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Effective strategies that urban superintendents use that improve the academic achievement for African-American males

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Effective strategies that urban superintendents use that improve the academic achievement for African-American males

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Content Running Head: STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 1

Effective Strategies That Urban Superintendents Use That Improve the Academic Achievement
for African-American Males

by

Cardenas Shackelford

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2013

Copyright 2013 Cardenas Shackelford

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 2

Abstract
The roles of urban superintendents are crucial to improving the educational outlook for the
neediest students, specifically the African-American males. The roles and responsibilities of the
urban school superintendent today are more numerous, complex, and demanding than in the past.
The expectations of today’s urban superintendents are to be an instructional leader, curriculum
reformer, engineer of teacher development, a promoter of academic gains and a politician. This
study examined the effective strategies, professional development, resources, and programs
urban superintendents utilize to improve the academic achievement for African-American males.
This study employed a mixed-methods design to answer the four research questions regarding
urban superintendents and the academic achievement for African-American males. Data was
collected through a quantitative survey of 23 superintendents and a qualitative interview of four
superintendents that was used to support the four research findings. The research study resulted
in several key findings. First, urban superintendents need to create a safe, inclusive learning
environment for African-American male students with rigorous and relevant curriculum.
Second, urban superintendents must provide data-driven, on-going professional development for
district leaders, principals, and teachers. Third, urban superintendents are mentoring,
monitoring, and meeting with their leadership teams regularly, regular principal meetings, and
on-on-one principal meetings as needed. Fourth, effective superintendents establish explicit
goals, and targets for African-American male students’ performance that are non-negotiable.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 3

Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Orma Jean Shackelford (1939-2005) whom
would always ask me and state, “Cardenas, when are you going to get your doctorate degree?
We need a doctor in the house.” I would watch my mom at the table at night still in her work
clothes, studying for her GED. And, all the time dinner was cooking on the stove. Dad, I thank
you for molding me into what a man is supposed to be. Your heavy hands strengthen my back
and broaden my shoulders. Of all the things you said to me the one that I remember the most is,
“Son, you never tell yourself no. You let them tell you no. Never give up on yourself.” To all
of my brothers and sister-in-laws, thank you for your support.
This dissertation is also dedicated to my wife. I thank you for your love, patience,
support, and sacrifice. My daughter and son, thank you for understanding when daddy could not
make it to all of your school events and your athletic activities.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 4

Acknowledgements

I would like to give special thanks to Dr. Pedro Garcia and Dr. Castruita, my instructors,
and Dr. Darnell Cole, a member of my dissertation committee team. The time, knowledge, and
guidance the three of you gave to the growth of me professionally, and to the successful
completion of my doctoral program was greatly appreciated.
I also want to acknowledgement a good friend of mine, Essence Phillips. Working with
you in your school, collaborating, and sharing your perspective was invaluable to me as I worked
through the Ed.D. program. To my friend, Doris Davis, as a speech/language pathologist and
editor, your expertise in the written language process has helped me to develop and enhanced my
understanding of standard based language acquisition for African-American male students. Your
contributions to this project are immeasurable and will forever be appreciated. Thank you for
challenging and supporting me.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 5

Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................2
Dedication ............................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................4
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................9
List of Figures ....................................................................................................................11

Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................12
Statement of Problem .............................................................................................17
Purpose of Study ....................................................................................................19
Research Questions ................................................................................................19
The Importance of the Study..................................................................................20
Delimitations ..........................................................................................................22
Limitations .............................................................................................................22
Assumptions ...........................................................................................................23
Definition of Terms................................................................................................23
Chapter Two: Introduction ...........................................................................................26
The Urban Context .................................................................................................27
No Child Left Behind Act ......................................................................................30
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child ........................................................................31
Leadership Roles of the Urban School District Superintendent ............................34
Visionary / Contextual Leadership Role .......................................................34
Fiscal Leadership Role ..................................................................................37
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 6

Political Leadership Role ..............................................................................38
Instructional Leadership Role .......................................................................39
Summary ................................................................................................................48
Conclusion .............................................................................................................49
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................51
Research Questions ................................................................................................51
Design of the Study ................................................................................................52
Quantitative Methodology .....................................................................................53
Qualitative Methodology .......................................................................................53
Participants .............................................................................................................54
Population .....................................................................................................54
Two Population Subgroups ...........................................................................56
Description of the Superintendents Leading Successful
Urban Districts ..............................................................................................57
Description of the School Districts ........................................................................58
Superintendents Included in the Interview Sample Criterion
Sampling .......................................................................................................58
Instrumentation ......................................................................................................60
Urban Superintendent Leadership Survey Questionnaire ......................................60
Structured Interview Protocol ................................................................................62
Procedure ...............................................................................................................64
Superintendent Survey Data Collection ........................................................64
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 7

Structured Interview Data Collection ...........................................................65
Data Analysis .........................................................................................................66
Superintendent Survey Data Analysis ..........................................................66
Structured Interview Data Analysis ..............................................................66
Validity Concerns .........................................................................................67
Ethical Considerations ..................................................................................68
Summary ................................................................................................................68
Chapter Four: Presentation of the Findings .......................................................................69
Response Rate ........................................................................................................74
Quantitative Demographic Data ...................................................................74
Qualitative Demographic Data ....................................................................78
Research Questions ................................................................................................81
Research Question 1 .....................................................................................81
Personnel Preparation ...................................................................................81
Learning Environment ..................................................................................84
Disciplinary Equity ..............................................................................97
Parental Involvement ...........................................................................98
Community Organizations Involvement ..............................................99
Research Question 2 ...................................................................................103
Research Question 3 ...................................................................................108
Research Question 4 ...................................................................................112
Summary ..............................................................................................................116
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 8

Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations .........................................................119
Introduction ..........................................................................................................119
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................120
Research Questions ..............................................................................................123
Methodology ........................................................................................................123
Findings................................................................................................................124
Implications..........................................................................................................127
Recommendations ................................................................................................128
Recommendations for Future Study ....................................................................128
Conclusion ...........................................................................................................129
References ........................................................................................................................132
Appendices
Appendix A: Urban Superintendent Leadership Survey
Variable Construct ......................................................................................145
Appendix B: Effective Strategies Urban Superintendents Utilize that
Improve the Academic Achievement for African-American Males ...........152
Appendix C: Survey Cover Letter .......................................................................157
Appendix D: Information Letter ..........................................................................158
Appendix E: Permission to Cite ...........................................................................161

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 9

List of Tables
Table 1 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009,
Grade 8 Reading Percentages at or above Proficient .......................................15
Table 2 Instructional and Transformational Leadership Practices of
the Superintendent ...........................................................................................40
Table 3 Urban School District Assessment Results for
African-Americans ...........................................................................................71
Table 4 Quantitative Survey: Response Rate ................................................................74
Table 5 Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Gender ...................................................75
Table 6 Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Age ........................................................75
Table 7 Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Education...............................................76
Table 8 Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Experience ............................................77
Table 9 Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Experience in
Current District ................................................................................................77
Table 10 Qualitative Interview: Characteristics for Superintendents
and Districts .....................................................................................................79
Table 11 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional
Leadership and Staff Development ..................................................................84
Table 12 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Safe Learning
Environment and the Need for College Access Programs for
African-American Males .................................................................................86

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 10

Table 13 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Strong
Instruction and Targeted Interventions ............................................................88
Table 14 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional
Leadership and Instructional Priorities Funding ..............................................91
Table 15 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of
Non-Negotiable and Instructional Priorities Funding ......................................93
Table 16 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional
Leadership and Target Intervention .................................................................95
Table 17 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional
Leadership and Cultural Curriculum ...............................................................97
Table 18 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Urgency
and Learning Environment ............................................................................103
Table 19 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional
Leadership and Targeted Staff Development ................................................105
Table 20 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Explicit
Goals and Instructional Leadership ...............................................................108
Table 21 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Team
Improvement Strategies and Urgency for Improving ....................................111
Table 22 SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Increase
Parent Involvement and Encourage Parent Involvement
in Decision Making ........................................................................................115
Table 23 African-American NAEP California 4 Grade Report Card ...........................122

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 11

List of Figures
Figure 1 API Growth by Student Group Statewide, 2010–11 ........................................21
Figure 2 Quantitative Data: Average 2008 and 2012 API Results .................................80
Figure 3 Personnel ..........................................................................................................82
Figure 4 Environment .....................................................................................................85
Figure 5 Data Driven Intervention .................................................................................87
Figure 6 Funding ............................................................................................................90
Figure 7 Non-Negotiables ..............................................................................................92
Figure 8 General Student Learning ................................................................................94
Figure 9 Culturally Relevant Curriculum .......................................................................95
Figure 10 Programs ........................................................................................................102
Figure 11 Professional Development .............................................................................104
Figure 12 Programs Specific for African-American Males ...........................................107
Figure 13 Staff Expectations for African-American Males ...........................................110
Figure 14 Parental Support .............................................................................................114

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 12

Chapter One
Introduction
The role of a superintendent is an individual who can provide vision and balance in all
departments in a school district. An effective superintendent is able to provide leadership in the
entire district’s educational, financial, and administrative performance; facilitates the
performance of all personnel; and responds to and persuades an audience with varying ideas
about the performance and leadership of the district (Moffett, 2011). Superintendents must
recognize the importance of student achievement; ranking improvement in student performance
for all students as an important function for the success of the district. The effective district
leader maintains high expectations for school performance and for all participants involved in
this achievement: students, personnel, and the community, and maintains an unwavering and
positive approach to helping others realize their potential (McGrath, 2007). When
superintendents make it the district’s goal to improve the performance of African-American male
students, Marzano and Waters (2009) stated, “Effective superintendents continually monitor
district progress toward achievement and instructional goals to ensure that these goals remain the
driving force behind the district’s actions” (p.7). Critical skills a superintendent must possess are
diverse and in-depth, the ability to be an instructional leader, and the ability to be both manager
and leader when the situation warrants. The superintendent, in short, personifies the aspirations
and responsibilities of the entire organization (McGrath, 2007).
Effective district leadership includes effective, building-level administrators (Marzano &
Waters, 2009). Additionally, effective, high performing schools require the presence of
visionary leaders who act as an extension of the superintendent’s leadership. The principal acts
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 13

as a conduit that connects the superintendent’s vision to the school, the teachers, the students,
and the parent community. The importance of school leadership cannot be underestimated
(Waters & Marzano, 2006).
In the past 45 years, the American public, the business community, and the government
legislators have been very out spoken about the quality and equality of the nation’s school
systems. There have been myriads of reports, legislative acts, and programs developed to
address the needs of all students of diverse race, color, and culture.
In 1965, the United States Congress authorized the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA). President L. B. Johnson recognized the wide chasm that separated the races
economically. A central program of L. B. Johnson’s agenda to create a great society was ESEA.
ESEA was necessary because the federal government recognized the inequalities existing in our
public schools that state and local governments were failing to properly address (Young, 2010).
In addition, ESEA was considered one of the most progressive education reform initiatives ever
proposed (Stecher, Hamilton, & Gonzalez, 2003). The expectation of ESEA was to provide
federal funds to support needy students in our schools and to help close the achievement gap
between African Americans and Caucasian students. Although ESEA was not successful, it was
determined that without the program needy students would have fallen farther behind
academically (McDonnell, 2005).
In 1966, The Coleman Report was released to the public, and in 1983 A Nation at Risk
was released to the public. These two reports were the most influential documents ever written
about the failures of the American public education system. These reports indicated that the
American public schools were not performing adequately. The reports noted that the American
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 14

