Leadership

Abstract

Phi Delta Kappa’s CEO, Joshua Starr, points out that while school boards may tell their newly hired superintendents to be bold, visionary leaders, the job tends to include built-in incentives — such as a pension system that rewards longevity — to play it safe. If district leaders aim to challenge longstanding patterns of inequity in their local schools, they must be willing to take a stand against those who benefit from the status quo, even if that eventually costs them their job. Of course, not everybody can afford to do so.