Many years ago, the late Erwin C. Hargrove, a political science professor at Vanderbilt, edited a book about public sector jobs that were fraught with difficulty, which he labeled “Impossible Jobs.”
Drawing on leadership theory and social psychology, he identified factors that make these jobs untenable. These “impossible jobs” included situations where:
- Legitimacy is questioned by stakeholders
- Conflict is significant among constituencies
- The field lacks professional authority
- Leaders have long-term idealistic goals
Not surprisingly, the school superintendent position was cited as one of the most “impossible jobs” of all.
Significant turnover caused by stress, isolation
Superintendents today still undoubtedly experience factors of an “impossible job” in their day-to-day work. Recent data from a survey conducted by ILO group in the nation’s 500 largest districts reveal that one in five school superintendents stepped down this year. The turnover rate continues to exceed the annual 14-16% rate cited by AASA more than a decade ago.
Why are superintendents, as well as school and district leaders leaving? High stress, isolation on the job, long hours, and other factors are all contributing factors.
According to a 2023 RAND/Center on Reinventing Public Education report, 79% of superintendents nationally said their work was “often” or “always” stressful. Roughly one-half of superintendents (53%) said their work was “often” stressful, and another 26% said their work was “always” stressful. High stress levels were cited by superintendents regardless of their sex, race/ethnicity, years of experience, or their district characteristics. However, stress levels were particularly high among superintendents of color and superintendents serving in urban districts.
The most significant stressors include politics, educators’ and students’ mental health, staffing shortages, and budget concerns. The report also indicated that superintendents work as many as 67 hours a week.
The 2023 Voice of the Superintendent Survey, conducted by education consulting firm EAB, recommends that school boards find ways to help superintendents feel successful in their role and allow them time to connect with students and collaborate with peers to staunch turnover. Superintendents surveyed for the report overwhelmingly said they need help navigating challenging conversations with the community.
“The superintendency is an incredibly isolated position, and the demands are monumental,” Sean Dusek, who leads the mentorship program for the Alaska Council of School Administrators, told Education Week in 2023. “With fewer and fewer people getting into the profession to begin with, we have to strengthen our current superintendents as much as we can and provide them with support so that they have job satisfaction and want to stay.”
Too often, superintendents say what former superintendent Jill Siler wrote in AASA’s School Administrator Magazine , “The need for mentorship doesn’t stop once you land the superintendency. But what is unique about the superintendency is that the onus for seeking growth is entirely on you.”
New Collaboration to Train, Supercharge School Superintendents
These are among the reasons why, in September, Cognia and AASA announced an agreement to provide school superintendents nationwide with just-in-time problem-solving, networking, and learning to usher in a new era of education leadership.
The agreement will provide comprehensive leadership support and innovative professional learning through the Leadership Circle, which will be available to cohorts of educational leaders throughout the country. Existing Cognia Leadership Circle and network members will have access to more leaders with similar challenges, responsibilities, and institution types with whom to collaborate, network, and problem-solve. This new relationship will enable leaders who are members of AASA to participate in ongoing engagement, collective problem-solving, and development, with a professional community of peers providing just-in-time support matched to the specific challenges they face every day.
By pooling resources and expertise, this collaboration aims to supercharge how leaders are prepared and supported, ultimately reshaping the education landscape for the benefit of all children
AASA executive director Dr. David Shuler called the agreement an opportunity to expand the organization’s “deep bench of timely supports” for top school leaders. “By pooling resources and expertise, this collaboration aims to supercharge how leaders are prepared and supported, ultimately reshaping the education landscape for the benefit of all children.”
The agreement expands access for AASA members and educators to ongoing expert counsel and a safe community of leaders, enabling them to continue to grow in their careers by taking part in the numerous leadership development and support programs that are part of Cognia’s Leadership Circle improvement services. Cohorts of AASA members will be invited to participate in the Leadership Circle year-round, with benefits including:
- Ambassador Support from experienced ambassadors, who monthly, guide and nurture relationships with established cohorts of school leaders. Leaders who join the Leadership Circle are placed in groups according to position/responsibility and organization characteristics and demographics.
- Solution Circles, where participants submit leadership problems to get honest, expert feedback and collectively develop pragmatic solutions with an online or in-person gathering of school leaders nationwide
- Leader Chat, a weekly video and podcast with education and business leaders and relevant content to keep current with new leadership trends, research, and strategies
- Think Tanks in which leaders across the country meet as a larger group to address common problems
- A National Online Learning Community, a private and interactive online professional learning meeting space for leaders to find content and engage with one another and the Leadership Circle team of ambassadors
- In-Person Summits convening leaders at Cognia’s metro Atlanta headquarters for targeted learning experiences to provide safe spaces for leaders to discuss relevant topics, participate in small group gatherings, network, and hone their individual leadership skills
We hope that by providing these tools and resources to school superintendents, district leaders, and principals, we can make their jobs a little less “impossible” and build a strong and lasting community of superintendents supporting one another.
District leaders seeking more information should contact the Leadership Circle team, via email at LeadershipCircle@Cognia.org.
References
Blad, E. (2023). “Incredibly Isolated”: A State’s Effort to Keep Superintendents Connected and in the Job. Education Week.
EAB. (2024, January 5). 2024 Voice of the Superintendent Survey.
ILO Group. (2024). New Release Finds Persistent Turnover, Gender Gaps, Racial Disparities Among Leadership in Top 500 School Districts.
Kowalski, T. J., McCord, R. S., Petersen, G. J., Young, I. P., & Ellerson, N. M. (2010). The state of the American School Superintendency: 2010 Decennial Study. AASA.
Schwartz, H., & Diliberti, M. K. (2023). Politics Is the Top Reason Superintendents Are Stressed: Selected Findings from the Spring 2023 American School District Panel Survey . RAND.
Siler, J. M. (2023). Elusive Mentoring in the Superintendency. AASA.
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