public schools were not doing much to lessen the achievement gaps between subgroups; the
schools’ performance was subpar; and there was little attention given to higher order skills and
concepts. Since the release of these reports, the American educational system has improved.
In 1997, Congress enacted the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program
(CSRDP as cited in Taylor & Phillips, 2005). The CSRDP provided financial support to schools
to develop effective, research-based comprehensive school reform programs that will help all
students obtain high standards of learning (Taylor & Phillips, 2005). The premise behind
CSRDP is that a comprehensive approach to school reform, integrating well-researched and
documented approaches for school-wide change, and support trainers and facilitators, is a more
effective means to improve student achievement than implementing isolated, piecemeal
programs.
Effective urban superintendents recognize that race is an ever-present issue in American
schools (Gillett, 2012). Urban school superintendents confront race and racially charged issues
throughout each school year (Singleton & Linton, 2006). The complexity of race and race
relations within the school system has evolved from the folds of desegregation in the 1960s to
the nuances of state and federal accountability measures (Singleton & Linton, 2006). It is
important to identify what strategies effective superintendents use when addressing race, when
the focal point is African-American male students, and academic achievement of this particular
sub-group.
In 2001, the United States Congress reauthorized ESEA (1965) and renamed it the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Under the NCLB Act (U. S. Department of Education,
2001), public schools are required to prepare all students to be proficient in language arts and
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 15

math by 2014, and to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students
and their Caucasian and Asian peers (Stecher et al., 2003). Additionally, under NCLB (U. S.
Department of Education, 2001) the superintendents of school districts are accountable for the
achievement of all students and the development of programs that will improve the academic
achievement of minority students such as the African-American male students. Since the
enactment of NCLB (U. S. Department of Education, 2001), standards and accountabilities have
risen, and academic scores and levels of proficiency have risen. However, the African-American
male students continue scoring lower than other groups on standardized exams. The federal
government is clear about its goal of all students being proficient; however, it makes a false
assumption that schools are equipped with personnel, resources, and finances to lead to reform
(Stecher et al., 2003). As an example, Table 1 shows the 2009 NAEP Grade 8 Reading
percentages at or above proficient.

Table 1

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009, Grade 8 Reading Percentages at or
above Proficient

District Black Male White Male Gap

Boston 10 36 26
Charlotte 9 36 27
Chicago 9 24 15
Cleveland 4 14 10

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 16

Table 1 (Cont’d.)

District Black Male White Male Gap
Houston 9 25 16
Jefferson County, KY 10 33 23
Los Angeles 10 15 5
Milwaukee 2 29 27
New York City 9 25 16
Philadelphia 6 25 19
Source: National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.).

The workforce that competes in the global economy of the 21st century must be adaptive,
self-motivated, resilient, and possess the ability to self-educate. Global technology is constantly
changing and it is changing at an alarming rate. The global workforce is highly educated, and
very competitive. In order for the United States to maintain its global competitiveness, more
students than before will need a higher level of education (Magaziner & Clinton, 1992). The
United States education system needs quality leaders to develop educational programs and
produce quality teachers to provide the level of education our society needs to remain the global
leader in the 21st century. Given the current environment of public education in the United
States, there is little doubt that the public is focused on the leadership of our schools to provide
answers to this situation (Bennett, 2002).
Developing effective teachers is essential to achieving academic goals for all students.
Professional development programs for teachers, specific to the local school districts’ and school
sites’ needs, have the most positive effects on student achievement. Teacher quality has a
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 17

powerful impact on students’ academic and social development. Children of color and socially
disadvantaged children, who most often live in urban areas, without the resources to supplement
their education adequately, disproportionally have the weakest, least experienced, and least
qualified teachers (Williams, 2003). According to Weaver (2003) “It is inner city and rural
schools that are hardest hit by teacher shortages that will have to resort to hiring teachers with
water-downed credentials” (p. 11). Increased professional development has become important
for inner-city schools as a tool to help meet the academic challenges and to develop a cognitive
approach to motivating and responding to the social needs of the African-American male
students.
Statement of the Problem
There has been tremendous growth and development in the education industry. Research
has indicated that much is known about standards-based curriculum, high stakes exams, data
interpretation, student achievement, effective schools and districts, good leadership and
accountability. Researchers have identified the characteristics of an effective superintendent. In
addition, researchers have identified high achieving schools and districts and they have produced
an incredible amount of literature on factors associated with their success. Yes We Can: The
2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education revealed that, “There are indeed
communities, school districts, and even states doing relatively well in their efforts to
systemically enhance the opportunity to learn and raise the achievement levels for Black male
students” (Schott Foundation for Public Education, 2010, p. 6). However, there is little research
on the efforts of superintendents that lead to these gains to determine the effectiveness of
superintendent leadership of African-American male students. Urban school districts have a
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 18

unique challenge of developing leaders to have knowledge and a heightened sensitivity about
race, class, and culture (Cuban, 2001). Brown (2006) stated, “If current and future educational
leaders are expected to foster successful, equitable, and socially responsible learning and
accountability practices for all students, then substantive changes in educational leadership
preparation and professional development programs are required” (p. 705). It must be noted that
educating a diverse population, in particular the African-American male, is not going to happen
without preparing and supporting leaders in the urban context to address the adaptive challenges
of urban schooling requiring preparation programs to connect theory to practice and to actively
engage in transformative learning (Brown, 2006).
Urban districts are expected to fulfill the requirements of NCLB with the same resources
as the suburban districts (Cuban, 2001). Many urban school districts have unique educational
challenges in comparison to their suburban school counterparts and require additional resources
to meet their additional demands or different resources to meet the different types of demands on
their school system (Cuban, 2001). Urban education has been in a state of change in the United
States since the 1950s. Due to the transformation of large cities, urban school districts are faced
with increased poverty, drug usage, and overcrowded classes (Taylor & Phillips, 2005). In
addition, these transformations are complex and have contributed significantly to the plight in
urban education children in urban communities, especially for African-American males (Taylor
& Phillips, 2005). Many universities do not prepare teacher candidates to be effective teachers
in the urban school systems; and, since many principals come from the teacher ranks, they are
not prepared to be leaders in the urban school systems. Districts are reporting a shortage of
highly qualified principal candidates that have the ability to meet the NCLB standards (Darling-
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 19

Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson, & Orr, 2007). Many districts are left to rethink how they
develop and support their teachers and site administrators in the era of high stakes testing,
increased accountability, and the urban environment of responsibilities and reform. More
specifically, districts must address the skill level, knowledge, and habits needed for the urban
school leaders to meet and go beyond the requirements of NCLB (Cuban, 2001).
Purpose of the Study
There is substantial literature that identifies school districts and school sites that have
successful leadership. In addition, there are a growing number of articles that outline successful
programs for African-American male students. The purpose of this paper is to determine the
effective functions, practices, and strategies that California urban superintendents use to improve
the academic achievement for African-American males.
Research Questions
This study sought to understand the elements of leadership that supports the inner-city
African-American males that will better prepare today’s leadership to meet the needs of the
inner-city African-American male student. The study will specifically look at the organizational
structure and the professional development programs that prepare leaders to support the needs of
African-American males.
1. How do effective urban school district superintendents create and sustain leadership
preparation and professional development programs that support the academic
achievement of African-American males?
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 20

2. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence, support, and develop
their teacher ranks to meet the academic and social challenges of the African-American
male student?
3. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence the knowledge, beliefs,
and leadership practices of urban school district principals?
4. How do successful urban district superintendents direct resources to insure the success of
African-American males?
The Importance of the Study
This study will be useful to various practitioners in the education field. The study will
add knowledge-based leadership techniques to the needed area of program development
specifically for the academic achievement of African-American males. This study will lend
itself to identify urban district superintendents’ leadership characteristics that are essential for
promoting positive learning environments, effective and relevant curriculum, and effective site
leadership that will increase African-American males’ successes in the school environment. In
addition, the study will address how superintendents’ leadership directly impacts teachers’
development into effective urban school educators for inner-city African-American males.
This study will be useful to policy makers in the education field. NCLB states that all
schools receiving Title 1 funding will increase the academic achievement of all students to the
level of proficient by 2014 (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). However, African-American
males’ standardized tests continue reflecting poorer performances than the other ethnic groups.
Additionally, African-American females traditionally outscore African-American males on
standardized exams (White, S., 2007). This study will add to policy makers’ capacity of specific
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 21

leadership techniques, which could influence their decisions on professional program
development and certification requirements.
This study will be useful to researchers in the area of leadership development programs
for African-American males. Reaching the needs of African-American males seems to be a
daunting task. There is a need to address leadership capacity building programs that incorporate
inner-city culture, redesigning curriculum, and its delivery systems with emphasis on African-
American males (see Figure 1).

Table 1
Percentage of Schools At or Above Target of 800
On Growth API Scores, 2001-11

Type
2010
State
Base
API
2011
State
Growth
API
2010–11 API
Point Growth
Statewide 767 778 11
Black or African American 686 696 10
American Indian or Alaska Native 728 733 5
Asian 890 898 8
Filipino 851 859 8
Hispanic or Latino 715 729 14
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 753 763 10
White 838 845 7
Two or More Races 808 836 28
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged 712 726 14
English Learners 692 706 14
Students with Disabilities 580 595 15
Figure 1: API Growth by Student Group Statewide, 2010–11

Source: CDE News Release #11-62. (2011, August 31. Retrieved on April 16, 2012 from
http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr11/yr11rel62.asp#tab1

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 22

Delimitations
The following delimitations of the study are recognized.
• The study was delimited to surveying California superintendents serving during the years
examined by the study as the leaders and their urban school district had an enrollment of
at least 15,000 African-American male students.
• The urban school district must meet the California School Boards Association’s criteria
for classification as an urban district.
• African-American male students were deemed to show improvement if they met or
exceeded their projected API growth scores for a minimum of three years.
Limitations
The following limitations of the study are recognized.
1. The study examined what urban superintendents in California perceived to be effective
leadership functions, practices, and strategies they have utilized that are most effective
for improving academic achievement for African-American males.
2. The study was limited to four urban school superintendents in California meeting the
criteria and those responding to the survey. Thus, the conclusions cannot necessarily be
presented as a true reflection of the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of all urban school
superintendents in California.
3. The findings were limited to the degree of accuracy to which the respondents identified
and communicated their true perceptions.
4. The validity of the study depended on the reliability of the instruments.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 23

