Today, RFA releases a new FAQ: Superintendents in Pennsylvania’s School Districts.Each year several of Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts experience a transition or change in their superintendent and currently Pennsylvania’s two largest school districts—Philadelphia and Pittsburgh—are both undergoing a search for a new superintendent to begin next school year. Despite how important these leaders are in charting the trajectory of school district operations and ultimately of student learning, relatively little research has been published about Pennsylvania’s superintendents.
This brief, as part of RFA’s Pennsylvania Clearinghouse for Education Research project (PACER), answers some frequently asked questions about superintendents, such as what a superintendent does, who is qualified to fill the role, how they are hired or fired, and how can school and community members get involved in a superintendent search.
These questions are answered by summarizing existing research and state policy. Staffing data to capture demographic characteristics, average salaries, and tenure of PA superintendents is also analyzed. As shown in Figure 5, findings include that fewer than five percent of Pennsylvania’s superintendents identified as people of color in 2020-21.
Policymakers, school district officials, and school and community members hoping to get involved in superintendent searches in their school districts can all use this FAQ to inform their efforts.
