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.