Assumptions
The following assumptions were made in conducting this study.
1. The superintendents in the study responded with accurate descriptions of their functions,
practices, and strategies used in their districts.
2. All questions on the survey were valid to ensure that the data obtained from the
instrument measured what was intended to be measured.
3. The superintendents in the study were accurately identifying the functions, practices, and
strategies most responsible for improving African-American male students in the district.
4. The identified leadership functions, practices, and strategies of the superintendents were
responsible for at least part of the improvement in student achievement.
5. All data collected from the state and federal government data systems were accurate,
current, and valid.
6. All data collected from the school districts were accurate, current, and valid.
Definition of Terms
The following definitions were used in this study:
• Culture: The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of racial, religious, or
social groups that have a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that
characterizes the group.
• NCLB: No Child Left behind Act of 2001 is the reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (1965). It is currently the driving force behind education
reform and accountability.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 24

• Professional Learning Communities: An organization where the teachers in a school and
its administrators continuously seek and share learning and then act on what they learn.
The goal of their actions is to enhance their effectiveness as professionals so that students
benefit. This arrangement has also been termed communities of continuous inquiry and
improvement.
• Race: A class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics.
• School Board: The governing body in charge of a school district.
• School District: A local education agency directed by an elected local board of education
that exists to operate public schools.
• Small Learning Communities: Also referred to as a School-Within-A-School, is a form of
school structure that subdivides large school populations into smaller, autonomous
groups of students and teachers
• Suburb District: Territory outside a principal city and inside an urbanized area.
• Superintendent: One who has executive oversight and charge.
• Transformative Learning Theory: This is an adult, education-based theory that suggests
ways in which adults make meaning of their lives. It looks at “deep learning,” not just
content or process learning, as critical as those both are for many kinds of learning, and
examines what it takes for adults to move from a limited knowledge of knowing what
they know without questioning (usually from their cultures, families, organizations, and
society). It looks at what mechanisms are required for adults to identify, assess, and
evaluate alternative sources of information. Often sources that may look at how adults
can identify, assess, and evaluate new information, and in some cases, reframe their
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 25

world-view through the incorporation of new knowledge or information into their world-
view or belief system.
• Urban District: Territory inside an urbanized area and inside a principal city.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 26

Chapter Two
Introduction
This study investigates elements of leadership capacity-building programs and structures
which enable urban superintendents to develop effective strategies to improve the academic
achievement of African-American male students and to sustain leadership practices that support
African-American male students’ success. This chapter will begin by defining the “urban
context” in order to develop an understanding of the external and internal conditions which a
superintendent of an urban school district uses and how the urban city context influences his
leadership. A description of the federal No Child Left Behind (U. S. Department of Education,
2001) mandate of educational accountability will be reviewed and the role of the urban school
district superintendent, under this program, will be reviewed. Next, there will be a description of
“It takes a village to raise a child” and how this African proverb of community involvement
holds true in the successful academic achievement of the African-American male student.
The chapter is presented in four additional sections. The first section provides a review
of literature of the current role concepts of urban school district superintendents. The second
section reviews research on how effective urban school district superintendents create and
sustain leadership preparation and professional development programs that support the academic
achievement of African-American males. The third section delineates the effective approaches
urban school district superintendents use to influence, support, and professionally develop their
teachers’ ranks to meet the academic and social challenges of the African-American male
student. The fourth section will outline how effective urban school district superintendents
influence the knowledge, beliefs, and leadership practices of urban school district principals.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 27

The fourth section will also review how successful urban school district superintendents direct
resources to insure the success of African-American males.
In addition, literature regarding effective leadership capacity building and support
structures was reviewed to gain an understanding of how comprehensive leadership development
programs prepare leaders to change the status quo and create an atmosphere conducive to
improved outcomes for students, African-American males, and for professional practices. The
section ends with a synthesis of the findings of the previous sections to present a framework that
shows how urban superintendents influence African-American males’ academic achievement.
The Urban Context
Understanding the concept of the urban school community will help sharpen the focus of
the multiple facets that impact the African-American male students and the strategies needed to
support the success of their educational careers. There are two factors that impact the school
community. These factors exist both internally and externally. The internal community is
defined as those individuals that are responsible for the core mission of the public schools.
Teachers, administrators, parents, school board members, support staff, and students are parts of
the internal community. The external community is defined as individuals that are external to
the core mission of the public schools. State and federal legislators, courts, businesses, and local
governments are part of the external community. Furman and Starratt (2002) described
community as a group with shared beliefs.
It has long been recognized that schools are important sites of socialization, and in most
societies, they are primary sites for instruction about the values and norms associated with
citizenship (Noguera, 2003). Urban community needs often surpass their resources, and are
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 28

neglected by policymakers and politicians that have the power to change their conditions
(Noguera, 1996). In many urban communities, the public school is one of the few institutions
that remain intact and provide a degree of stability and social support for individuals and families
that are served (Noguera, 1996). Families of urban communities have turned to schools for food,
medical support, child care, counseling, transportation, and employment, as an example of the
significance of the role a school plays in a community. Families depend on the school because
they lack personal and institutional resources, and schools have traditionally provided these
resources for families (Cuban, 2001). Urban public schools are the only service institution
required to serve young people regardless of whether they are homeless, undocumented, sick, or
hungry (Noguera, 1996). In addition, many schools in California offer free lunch programs
during the summer vacation period called the summer seamless feeding option (California
Department of Education, 2011).
Most urban school systems today are large organizations with diverse student populations
with various needs (Cuban, 2001). For example, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
is the second largest school district in the United States. LAUSD serves approximately 667,251
students (California Department of Education, 2012a). An organization that is as large as
LAUSD is certain to face the same challenges as its community. Large urban school districts
such as LAUSD support a large bureaucratic system, experience insufficient resources to meet
their needs, large numbers of second language learners, commit greater resources to personal and
social problems of the students, and experience a higher level of principal and teacher turnover
(Orr, Byrne-Jimenez, McFarlane, & Brown, 2005). The complexities of the urban context along
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 29

with the challenges of the educational systems present ongoing challenges for superintendents
trying to reform urban schools.
Many leaders in the urban setting are ill prepared or unwilling to deal with the school
conditions that are connected to the larger social context (Darling-Hammond, LaPointe,
Meyerson, Orr, & Cohen, 2007; Levine, 2005). Urban school leadership requires additional
training beyond the normal training that traditional school leaders receive from universities and
leadership development programs. Bolman and Deal (2002) explained that leaders who had a
solid understanding of what they were up against were clear about where they wanted to go and
could conjure up versatile and adaptive strategies that would be highly effective. The unique
challenges of the urban school require the leader to have knowledge and a heightened sensitivity
about race, class and culture, and how these three factors have led to years of minority students
being marginalized in society and within the educational institution (Cuban, 2001). These issues
of the urban context raises concerns of whether urban schools are prepared and equipped with
leaders that have the knowledge and skills needed to reform schools. In addition, Sternberg
(2007) commented that an effective urban school leader needs creative skills and dispositions to
come up with ideas, academic skills, and dispositions to decide whether they are good ideas,
practical skills, and dispositions to make the ideas work and convince others of the value of the
ideas and wisdom-based skills and dispositions to ensure that the ideas are in the service of the
common good rather than just the good of the leader or perhaps some clique of family members
or followers. Cuban (2001) and Noguera (1996) argued that leaders must extend urban school
reform to the urban communities in order to see improvement. Cuban suggested the
development of social, medical, cultural, and recreational activities and services that are tied to
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 30

larger goals for youth beyond raising test scores. In addition, Cuban recommended local civic,
business, and educational leaders to endorse and support local schools’ efforts to move “beyond
vocational preparation” (2001, p. 10).
No Child Left Behind Act
President Bush signed into law No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002. It changed
the Federal government’s role in public education. Fusarelli (2004) described the new law as
representing a significant shift in the educational policy away from its traditional role of funding
low-income students to being the driver of shaping new goals and outcomes of public education.
The explicit purpose of NCLB, as it was under the Elementary Secondary Education Act (1965),
is to use federal funding as an instrument to ensure that all students in the U.S. K-12 educational
system are proficient in reading, writing, and mathematics by the time they leave high school
(EdSource, 2004).
The problem with the NCLB Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2001) is that it ignores
the challenges of urban communities by expecting urban districts to meet the same expectations
of suburban districts with insufficient resources (Cuban, 2001). The challenges of the urban
school district calls for a new leadership style. Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom
(2004) found that urban schools are impossible to reform without effective leadership acting as
the catalyst. In order to provide America’s urban schools with leaders that are prepared to
reform schools, leadership capacity building programs will need to change the way they prepare
urban leaders to meet these challenges head on. According to Cuban (2001), NCLB, the all-
purpose reform solution, now treats all schools the same while neglecting the vital linkages
between cities, their schools, and the country’s economic and social wellbeing without
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 31

developing the uniquely qualified leaders that large city urban school districts desperately need
to be successful.
The No Child Left Behind Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2001) has mandated
local-education-agency (LEA) superintendents to develop school-family-community partnerships
in Title 1 Schools (Bryan, 2005). However, many school districts are overlooking the school-
family-community partnership and yet the partnerships hold the key to meeting the overarching
goal of NCLB (Ferguson, 2003).
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
“It takes a village to raise a child” is considered an old African proverb. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (2006) defined the village as a community of adults that children know and thousands
more who make decisions every day that affect their well being. This African proverb could also
imply that raising a child well, takes the love and care of not just parents but the whole
community – the preacher, the teacher, and the extended family.
Historically, Black Colleges and Universities’ system of family is synonymous with the
African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” Historically, Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) were created to provide educational opportunities for African Americans
when other higher education venues restricted their participation (Palmer & Gasman, 2008). In
spite of their limited resources, HBCUs managed to create an environment in which African-
American males were supported academically and socially regardless of their college entrance
scores, socioeconomic status, or environmental circumstances (Kim & Conrad, 2006). Scholars
and researchers commonly understood that environment and cultural factors have a profound
influence on human behaviors, including academic performance (Brookover & Erickson, 1969 as
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 32

cited in Noguera, 2003; Morrow & Torres, 1995 as cited in Noguera, 2003). The HBCUs were
very successful in fostering a nurturing family-like environment, and faculty members were
supportive of African-American students (Palmer & Gasman, 2008). Additionally, Palmer and
Gasman (2008) reported that HBCUs aid the growth and development of African-American
males. The success of HBCUs has produced over 75% of all African-American army officers,
80% of all African-American federal judges, and 85% of all African-American doctors (Brown
& Davis, 2001 as cited in Palmer & Gasman, 2008). The success of these institutions is a
product of the positive learning environment and the abundance of social networking at the
HBCUs that impact and foster academic success for African-American males (Palmer &
Gasman, 2008).
Social capital refers to the ways in which some groups are privileged because of their
membership in a social network (The World Bank Group, 2012). However, social networking is
not restricted to the privileged. Social networking can be developed to extend across
socioeconomic groups, racial groups, and cultural groups. The technology that exists in America
today allows and encourages social networking inside and outside of a student’s existing
community. The concept and the importance of social networking in the academic arena and the
professional arena should be part of the African-American male’s educational training.
Replicating the social capitalism system of training that currently exists in HBCUs could
decrease the dropout rate for African-American males by providing mentors, positive peers,
counselors, and other supportive relationships to impact the African-American male academic
achievement (Palmer & Gasman, 2008).
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 33

