Projects
The National Longitudinal Superintendent Database
The lack of national longitudinal data on superintendents is an equity and equality issue. Though the U.S. Department of Education (USED) collects and makes available large samples of teacher and principal data, allowing for robust statistical analyses, USED does not do so with superintendents. While some state education agencies or state superintendent associations collect and publish data on superintendents, the data varies widely in (1) when the data is updated and (2) the cost to access such data.
Without high-quality, national, longitudinal data on superintendents, claims related to who superintendents are; where they are being hired, staying, and leaving; and other important superintendents labor market inquiries cannot be substantiated. Moreover, how a lack of diversity as well as superintendent attrition may disproportionately impact already underserved and disenfranchised communities, and ultimately, the types of learning opportunities and student experiences cannot be fully understood without robust longitudinal superintendent data.
The National Longitudinal Superintendent Database (NLSD) is a comprehensive database tracking superintendents in nearly all K-12 public school districts across the United States (n~12,500). The database begins in 2019, and is updated on an annual basis in the months of October and November. How the data are collected and variables included in the database are detailed in the NLSD Lab Manual (available upon request).
National Superintendent Panel Project
The National Superintendent Panel Project (NSPP) allows superintendents across the United States to share insights and perspectives about issues relevant and important to educational leadership and policy.
Superintendents that volunteer to be part of the NSPP commit to completing brief surveys on a quarterly basis. Quarterly survey questions are co-developed by The Superintendent Lab and Voice4Equity, and are reviewed and approved by the Voice4Equity Advisory Board. The public can request survey questions/topic areas for consideration below.
Superintendent Time Use Project
The Superintendent Time Use Project aims to better understand the realities of the job of the superintendency. As part of this study, superintendents across the nation volunteer to track their day-to-day work at a very precise level (minutes, hours). This data will be analyzed to educate researchers, policymakers, and practitioners of how superintendent time use varies over time and across contexts–which can inform a more nuanced approach to how superintendents are trained and supported to take on the demands of the job throughout their career. This work can also inform changes in policy and practice, particularly around how Colleges of Education train aspiring superintendents in ways that are relevant to the actual work that superintendents engage in on a daily basis.
Impact of Superintendent Turnover and Diversity Project
Public K-12 school district superintendents are a highly under-studied population within the field of educational leadership, and little to no research has explored the ways that superintendents influence school systems and the people within school systems (Schwartz et al., 2023). This mixed-methods research draws on state administrative datasets and survey methods to better understand (1) the relationship between superintendent turnover and school-level contexts and outcomes, (2) the ways in which superintendent turnover are perceived by educators and administrators, and the impacts that superintendent turnover has on educators’ and administrators’ feelings/emotions, perceptions, and actions within their professional context; and (3) educators’ and administrators’ perceptions of who superintendents are.
This research project is collaborative effort between The Superintendent Lab founder Dr. Rachel White (University of Tennessee), Dr. Cameron Anglum at The University of Missouri, Dr. Alex Aylward at The University of Nevada-Reno, Dr. David DeMatthews at The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. David Knight at The University of Washington, and Dr. Tuan Nguyen at Kansas State University.
EdPolSims
EdPolSims is a joint project between The Superintendent Lab’s Dr. Rachel White and Dr. Julie Marsh at the University of Southern California. Findings from Dr. White’s research reveal that superintendents do not feel adequately prepared to engage in issues related to policy and contentious education politics, and they often have to broach these types of situations through “trial and error.” As national, politically contentious issues are increasingly permeating K-12 public schools, this project aims to provide current and aspiring district leaders with simulations to prepare and support leaders to navigate state and local policy and politics.
Given the substantial body of research showing that identities and experiences influence how people can and do engage in policy and political spaces, EdPolSims aims to center district leader gender, race/ethnicity, tenure, and age in the simulations, prompting users to reflect on privileges they have when navigating political situations and how they can support others who may not be afforded those same privileges. The simulations are also open and honest about the realities faced by those who have been systematically denied certain privileges and whose identities necessitate they navigate additional burdens, biases, and discrimination.
ATHLETES TO ADMINS
Dr. Joshua Childs at The University of Texas at Austin and Dr. Rachel White aim to meld their joint experiences as former NCAA Division I student athletes with their current research focused on supporting diverse leaders in K-12 leadership pipelines, Dr. White’s work as member/vice president of a local school board, and Dr. Childs’s partnerships with the Texas High School Coaches Association.
With college athletes being one of the most diverse sub-populations in terms of race and gender and the intersectionalities thereof on college campuses, Dr. White and Dr. Childs aim to understanding if and how a pipeline from college athlete to K-12 school district administration can be built and sustained. In particular, they recognize the valuable leadership skills, knowledge, and dispositions that are both innate and developed in many college student-athletes, and how these are the precise qualities that school districts are pining for when searching for school district leaders.
Currently, the project is in Phase I/exploratory phase, which aims to understand the experiences of former NCAA college athletes who became superintendents. In particular, Dr. Childs and Dr. White are working with current athletes-turned-superintendents to explore how being a college athlete has influenced the way that they approach their work and leadership, and the risks and rewards they have experienced along the way to and in the position of superintendent.
