Career Patterns of American Superintendents

Abstract

Stemming from a nationwide survey of superintendents (Glass, Björk, & Brunner, 2000), this article dispels the myth that there is a crisis facing the American school superintendency. Though we note a slight increase in the median age of superintendents, most chief school executives are satisfied in their current positions and tend to stay longer and retire later than they did a decade ago. Further evidence suggests that career patterns and characteristics of women and people of color in the superintendency tend to differ from those of their White, male counterparts and that the underrepresentation of these populations within the field continues to be of concern. Recommendations for policy development, based upon empirically identified challenges in the field, rather than unfounded myths of crisis, are included.

Examining the Career Pathways of Educators With Superintendent Certification

“…This finding corresponds with our life table and visual displays of hazard. It also falls in line with Björk et al (2003) who found that participants reported first entering the superintendency 1.36 years after certification. Further support for this finding comes from Kowalski et al (2011) who concluded that roughly two thirds of first time superintendents obtained their position within 1 year of beginning their searches.…”

“…Figures from descriptive studies support this hypothesis, as the mean superintendent age within most of these studies is in the fifties (Björk, Keedy, & Gurley, 2003;Grissom & Andersen, 2012;Kim & Brunner, 2009). In their national study of U.S. superintendents, Björk et al (2003) found that most entered the position for the first time in their mid-to early forties. Kowalski, McCord, Petersen, Young, and Ellerson (2011) later reported that new superintendents were typically aged between 46 and 50 years.…”

“…Given that age and experience go hand in hand, a reasonable assumption would hold that years of experience also influence the likelihood of entering the superintendency. Furthermore, most superintendents have several years of experience in education, many of which are in campus leadership positions (Björk et al, 2003). While experience may be a common prerequisite for entering the principalship, there is no published data about how much it matters in relation to other factors.…”

“…Because females tend to have more years of teaching experience than males, they typically enter the superintendency for the first time at an older age (Kim & Brunner, 2009). As for positions held along the way Björk et al (2003) report that females are more likely to bypass the principalship than males. Tallerico (2000b) reports similar findings and suggests this is because of (a) bias in the selection of principals that ultimately disfavor females and (b) the resultant prevalence of females who aspire to the superintendency that end up transitioning from the classroom to district central office director and coordinator roles.…”

“…Tallerico (2000b) reports similar findings and suggests this is because of (a) bias in the selection of principals that ultimately disfavor females and (b) the resultant prevalence of females who aspire to the superintendency that end up transitioning from the classroom to district central office director and coordinator roles. Relatedly, Björk et al (2003) found that female superintendents typically came from district-level curricular positions rather than as assistant/associate superintendents of finance, facilities, and so on.…”