The African-American male is concerned about the community in which he exists. He is
more responsive to educators that take an interest in not only his academic successes but an
interest in his personal welfare as well. The African-American male must feel that there is
someone he can turn to when he is struggling (Palmer & Gasman, 2008). The success of an
African-American male does not lie in the hands of one person or family; rather the entire village
is responsible for developing social capital in a way that promotes students’ persistence and
retention (Palmer & Gasman, 2008). Furthermore, school communities should encourage school
personnel to go beyond their prescribed roles to support the student’s success. According to
Palmer and Gasman (2008), this synergy will ensure that the campus is truly a supportive
enclave and place a strong emphasis on creating an environment that values student persistence
and success.
An urban superintendent understanding the strength and the importance of the education
community, then transforming that community into a supportive village, could develop an
educational community that could mirror the success of the HBCU for the African-American
male in the urban school system. According to Garibaldi (2007), a support system must be put in
place that will provide positive reinforcement at every level of the academic continuum so that
African-American males are motivated to do well in school and are motivated to pursue a college
education. With an emphasis on college preparation early in their education career, more
African-American males will internalize the importance of college and its linkage to their long-
term economic security (Garibaldi, 2007).
The urban superintendent must work with the local universities to develop more pre-
college programs to increase the number of African-American male students in America’s more
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 34

than 4,000 colleges and universities. Programs such as Upward Bound, Talent Search, and other
similar enrichment programs, which are funded through the United States Department of
Education, have had a significant impact on the number of students enrolled in college,
especially those from low-income families (Garibaldi, 2007). Promoting the advantage of
college is extremely important, but students and parents must be informed that college is
affordable through scholarships, government grants, and loans.
Leadership Roles of the Urban School District Superintendent
In the fields of organizational and social psychology, researchers have explored the
relationship between leadership and context. The organizational culture in which the
superintendents worked influenced their work. The superintendents endeavored to both identify
and to be sensitive to these cultures and adapted their approach to suit their environment. Vroom
and Jago (2007) argued, “Variance in the behavior of leaders can be understood in terms of
dispositions that are situationally specific rather than general” (p. 20). Gronn and Ribbins (1996
as cited in Bredeson, Klar, & Johansson, 2011) who emphasized the need for further research
aimed at elucidating the relationship between context and leadership:
Our argument is that the significance of context continues to be badly under theorized in
leadership, but that, if re-conceptualized as the sum of the situational, cultural, and
historical circumstances that constrain leadership and give it its meaning, context is the
vehicle through which the agency of particular leaders may be empirically understood.
(p. 454)
Visionary / contextual leadership role. Urban superintendents must be able to
contextualize their vision of how they are going to motivate their organization, provide the
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 35

needed resources necessary to meet the needs of the students, and provide support to the
community within the context of satisfying the California Department of Education’s core
standards’ requirements. The urban superintendents must continue focusing on the needs of the
African-American male students since the African-American male student has continually
performed at the bottom of almost every measure of academic achievement (Olson & Jerald,
1998 as cited in Barbour & Pacot, 2011).
Effective urban superintendents must become diversified in their contextual approach to
effectively lead large-city urban school districts in a successful reform movement. The
traditional contingency theory suggests that one type of leader is more likely to be effective
under one set of circumstances, while under another set of circumstances a different type of
leader is required (Hoy & Miskel, 1982 as cited in Bredeson et al., 2011). The claim that
“leadership effectiveness depends on the fit between personality characteristic of the leaders and
the situational variables such as task structure, positional power and subordinates’ skills and
attitudes” (Hoy & Miskel, 1982 as cited in Bredeson et al., 2011, p. 235) may be helpful for
matching a particular type of leadership to a particular situation. However, the leadership
dynamics required of the urban education environment requires a leader to possess a variety of
leadership styles that will complement him as he moves the organization through various levels
of reform. In the 1990s, Carter and Cunningham (1997 as cited in Gillett, 2012), described the
role of the superintendent as follows:
1. Superintendents serve school boards as the chief operating officer and primary advisor to
the board for all district issues.
2. Superintendents serve as the primary educational leader of the district.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 36

3. Superintendents serve as the chief administrator officer.
4. The superintendent is to serve as a catalyst to implement policy change.
5. Superintendents are to develop a process for long-term strategic planning to achieve
school site and district success.
6. Superintendents are to interpret the needs of the school system for the school board.
7. Superintendents are to present policy options along with specific recommendations.
8. Superintendents are to develop and inform the board of administrative procedures to
implement policy.
Glass, Bjork, and Brunner (2000) stated, “Superintendents today find themselves in a role
markedly different from even a decade ago” (p. 29). The roles and responsibilities of the urban
school superintendent today are more numerous, complex, and demanding than in the past. In
fact, in the education environment of today, one style does not fit all conditions. According to
Leithwood, Harris, and Hopkins (2008), successful leaders of turnaround schools employ a core
set of leadership practices in concert with each stage of school improvement. In addition,
Leithwood et al. stated that, “The ways in which leaders apply these leadership practices–not the
practices themselves–demonstrate responsiveness to, rather than dictation by, the contexts in
which they work” (p. 31).
Community and district size also influence organizational culture, the behavior of the
superintendents in terms of day-to-day responsibilities, the way they are able to interact with the
community, and their approaches to building a culture of trust with their community (Bredeson
et al., 2011). In smaller districts, the superintendents have more direct roles in the aspects of
leadership, frequency of interaction with professional and support staff, and building relations
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 37

and trust. In larger districts, developing relationships and trust across the districts was
accomplished through other administrators, school leaders, and team leaders (Bredeson et al.,
2011).
Fiscal leadership role. Many urban school districts in California are experiencing fiscal
challenges. School board members are expecting superintendents to manage the financial crisis
and keep their districts solvent. According to Glass et al. (2000), 36% of the superintendents
surveyed indicated that their board’s primary expectation was for them to be a managerial leader.
Kowalski (2006) and Glass et al. reported that a large percentage of superintendents identified
managerial constraints as serious problems, including a lack of financial resources,
accountability, and compliance with state and federal mandates. On January 6, 2011, State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson declared a state of financial emergency in
California’s schools (California Department of Education, 2012b). He launched a department-
wide review and urged Californians to come to the aid of schools across the state. In 2011,
California schools had experienced $18 billion in cuts over a three-year period and as a
consequence, 174 school districts were teetering on the financial brink (California Department of
Education, 2012b). The fiscal context is the product of shifting demographics and state and local
politics limiting revenues. In addition, California schools are faced with the financial demands
of closing the achievement gap between students who have traditionally been successful and
students who have traditionally been unsuccessful; i.e., African-American male students, the
economically disadvantaged, non English speaking children, children of color, and children with
disabilities. The fiscal context within each school district required superintendents to be careful
stewards of resources, architects of organizational transparency in matching resources to needs,
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 38

effective communicators, long-range thinkers and planners, and leaders who built relationships
and trust both within and outside their organizations (Bredeson et al., 2011).
Political leadership role. Urban superintendents interact between context and leadership
in various political contexts: national, local district/municipality, and system. The most
immediate political context that superintendents interact with regularly involves the local school
board and the municipal governments. In the United States, the implementation of the No Child
Left Behind Act has been a dominant external political influence in school districts. The
political leadership aspect of superintendents’ work has extended far beyond local communities
and boards of education. It now includes issues being considered by state agencies, state
legislatures, and the federal government (Glass et al., 2000). Researchers have stated that an
important way to be effective in organizational settings is to develop and use one’s political
competence and to build on the ability to persuade, influence, and control others (Mintzberg,
1983 as cited in Brosky, 2011).
Bredeson et al. (2011) outlined strategies for superintendents working in the political
context which includes: working closely with school board members and keeping them
informed, forming leadership teams, communicating frequently and directly to various
constituencies, developing personal and trusting relationships with board members and key
community members, helping make people feel they can participate in decisions that can make a
difference, and “positioning the board” to engage parents and the community so there is a voice
in state legislation and in the community. However, Glass et al. (2000) reported that the micro-
political relationship between the school board and the superintendent was a serious problem.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 39

Connecting context and leadership, Bredeson, Klar, and Johansson (2008) referred to it as
context-responsive leadership (CRL). Superintendents working within multiple contexts find
expression in interaction with others. Variations in context constitute opportunities as well as
constraints to an individual’s capacity to motivate and to engage others in collaborative efforts to
achieve organizational goals. Superintendents must be responsive to variations in contexts.
Instructional leadership role. Over the past 100 years, expectations that
superintendents should be instructional leaders have fluctuated (Bjork, 2009). However, in
recent years, school reform initiatives and strategies have heightened expectations that these
administrators should provide the visionary leadership and planning necessary to produce
academic gains at the school-district level (Bjork, 2009). Urban school district superintendents
are now expected to be curriculum reformers, engineers of teacher development, and guarantors
of significantly higher academic standards (Usdan & Cronin, 2003).
Urban superintendents must review the structure of the districts’ traditional
organizational structure and managerial practices to create a better way of supporting principals,
teachers, students, and parents. Superintendents should evaluate their roles and responsibilities
in articulating and modeling leadership behavior that focus on the core technology of curriculum
and instruction and improved learning for all students (Kelly & Petersen, 2011). However,
NCLB requires the district leader to, ultimately, close the achievement gap between the
subgroups and the dominant group (Petersen & Barnett, 2005).
Leadership practices of superintendents are presented in Table 2 as shown in Kelly and
Petersen (2011):

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 40

Table 2
Instructional and Transformational Leadership Practices of the Superintendent

Creating a shared sense of purpose in schools–establishment of a vision reinforced at all
levels of the district, clear expectations, aligned resources to vision

Developing a climate of high expectations and a school culture focused on innovation
and improvement of teaching and learning–deliberate strategies by the superintendent to
shape a culture of collaboration, expectations of excellence, establishment of norms,
values and beliefs

Shaping the reward structure of the school to reflect the school’s mission as well as goals
set for staff and students–superintendent’s message was learning is a ‘journey not a
destination’

Organizing and providing a wide range of activities aimed at intellectual stimulation and
the continuous development of staff–allocation of resources for professional development
opportunities provided to meet superintendents expectations, structured routines for
reflective conversations among administrators; personal and professional growth of staff

Being a visible presence in the school while modeling the desired values of the school’s
culture–visibility on school sites and in staff development; informed on standards and
instruction, caring, dedication

First order changes–incorporation of new curriculum and research based strategies,
collaboration time provided to focus on development of instructional implementation

