Cycle 1 interviews and data analysis, and Cycle 2 action step…

Fair and equitable compensation is a key driver in attracting and retaining a talented educator workforce. States and districts play the most significant role to ensure teacher salaries are competitive. To address current challenges related to educator shortages, many state and district leaders are actively engaged in discussions about increasing…

Our recently completed research project investigated strategies being used by Wisconsin rural school districts to address educator shortages, including a diverse set of "grow your own" (GYO) initiatives such as Educators Rising that involve partnerships with educator preparation programs (EPPs) and other local partners to identify,…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the perceptions of K-12 school administrators regarding school and community STEM awareness and to elicit their suggestions for promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) awareness among schools and communities. A purposeful sample of 175 Texas administrators provided…

The problem of how a rural school district superintendent develops individual leadership team members and a leadership team is worthy of further investigation. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to describe how the PPSD superintendent develops individual leadership team members using mentoring and described how the PPSD superintendent…

I examine in this dissertation, using a three article format, how rural districts, communities, and superintendents made sense of and responded to the current opioid epidemic in western Pennsylvania. I conducted extensive fieldwork in rural western Pennsylvania, an area heavily affected by the recent opioid crisis, over the 2017-2018 school year.…

In this study, the authors sought to explore superintendents' understandings of the various influences on how their districts implemented a 100% virtual learning experience for students for the 2020-2021 academic year. Understanding these influences allowed the authors to develop a framework for leading redesigns of learning systems in long-term…