About Us
The Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency consists of:
- Leaders of prominent organizations who prepare and support superintendents.
- Top scholars of education politics.
- Experienced current and former superintendents .
Together, we are focused on equipping superintendents with the political acumen to make positive change in a complex environment.
Below you can learn more about what we do and how we got started.
Our Research
The Collaborative’s research is focused on identifying the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed for superintendents to effectively navigate the political realm. Our research questions were developed based on the experiences of superintendents, the knowledge of existing support programs and associations, and insights from scholars.
Our Collaborative Action
The Collaborative acts on this experience, insight, and knowledge by developing timely guidance, tools, examples, and resources for superintendents that are easily accessible and utilized in collaborative members’ own work.
Our Communication and Outreach
The Collaborative codifies and communicates widely their learning, including through the development of a tested framework for superintendents’ political leadership. Our goal is to provide resources that can be used by organizations that support public school district superintendents across the U.S.
Brief History of CPLS
SEPT
2021
AASA Article: An Impossible Position. Carl A. Cohn, AASA
The School Superintendents Association. September 2021. Carl Cohn published an article on the state of the superintendency which centered the need for political leadership.
Support from the Hewlett Foundation and William T Grant Foundation
The article provoked interest from many people and organizations, so Carl and Jennifer decided to bring practitioners, scholars, and philanthropic partners together to discuss the current state.
2021
JUN
2022
First Convening
Carl and Jennifer convened a group of thirty superintendents, program leaders, and scholars. The convening surfaced an urgent need to ramp up the political skill needed to ensure district efforts to address inequality in education stayed on track.
Support from the Hewlett Foundation
The Hewlett Foundation agreed to provide funding to support the formal creation of the Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency.
2023
2023
Collaborative Year 2 Virtual Kick-Off
The Collaborative met to solidify its purpose, the three strands of its work, with a focus on its research plan.
Second Convening
Anchored to superintendent stories of political leadership, the Collaborative reviewed an emergent framework focused on the knowledge, skills and dispositions of political leadership in education; program leaders shared their own practice for feedback.
2023
2023
Implementation of Collarborative’s Plan
The Collaborative worked largely on implementing its research plan, which focuses on codifying the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary for political leadership in education. It also reviewed each participating program’s work on political leadership to better identify what is needed in the field.
Looking Ahead
The Collaborative publishes its Framework and determines the next phase of its work which will focus on collaborative action.