Second order change–integration of vision throughout all levels of the district,
collaboration for focus, commitment

Extent to which the superintendent emphasized a coordination and control strategy vs. an
empowerment for change in school–balanced decision making practices referred to as
‘loose or tight,’ monitoring of resources by superintendent vs. decision making on
instructional materials by staff based on district vision

Source: Kelly, & Petersen, 2011, pp. 72-73

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 41

The section reviews research about how effective urban school district superintendents
are in creating and sustaining leadership preparation and professional development programs that
support the academic achievement of African-American males.
Large urban school district superintendents rely on several indicators to determine the
professional development needs of the organization and the resource allocations needed to satisfy
those needs. The main mission of a school district is to educate its students whether they are
adolescent students or adult students. Schein (2004) indicated that the effectiveness of an
organization lies in the ability of the organization to develop a culture of learning. The ability to
develop a culture of learning demands that the resources of individual organizational members
be employed, processes and relations rather than structure and rules are practiced, and
conversations are understood to be imperative for creating meaning and change (Kelly &
Petersen, 2011). An effective leader is able to communicate the importance of the vision
reaching into the classroom recognizing support for instructional improvement by the
superintendent, along with allocation of resources for professional development opportunities to
improve their practices, and increased teacher participation and confidence in classroom practice
leading to shared purpose of instructional effectiveness (Kelly & Petersen, 2011).
The third section delineates the effective approaches urban school district superintendents
use to influence, support, and professionally develop their teacher ranks in order to meet the
academic and social challenges of the African-American male student.
A very important characteristic of an effective leader is a clear and public vision of an
organizational environment of inspiration and collaboration directed at achieving that vision
(Kelly & Petersen, 2011). The leader must be able to articulate his focus on pedagogy and
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 42

advancement of teacher development while transforming the environment and making it
conducive to learning for all members of the organization. The superintendent’s message must
resonate to all teachers that his expectations are to provide high levels of learning for all
students, with emphasis on high levels of learning for African-American males, are the
fundamental purpose of the school. Instructionally-oriented superintendents emphasize the
importance of an instructional vision, coordination and socialization of the individuals and
groups responsible for teaching and learning, the importance of maintaining a high level of
visibility, clear communication, and monitoring and evaluating instructional and curriculum
program implementation at the district level (Kelly & Petersen, 2011).
The superintendent must foster a supportive culture for schools, and for all stakeholders,
to understand that continual, embedded professional development is the key to long-term success
in today’s schools (Blankstein, 2004 as cited in ECRA Group, 2010). However, superintendents
must reconcile that there are educators who have low expectations for African-American males
and these educators may strongly affect how African-American males are taught and treated in
schools (Garibaldi, 2007). Moreover, there are educators who carry the belief that African-
American males will not go to college (Garibaldi, 1988 as cited in Garibaldi, 2007). District
leadership must work to change the culture of expectation and provide professional development
activities and provide opportunities for struggling teachers to train with successful teacher
leaders to develop their skills. Leadership will need to instill the belief and build confidence in
teachers, students, and parents that excellence can be accomplished if one has focused efforts
with major time commitments shared by all stakeholders (Barbour & Pacot, 2011).
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 43

Urban district superintendents must look to teacher leadership that could be a catalyst to
the success of African-American males in the classroom. Teacher leadership shows promise for
the potential contributions to teacher effectiveness and student achievement for African-
American males (Wells, Maxfield, & Klocko, 2011). Teacher leadership includes the use of
teacher talent to bring about improvements in teaching effectiveness and student achievement
(Mullen & Hutinger, 2008 as cited in Wells et al., 2011; Ogawa & Bossert, 1995 as cited in
Wells et al., 2011; Smylie & Denny, 1990 as cited in Wells et al., 2011; Spillane, 2006 as cited
in Wells et al., 2011).
Educators can readily identify colleagues who they describe as leaders: “individuals to
whom they look for professional advice and guidance, and whose view matter to others in the
school” (Danielson, 2006, p. 12). Teacher leaders can provide peer-to-peer coaching to support
and improve teachers’ skills and techniques with working with African-American males.
Teachers of high performing, low social economic status urban schools possess the skills and
knowledge to perform successfully with families of high mobility, neighborhood violence, and
the mentality of low academic expectations (Brown, 2011). The superintendents may provide
professional development opportunities for teachers working in these environments, focusing on
collaboration and knowledge creation, in an effort to shape a new culture of pedagogy for the
neediest students. Providing opportunities for teachers to come together to address a common
purpose of instructionally related issues pertaining to student achievement becomes a source of
inspiration for changes in an organization.
The fourth section will outline how effective urban school district superintendents
influence the knowledge, beliefs, and leadership practices of urban school district principals.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 44

The superintendent has a significant and influential role in the academic achievement of
students through their relationship with school site principals (Petersen, 2001). In addition,
“Research in this area indicates the best linkages for instructional improvement are forged
through an exchange process in which superintendent and building administrators simultaneously
work with each other” (Carter et al., 1993 as cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 160; Peterson et al., 1987
as cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 160; Wimpelberg, 1987 as cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 160). Archer
(2005) listed the top priorities that superintendents identified in serving as instructional leaders
when working with the principal and other stakeholders:
1. Training for teachers and principal on the use of data to improve performance
2. Developing common district curriculum
3. Participating in instructional walkthroughs
4. Creating a standard approach to developing school improvement plans
5. Maintaining new teacher preparation programs
6. Maintaining new principal programs
7. Promoting teacher collaboration
8. Creating common formative assessments.
Principals are listed as central to the increased improvement, development of learning
communities, and teacher leadership for their schools (Capers, 2004 as cited in Wells et al.,
2011; Fleming, 2004 as cited in Wells et al., 2011; Fullan, 2001, 2008 as cited in Wells et al.,
2011; Hess & Kelly, 2007 as cited in Wells et al., 2011; Hord, 2004 as cited in Wells et al., 2011;
Hord & Simmers, 2008 as cited in Wells et al., 2011; Smylie & Denny, 1990 as cited in Wells et
al., 2011; York-Barr, 2004 as cited in Wells et al., 2011). Additionally, principals in high-
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 45

achieving, low-social economy status (SES) schools believe that every student can learn, that
they can succeed, and that the students will meet whatever level of standard set for them (Erbe &
Holloway, 2000 as cited in Barbour & Pacot, 2011; Towns et al., 2001 as cited in Barbour &
Pacot, 2011; Uchiyama & Wolf, 2002 as cited in Barbour & Pacot, 2011). Furthermore, these
principals take risks in interpreting rules and regulations in a manner that will enhance
effectiveness, they are politically savvy, and these principals in high-performing, low-SES
schools may ignore regulations that are not in the student’s best interest (Barbour & Pacot,
2011).
The role of the principal has always been complex and multifaceted, “What is new is the
degree to which schools are expected to resolve society’s social and educational inequities in a
market-based environment” (Kafka, 2009, p. 328). Principals are under new pressures and
enormous stress as they juggle demands for quality while responding to changes in
demographics, parental involvement, curricular and technological changes, and instructional
improvement (Wells et al., 2011). There are calls to re-culture the principalships to include roles
of moral steward, educator, and community builder; and, there are near universal calls to expand
the principal’s role to include advocacy for social justice to help ensure equitable and just
learning outcomes for all students (Hackmann & Wanat, 2007).
It is the superintendent’s responsibility to connect with the principal and provide the
principal with the necessary resources to perform his duties. Intellectual stimulation requires
superintendents to be keenly aware of the classroom issues, principals’ issues, the continual
pressures for greater change, and the importance of providing resources necessary to allow
organizational members to create solutions (Kelly & Petersen, 2011). As the demands of the
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 46

principal position continue their evolution to become a social justice advocate, to become a
community builder, to improve parental involvement, and resolve the inequalities in the
community there is a need for greater resources. The professional development training must
consist of providing adequate education for the more needy students, which includes the African-
American male students, which meets the California standards at all grade levels. The
superintendents must provide the principals with clear goals and objectives for the district, and a
clear role and understanding of what the principal will do to move the district toward
accomplishing the districts’ goals.
Finally, a determination of how successful urban superintendents’ direct resources to
insure the success of African-American male students will be the collaborative work with the
principal and the assessment data collected from the school site and the CST.
Meeting the demand of external accountability systems, reform initiatives, and creating
dramatic change in an institutionalized educational system requires a certain blend of
responsibility and leadership styles. Other significant challenges facing educators in the 21st
century is to redesign schools that nurture the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical needs
of the African-American male student (Halverson & Brown, 2011). African-American males
have a history of struggling in the education environment that goes beyond academics. The
African-American male student leads in the number of disciplinary incidents and suspensions
that remove the student from the learning environment. The leadership of the school district
must be resourceful in determining the causes of these events and develop programs that will
bring about change. The superintendent must develop a clear, well thought out vision (Bolman
& Deal, 2003) and coupled with fostering an organizational environment of inspiration and
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 47

collaboration directed in achieving that vision. Kelly & Petersen (2011) stated that, “Intellectual
stimulation requires superintendents to be keenly aware of classroom issues, the continual
pressures for greater change, and the importance of providing resources necessary to allow
organizational members to create solutions” (p. 61). In addition, these superintendents work to
provide campus-based professional development programs that target overall instructional
weaknesses and target individual teachers for improvement facilitators and full-time resident
trainers (Barbour & Pacot, 2011).
Orfield, Losen, Wald, and Swanson (2004) noted, “While the plight of minority male
children is no secret in America, there is little research, intervention or accountability directed
specifically at subgroups of minority males” (p. 21). To help African-American male students to
succeed, there must be a culture of care in the schools. Students are motivated by their studies
when they think that their principal cares about what they are learning (Gentilucci & Muto,
2007). Resources must be allocated to activities, based on community data, which are important
to the African-American male in his community and that can connect the community to the
school. Effective high-performance, low-SES schools promote strong and substantial parental
involvement and parents are afforded great respect by the district and school leadership.
Finally, inner-city schools have additional characteristics that impact the success of
African-American male students. Students of inner-city schools want to attend clean and
attractive facilities. In addition, inner-city schools that have a culture that is friendly and
protective of their teachers (Wang et al., 1997 as cited in Barbour & Pacot 2011) have more
productive teachers; a more productive learning environment.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 48

Summary
Fundamental to the academic success of the district’s students is the effective leadership
a superintendent can bring (Waters & Marzano, 2006). It is the leadership of the district that
recognizes the role the school district plays in the urban community. District leadership reaches
out to the community to develop a co-existent relationship of support with local officials,
businesses, social organizations, and parents. Families of urban communities turn to urban
school districts for resources and support (Cuban, 2001). It is the urban public schools that are
required to provide resources to the homeless child, the undocumented child, the sick, or the
hungry (Noguera, 1996).
The superintendent can create a culture of positive change and academic achievement for
all students, particularly African-American male students, by making it a priority to get to know
the people, the school district, and the community to be served (Bjork & Bond, 2006). More
than any other district leaders, a superintendent has the capacity to bring about systemic change.
The superintendent shares his vision of inclusion, his sensitivity about race, class and culture,
and the strategies and programs he plans to implement that will create a positive culture for all
students, particularly the African-American male. “The school superintendent can make people
in the organization aware of the culture in which they exist by bringing its values and behaviors
to the surface and providing the framework for interpreting what they see” (Norton, Webb,
Dlugosh, & Sybouts, 1996, p. 79).
A school superintendent has three primary roles: instructional, managerial, and political
(Cuban, 1998). All three of these roles require active engagement from the superintendent and
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 49

district leaders in order to shape the future by encouraging activities, making strategic decisions,
and providing strategic action that moves the district closer to its collective vision (Duffy, 2007).
Effective superintendents face a multitude of challenges. They must determine which
services are appropriate for their students. They must empower people around them and develop
an effective check and balance system. Superintendents must create learning environments that
are effective for the community the district serves. In addition, the learning environment must be
inclusive to serve all students but it must also have the flexibility to address an individual
student’s needs. Finally, superintendents must allocate resources for on-going staff development
and building capacity for all administrators and teachers to continually meet the needs of the
students and their community.
Conclusion
Successful urban school districts demand effective leadership and positive culture within
the school community. The challenges that face school leaders in the era of No Child Left
Behind and Standards Based Education are immense. Some may say these challenges are
insurmountable, especially in urban school districts. Nonetheless, professional educational
leaders will attempt to meet the demands of current and future legislation, public demands, local
requirements, and their own conscience. To this end, Cawelti (2006) stated, “Ultimately, public
schools must offer a common curriculum that helps perfect a democratic society and that
provides all students with a broad array of knowledge and skills for success both in and out of
school” (p. 68). Given these challenges facing educational leaders, preparation and training will
have to change in order to satisfy future needs. School leadership programs will need to include
study, observation and practical application in organizational analysis and structure, instructional
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 50

leadership, organizational culture, and reform management in order to combat challenges that
face American education (Jellander, 2004).

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 51

Chapter Three
Methodology
This chapter includes a description of the population and participants of the study, the
instrumentation development, and the procedures used to collect and analyze the data. The main
purpose of this study is to identify the leadership functions, strategies, and practices that
successful urban school superintendents in California reported to be most responsible for
improving student achievement, for African-American males, in their school systems during the
years following NCLB. Ultimately, this study investigated the possibility that superintendents of
urban districts in California who improved academic improvement shared common leadership
strategies and practices as well as common approaches to applying their leadership.
Research Questions
The superintendents who participated in the study completed a survey questionnaire to
address the following research questions:
1. How do effective urban school district superintendents create and sustain leadership
preparation and professional development programs that support the academic
achievement of African-American males?
2. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence, support, and develop
their teacher ranks to meet the academic and social challenges of the African-American
male student?
3. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence the knowledge, beliefs,
and leadership practices of urban school district principals?
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 52

4. How do successful urban district superintendents direct resources to insure the success of
African-American males?
The researcher recognized that simply knowing what successful superintendents do is
often not enough to help other superintendents to transform their districts. District leaders must
know why certain leadership practices were chosen, when they should be used, and how to apply
them skillfully in their own districts (Waters & Cameron, 2006). Thus, four California urban
city district superintendents that are making a difference were interviewed. These successful
urban superintendents in California were interviewed to determine in greater detail how they led
consistent improvements in student learning in their districts.
Design of the Study
According to Gall, Borg, and Gall (1996), qualitative research is best used to discover
themes and relationships at the case level, whereas quantitative data are best used to validate
those themes and relationships within the sample and population. To address the research
question, a mixed methodology–combining both quantitative and qualitative methods—was used
in collecting, analyzing, and reporting the data in the study. Greene, Caracelli, & Graham (1989)
and Patton, M. (2002) provided a strong rationale for utilizing mixed methodology in a research
study, stating that (a) triangulation seeks the convergence of results, (b) overlapping and
differing facets of the phenomenon may emerge, (c) each method is used sequentially to help
inform the other method, (d) contradictions may emerge, and (e) the breadth and depth of the
study are expanded. A major strength of using a mixed methodology is that it enables the
researcher to collect data as comprehensively and completely as possible.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 53

Quantitative Methodology
To address research questions one and two, a quantitative methodology was used to
obtain, interpret, and report the data. Specifically, a survey questionnaire was administered that
focused on the leadership functions, strategies, and practices used by California superintendents
leading urban school districts to improve student achievement during the two academic years
2010-2011 and 2011-2012.
Survey research was well suited for this part of the study because it is a form of
descriptive research that involves collecting information about the beliefs, attitudes, interests, or
behaviors of participants via questionnaires (Gall et al., 1996). Rea and Parker (2005) contended
that surveys are well suited for collecting three types of information: descriptive, behavioral, and
attitudinal. The current study sought all three types of information from urban superintendents in
California. First, the study sought to determine what leadership strategies and practices
(behaviors) were being used by successful urban superintendents in California to improve
student achievement in their districts. Second, the study asked the respondents to rate how
significant (attitudinal) each leadership strategy and practice was in terms of their overall effort
to improve student achievement. Third, the study required demographic information
(descriptive) from the superintendents. Given the types of information sought by the study,
survey research was the best-suited methodology.
Qualitative Methodology
To address research questions three and four, a qualitative approach was used to collect,
analyze, and report the data. Qualitative methodology was well suited for this part of the study
because it is a form of research that permits the researcher to study selected issues, cases, or
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 54

events in depth and in great detail (Patton, 2002). According to McEwan and McEwan (2003),
qualitative research has three principal characteristics: (a) it is naturalistic, (b) it is descriptive,
and (c) it is focused on meaning and explanation. Qualitative research is naturalistic in that
researchers do not manipulate the environment or participants for the project; instead qualitative
researchers place themselves where things are happening and then try to determine how and why
the phenomenon works as it does (McEwan & McEwan, 2003). Moreover, qualitative research
is descriptive, in that researchers using qualitative methods seek as much detail and information
as possible about the phenomenon that they are studying. Finally, qualitative researchers are
focused on explaining and interpreting what they observe, hear, and read. Ultimately, qualitative
research is about explaining how and why things work as they do in a particular setting.
The study met all three criteria for qualitative research as explicated by McEwan and
McEwan (2003). First, the study was naturalistic in that superintendents were interviewed in
their district offices. Second, the study was both descriptive and focused on explanation because
it sought to describe in detail how, when, and why superintendents used particular leadership
strategies and practices to improve student achievement.
Participants
Population. The population for this study consisted of the superintendents leading the 42
public school districts in California that had been designated as urban by the California School
Board Association’s (CSBA) during the 2011-2012 school year, with the exception of the Los
Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). LAUSD is unique due to their significant size in
comparison to the other urban school districts in California and the division of the district into
sub-districts.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 55

To meet the CSBA definition of urban, a school district must have a minimum
enrollment of 20,000 students and student demographics that are above, at, or within 5% of the
state average in at least two of the following categories: percentage of minority students,
percentage of students who qualify for free/reduced-price lunches, and/or percentage of students
classified as ELLs. Additionally, school districts were selected if their African-American
population was at or above 7% because this research is focused on school districts that improve
academic achievement for African-American males. According to the California statewide
enrollment for African-American students, not of Hispanic origin, was 6.51% of the 6,214,204
students enrolled in K-12 (CDE, 2012). The two-thirds of the African-American population in
California live in five of the 58 counties in California (EdSource, 2008). Therefore, school
districts that possessed the largest concentration of African-American students were closely
examined.
Based on student data from EdSource 2011 retrieved from the Ed-Data in 2011, there
were five districts that were strong candidates for research. District A has a student population
of 18,877 and a minority population of 76.7%; District B has a student population of 29,883 and
a minority population of 93.5%; District C has a student population of 10,381 and a minority
population of 91.3%; and District D has a student population of 35,692 and a minority
population of 89.2%. All four of these urban school districts had higher percentages of students
who qualified for free/reduced-price lunches than the state average (48.2%) (Ed-Data, 2012).
The population of superintendents had to have maintained tenure for two years or more in
the same district during the five-year time frame studied (2007-2008 and 2011-2012 school
years) and who still served as district superintendent at the time of the study. Superintendents
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 56

who had started tenure before the end of July 2010 and remained in that position at the time of
this study were included in the population. The 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 California School
Directories were used as the sources in development of the study population. In addition,
telephone calls were made to each of the superintendents’ offices to confirm the start date of the
employment as district superintendent and to ensure that the superintendent still served in that
position at the time of the study.
Two population subgroups. District student performance data for the 2007-2008
through 2011-2012 school years were pulled from the CDE’s Ed-Data Web site (2012) and
analyzed for the urban districts that met the study’s selection criteria for superintendent tenure
and student demographics. California superintendents who had led their urban districts to
improve student achievement for school years 2007-2008 through 2011-2012, as evidenced by
meeting AYP according to the stipulations of NCLB, were categorized as successful. In contrast,
California superintendents who led urban districts in the study population that had not met AYP
for the last two years were classified as having been unsuccessful at improving student
achievement.
According to EdSource (2011), AYP is a set of academic performance benchmarks that
states, districts, schools, and subpopulations of students are supposed to achieve in order to
receive federal money from Title I, Section A, of the NCLB (U.S. Department of Education,
2001). In order for school districts in California to make AYP, they must achieve the following
measures: (a) a specified percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced on CST in
English language arts (ELA) and mathematics (for unified districts [K-12] and a few high school
districts that include grades 7-12, 23.0% of their students must score proficient or above in ELA
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 57

and 23.7% must do so in mathematics); (b) a participation rate of at least 95% on these state
assessments (including 95% participation rate by all significant subgroups); (c) a specified API
score or gain (a 5% increase in the difference between the API base score for the year and the
benchmark score of 800); and (d) a specified graduation rate or improvement in the rate for
districts with high schools (EdSource, 2011).
The current study used the criteria of making AYP for the last two years as a measure for
improving student achievement because it is consistent with the benchmark used by both the
state and federal governments to determine whether schools, districts, and/or states have
improved student achievement. Districts in California have struggled to make AYP. In fact,
according to Archer (2006), 37.7% of the 962 Title I districts in California did not make AYP for
at least two consecutive years and have been designated “in need of improvement.” Given the
large number of California districts judged to be in need of improvement, it is a mark of
accomplishment for a California district to have made AYP in the last two years. Hence, this
criterion was used to determine which urban district superintendents were successful at
improving student achievement.
Description of the Superintendents Leading Successful Urban Districts
At the time of this study, these four urban California superintendents had been leading
their current districts for an average of three years. Two of the superintendents in this subgroup
are white males, one African-American female, and one white female.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 58

Description of the School Districts
The four urban school districts chosen in this study, as defined by this study, had an
enrollment ranging from approximately 10,000 students to nearly 50,000 students. The four
districts in the successful subgroup had an average of 26.2% ELL students, ranging from nearly
17% to almost 33%. An average of 70.3% of the students in these four successful urban districts
received free/reduced-price lunches (a proxy for determining the percentage of students from
low-income families). An average of 87.8% of the students who attended these four urban
districts was from minority groups, with Hispanics/Latinos representing the largest ethnic group
in all of the districts. The percentage of minority students in the four districts ranged from 76%
to 93.5% (Ed-Data, 2012).
Superintendents Included in the Interview Sample Criterion Sampling
Purposeful sampling was used to select the superintendents for the structured interview
(qualitative) portion of the study. According to Patton (2002), “Purposeful sampling focuses on
selecting information-rich cases whose study will illuminate the questions under study”
(p. 230). More specific, this study will use Criterion Sampling which “is to review and study all
cases that meet some predetermined criterion of importance, a strategy common in quality
assurance efforts” (Patton, 2002, p. 239). The criteria of this study have been established. This
study is only interested in effective urban superintendents’ of large school districts. The four
urban superintendents who participated in the structured interview process were chosen because
they were superintendents who had led their districts to meet the NCLB criteria for AYP for two
school years included in the study. To protect their anonymity, pseudonyms were assigned for
both the districts and the superintendents.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 59

District A is located in northern California and has a student enrollment of over 18,000
students, over 76% of whom were from minority families at the time of the study. More than
16% of the district’s students were ELLs and slightly more than 57% received free/reduced-price
lunches. Superintendent A is a Caucasian male in his fourth year as superintendent of the district
(Ed-Data, 2012).
District B is located in northern California and has a student enrollment of over 25,000
students, over 91% of whom were from minority families at the time of the study. More than
66% of the district’s students were ELLs and slightly more than 67% received free/reduced-price
lunches. Superintendent B is a Caucasian male in his seventh year as superintendent of the
district (Ed-Data, 2012).
District C is located in northern California and has a student enrollment of just over
10,000 students, over 93% of whom were from minority families at the time of the study.
District C has the highest percentage of minority student enrollment (93.5%) of all 20 school
districts who met the criteria for participation in the study, 33.1% of the district’s students were
ELLs, and slightly more than 80% received free/reduced-price lunches. Nevertheless, District C
was used in this study because of the high number of minority students, its high percentage of
free/reduced-price lunches and its urban geographical location. Superintendent C is a Caucasian
female with almost two and a half years of experience as the superintendent of District C (Ed-
Data, 2012).
District D is located in southern California and has a student enrollment of just over
35,000 students, over 89.2% of whom were from minority families at the time of the study.
More than 76% of the district’s students were ELLs and slightly more than 76% received
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 60

free/reduced-price lunches. Superintendent D is an African-American female in her second year
as superintendent of the district (Ed-Data, 2012).
Instrumentation
This study combined the methodologies of literature review, in-depth interviews, and a
survey questionnaire to address the research questions. The major strength of the mixed-
methods approach is that it enables the researcher to collect data that are comprehensive and
multi-perspective.
Urban Superintendent Leadership Survey Questionnaire
All 42 urban California superintendents who met the criteria of a student population of
more than 10,000 with a 7% African-American student population and more than a 50%
minority population for the study were emailed the Effective Strategies That Urban
Superintendent Use That Improve the Academic Achievement for African-American Males
Survey Questionnaire (Urban Superintendent Leadership Survey Questionnaire, Appendix B).
The literature-based survey was designed by practices that urban superintendents have used in
their effort to improve student achievement in their districts. The survey included 40 items
divided into three sections.
The first section of the survey asked respondents to answer six demographic items
regarding enrollment of the district, their gender, age, years of experience as a school
superintendent, years of experience as the superintendent of the current school district, and
highest degree held.
The second section of the survey consisted of 33 items that asked the superintendents to
rate importance of each leadership strategy and practice as it related to their overall effort to
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 61

improve student achievement in their districts. Superintendents rated each item using a 5-point
Likert-type scale (4=very significant aspect, 3=somewhat significant aspect, 2=somewhat
insignificant aspect, 1=very insignificant aspect, and 0=not used at all). Each item in this
section corresponds to a superintendent or district-level leadership strategy or practice that
previous research has demonstrated to be associated with improvements in instruction or student
learning (see Appendix A for a list of the leadership strategies and practices and their
corresponding research). The 33 items were divided into 13 broad leadership functions based on
the research in the literature review: (a) creating a shared vision and setting direction,
(b) maintaining board relations, (c) establishing collaboration and shared decision-making,
(d) developing non-negotiable goals for achievement and instruction, (e) developing people
through professional development and support, (f) selecting and assigning personnel, (g) creating
accountability, (h) using data, (i) unifying curriculum and instruction, (j) promoting principals as
instructional leaders, (k) improving district operations, (l) facilitating instruction through the
budget, and (m) giving principals autonomy to run schools. The survey was designed so that
each leadership function consisted of at least two specific leadership strategies or practices that
have been shown empirically to improve instruction or student achievement. Note that one of
the 14 leadership functions, effective communication, was eliminated from the survey after
receiving feedback from the three superintendents who participated in the pilot survey.
The third section of the survey consisted of one open-ended question that asked
respondents whether there were additional leadership strategies and practices that they believed
promoted student achievement in their districts but was not included in the second section of the
survey.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 62

In order to ensure content validity, the superintendent survey instrument was first piloted
with three experienced superintendents in California who did not participate in the formal study.
Each superintendent reviewed the instrument for wording, readability, clarity, and validity.
Feedback and recommendations were used to revise the survey instrument and to ensure content
validity. Feedback and recommendations were used to revise the survey instrument and to
ensure content validity. Based on the review, the instrument was presented to members of the
dissertation committee for approval. Feedback and recommendations were taken from the three
members of the dissertation committee and the data collection instrument was revised and
approved for use in June 2012.
Structured Interview Protocol
Following an extensive review of the literature related to urban superintendent leadership
and student achievement, an eight-item, open-ended superintendent interview protocol was
constructed to determine how, when, and why successful urban superintendents in California
used various leadership strategies and practices to improve student learning. To ensure
consistency and reliability, a standardized open-ended interview protocol was developed. The
interview protocol included the following eight items:
1. Please describe your approach to leadership.
2. What are the special challenges/demands of improving achievement for African-
American male students?
3. What specific actions did you take to improve academic performance for African-
American male students?
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 63

4. In what ways do you think superintendents of urban school districts can affect student
achievement?
5. What are the most important leadership strategies and practices you have used as
superintendent to improve student achievement in your district?
6. What were your reasons for selecting these leadership strategies and practices?
7. How does the program work?
a. Does it target a specific population?
b. Does it require any additional funding? What funding sources are utilized?
c. How do you measure success?
d. Has it been successful in reducing the achievement gap for African-American
students?
8. Imagine that I am a new superintendent of an urban school district much like your own
and I was hired to improve student achievement. In addition, you were hired by my
school board to be my leadership coach. What would you recommend my plan of action
be for the first 90 days on the job? The first year? Second year?
In order to ensure the validity of the interview protocol, it was reviewed by the study’s
dissertation committee. Feedback and recommendations on each interview item were used to
revise and to ensure validity of the interview protocol.
To ensure consistency and reliability, a standardized open-ended interview protocol was
developed. According to Patton (2002), the standardized open-ended interview approach
“consists of a set of questions carefully worded and arranged with the intention of taking each
respondent through the same sequence and asking each respondent the same questions with
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 64

essentially the same words” (p. 342). The benefits of the standardized interview approach
include that (a) the exact instrument used is available for inspection by those who will use the
results of the study, (b) the interviewer is highly focused so that the interviewee’s time is used
efficiently, and (c) the analysis is facilitated by making the responses easy to find and compare
(Patton, 2002).
Procedure
Superintendent survey data collection. Data were collected from the urban
superintendents during the early/late fall of 2012, using the Effective Strategies That Urban
Superintendent Use That Improve the Academic Achievement for African-American Males
Survey Questionnaire instrument created by the researcher. The study followed the seven steps
necessary for a successful questionnaire described by Gall et al. (1996): (a) define the research
objective, (b) identify the population or sample, (c) determine the variables of the study,
(d) design the instrument, (e) pilot test the instrument, (f) create a cover letter, and (g) distribute
the questionnaire.
The survey was administered using the web-based program Qualtrics and superintendents
were invited through an email that included the following: a link to the online survey, cover
letter (Appendix C) and informed consent form (Appendix D) that explained the purpose of the
research and to elicit participation from the selected superintendents. As the surveys were
returned, a log was maintained by the researcher to account for respondents and to identify non-
respondents for subsequent follow-up in 30 days. The follow-up included a phone call to the
superintendent’s executive secretary and a reminder email that contained the survey link.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 65

Structured interview data collection. Data for the qualitative component of the study
were collected from four participating urban superintendents using the Superintendent
Leadership Interview Protocol. The in-depth structured interview process permitted the
researcher to collect data regarding the perceptions and thoughts of each superintendent related
to how, when, and why they used particular leadership strategies and practices to improve
student achievement, particularly African-American males.
Once permission was granted from the University of Southern California’s Institutional
Review Board (IRB) in mid-April 2012, the superintendents were contacted via email that
explained the purpose of the study and requested their participation in the interview portion of
the study. Appendix D contains the Information Sheet that was attached to the email. The
researcher’s dissertation chair assisted in contacting the participants and securing appointments
with the superintendents. In early May 2012, the dates, times, and locations of the interviews
were determined.
The four urban superintendents were scheduled for a 45-minute interview each. For
convenience, the interviews took place in the superintendents’ offices. The structured interview
process began with a brief explanation of the research study and its purposes as well as an
overview of the interview process. In an attempt to maintain the integrity and consistency of the
interview process, the interviews were conducted using a standardized format: The questions
were asked to all participants in the same order and using the same emphasis. No time limits
were imposed on any question, and each participant was invited to ask for clarification before
providing a response. In order to ensure the accuracy of the data for transcription, all interviews
were audio taped (permission was granted by superintendents at the beginning of the interviews).
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 66

Data Analysis
Data analysis methods are described in terms of the quantitative data gathered via the
survey questionnaire and the qualitative data collected via the structured interviews.
Superintendent survey data analysis. The methodology for this part of the study
employed quantitative techniques. Data analysis of the 33 close-ended items on the
superintendent survey questionnaire was conducted using Statistical Packages for the Social
Sciences (SPSS). Each variable was defined and assigned a variable label. The Likert-scale
response (0 to 4) for each of the 33 closed-ended items on each coded survey was entered into
that data set. Next, descriptive statistics were computed for the responses that included
frequencies, means, and standard deviations.
The Pearson correlation coefficient examines the relationship between two variables, but
both variables are continuous in nature. A correlation coefficient is a numerical index that
reflects the relationship between two variables; and it also reflects the amount of variability that
is shared between two variables and what they have in common (Salkind, 2008). The correlation
coefficient provided important information about the relationship of two strategies and practices
used by the urban superintendents in California to improve student achievement.
Structured interview data analysis. Creswell (2003) recommends a thorough analysis
of data in a qualitative case study; the process used here was continuous and on-going. Data
collected from the interviews were critically examined to determine how new urban
superintendents should begin to take on the task of improving student achievement.
As Patton (2002) pointed out, the challenge of qualitative analysis lies in making sense of
the vast amount of data collected. To analyze the transcribed interview data, the researcher used
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 67

the following data analysis procedure. First, all handwritten notes, reflections, and audio tapes of
the interviews were transcribed. Second, each transcription was read carefully, without taking
notes. Following the first reading, the transcripts were read for a second and third time and notes
and observations regarding recurring themes and patterns were recorded in the margins
(inductive analysis). Next, the transcripts were reread. Ultimately, the data from each interview
was coded. The data was compared to determine whether overarching patterns and themes were
shared by successful urban superintendents with respect to how, when, and why they applied
particular leadership strategies and practices to improve students’ achievement.
Validity concerns. The current study employed triangulation to increase the validity of
its findings. Patton (2002) identified four basic types of triangulation: use of multiple data
sources, researchers, frameworks, and methodologies. The current study used three forms of
triangulation to ensure the validity of findings. First, a mixed methodology–combining both
quantitative and qualitative–was used to collect, analyze, and report data. Survey questionnaires
and in-depth interviews were conducted to provide insight into the leadership strategies and
practices successful urban superintendents in California have used to improve student
achievement. The study employed theory triangulation by using multiple leadership frameworks
(the three basic leadership functions developed by Leithwood and Riehl (2003) and the
transformational, distributive, and instructional approaches to leadership) to develop the survey
questionnaire and the interview protocol, as well as to interpret the collected data. The study
used data triangulation by using both open-ended written responses on the survey questionnaire
and open-ended verbal responses to the interview questions. Overall, these three triangulation
techniques were used to ensure the validity of the findings.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 68

Ethical consideration. The University of Southern California Institutional Review
Board (IRB) guidelines and procedures were followed. All participants consented to participate
in the study and all were informed of the purpose and nature of the research. Confidentiality and
anonymity of all participants in the study was adhered to strictly. Participation in this project
was entirely voluntary. The names of the district, the school, and all its members have been
changed. No information had been published without the consent of the individuals from whom
it was elicited. All transcribed interviews have been stored in a secure location, access to which
is limited to this researcher.
Summary
This chapter provided a description of the mixed research methodology used in the study,
the population and participants, the development and administration of the data collection
instruments, and the procedures used to collect and analyze the data.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 69

Chapter Four
Presentation of the Findings
This chapter includes various analyses of data collected through online surveys
containing open-ended questions, one-on-one interviews, and the California Department of
Education Data Quest 2012, which was obtained for this study. The purpose of this study is to
identify urban school district superintendents’ effective functions, practices, and strategies that
are used to improve the learning environment and to improve the academic achievement for
African-American males. Quantitative data was collected through online surveys that consisted
of leadership traits to be ranked on a Likert scale. Superintendents rated each item using a 5-
point Likert-type scale (4=very significant aspect, 3=somewhat significant aspect, 2=somewhat
insignificant aspect, 1=very insignificant aspect, and 0=not used at all). Qualitative data was
collected through online surveys containing open-ended questions and one-on-one interviews.
The quantitative findings from the urban superintendents’ survey questionnaires and the
qualitative analysis of the responses to the one-on-one interviews with four California urban-city
superintendents were reviewed and analyzed, in conjunction with 23 online survey responses.
The responses to the research questions were formulated through triangulations of the research
literature, survey questionnaire, and interview response analysis.
Data was collected from the California Department of Education Data Quest 2012 (CDE,
2012), to determine urban school district superintendents’ effectiveness in raising African-
American CST scores and in closing the achievement gap over a five-year period (see Table 3).
Additionally, based on the quantitative data obtained from the California Department of
Education Data Quest 2012 (CDE, 2012), the researcher identified 42 school districts that met
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 70

the criteria of over 10,000 students enrolled with an African-American student population of at
least 7% and an increase in the CST scores for at least two years. The data of 42 urban school
districts in California presents evidence that all 42 school districts have improved the CST scores
of African-American students; however, according to the data, not all school districts have
invested enough resources to close the achievement gap between African-American and
Caucasian students.
Of the 42 urban school districts eligible to participate in this study, only 23 responded.
Table 3 presents the quantitative data of each school district superintendent that participated in
the interview process. The data presented includes student enrollment, and the total number of
African-American students with a distinct category for African-American males. African-
American API scores for 2008-2012 are presented to indicate if there was steady improvement
for these students. For each year, the average API score for African-Americans students was
calculated.

Table 3

Urban School District Assessment Results for African-Americans

District Total
Students
Total AA
Students
Total
AA Male
Students
2008 CST
Scores
AA/WH
2009
CST
Scores
2010
CST
Scores
2011
CST
Scores
2012 CST
AA/WH
Scores
Achieve
Gap
1 20688 1961 987 734/797
-63
749 763 774 804/847
-43
Decreasing
2 25543 4788 2395 582/737
-155
591 594 622 628/766
-138
Decreasing
3 14430 4283 2207 634/764
-130
635 649 650 672/803
-131
Increasing
4 83691 13158 6606 684/841
-157
692 702 716 725/882
-157
No Change
5 659639 62844 31768 627/820
-193
641 663 679 696/874
-178
Decreasing
6 20585 3413 1750 647/776
-129
657 673 686 694/811
-117
Decreasing
7 15929 1420 742 650/753
-103
656 675 680 704/785
-81
Decreasing
8 15302 1214 601 723/808
-85
744 775 771 802/863
-61
Decreasing
9 16057 1140 606 710/813
-103
725 716 739 757/825
-68
Decreasing
10 23677 1690 882 638/748
-110
662 673 671 692/778
-86
Decreasing
11 20987 1386 722 749/834
-85
751 755 762 772/862
-90
Increasing
12 14676 1565 832 681/781
-100
683 709 699 711/810
-99
Decreasing
13 25065 2282 1191 723/801
-78
734 736 750 764/834
-70
Decreasing
14 13031 1481 780 797/864
-67
813 829 842 851/914
-63
Decreasing
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 71

Table 3 (Cont’d.)

District Total
Students
Total AA
Students
Total
AA Male
Students
2008 CST
Scores
AA/WH
2009
CST
Scores
2010
CST
Scores
2011
CST
Scores
2012 CST
AA/WH
Scores
Achieve
Gap
15 23444 1874 947 642/763
-121
644 664 693 713/809
-96
Decreasing
16 26764 3663 1824 658/734
-76
685 701 708 717/797
-80
Increasing
17 54379 8028 4074 626/732
-106
643 666 672 688/789
-101
Decreasing
18 11927 1005 515 729/832
-103
724 748 749 772/871
-99
Decreasing
19 11531 2198 1112 727/829
-102
745 749 748 743/853
-110
Increasing
20 15186 2943 1423 609/724
-115
609 627 645 638/781
-143
Increasing
21 21977 1621 885 681/767
-86
694 693 684 683/799
-116
Increasing
22 35692 6251 3238 651/755
-104
670 678 688 697/799
-102
Decreasing
23 42406 3372 1761 717/811
-94
733 754 757 761/855
-94
No Change
24 19615 2754 1400 707/786
-79
735 756 762 774/849
-75
Decreasing
25 28321 2481 1241 626/768
-142
646 657 654 673/808
-135
Decreasing
26 16810 1858 957 690/813
-123
715 722 733 729/838
-109
Decreasing
27 10669 1241 633 674/858
-184
679 700 713 726/885
-159
Decreasing
28 46377 14169 7217 610/889
-279
625 643 652 655/900
-245
Decreasing
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 72

Table 3 (Cont’d.)

District Total
Students
Total AA
Students
Total
AA Male
Students
2008 CST
Scores
AA/WH
2009
CST
Scores
2010
CST
Scores
2011
CST
Scores
2012 CST
AA/WH
Scores
Achieve
Gap
29 12123 1571 790 634/728
-94
657 664 672 680/778
-98
Increasing
30 33977 1576 831 647/809
-162
673 695 697 704/850
-146
Decreasing
31 10381 2198 1119 635/745
-110
647 673 684 698/779
-81
Decreasing
32 29883 6129 3180 612/780
-168
612 627 632 644/813
-169
Increasing
33 18877 4558 2320 640/770
-130
634 656 649 673/791
-118
Decreasing
34 21577 3891 1986 657/782
-125
667 686 707 715/847
-132
Increasing
35 56310 5945 3056 591/857
-266
596 616 616 628/891
-263
Decreasing
36 47940 8623 4305 665/807
-142
669 669 684 690/840
-150
Increasing
37 62126 9760 5068 685/829
-144
693 699 700 711/857
-146
Increasing
38 12344 2418 1217 659/793
-134
658 676 704 710/853
-143
Increasing
39 47245 3696 1867 689/797
-108
679 683 674 678/816
-138
Increasing
40 38803 4604 2369 601/690
-89
600 616 686 651/730
-79
Decreasing
41 14896 1508 790 639/772
-133
654 684 704 713/822
-109
Decreasing
42 74235 7326 3807 648/787
-139
647 663 661 664/812
-148
Increasing
Source: California Department of Education. (2010). Data Quest. Retrieved from http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 73
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 74

Response Rate
Based on the selection criteria for this study, 42 superintendents qualified to take the
Urban Superintendent’s quantitative survey. Table 4 indicates of the 42 eligible participants,
23 participated in the survey. This yielded a 55% response rate. The researcher was satisfied
with a response rate over 50%. The remaining 45% of the superintendents who did not
participate in the survey are demographically representative of the superintendents who
participated in the survey.

Table 4

Quantitative Survey: Response Rate

Measure Number Invited to
Participate
Number
Participated
Percentage
Participated
Superintendents 42 23 55

Quantitative demographic data. Demographic data was disaggregated by gender, age,
educational attainment, years of experience as a superintendent and years of experience at their
current district. The demographic information was analyzed and presented in relevant tables,
charts or in narrative form.
Out of the 23 superintendents surveyed, 14 were male and 9 were female. Table 5
indicates the respondents were 61% male and 39% female.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 75

Table 5
Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Gender

Measure Male Female Total
Number of
Superintendents
14 9 23
Percentage of
Superintendents
61 39 100

Table 6 presents the age breakdown of the superintendents who participated in the
survey. The age categories are separated in bands of ten years. The age criterion starts with
35 or under and ends with superintendents over the age of 66. The ages distributed between age
36 and 55. Of the 23 surveyed, 22% were 36-45, 35% were 46-55, and 43% were 56-65.

Table 6

Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Age

Measure 35 or
under
36-45 46-55 56-55 66 or
older
Total
Number of
Superintendents
0 5 8 10 0 23
Percentage of
Superintendents
0 22 35 43 0 100

The highest educational attainment level of the superintendents who participated in the
quantitative survey is presented in Table 7. The superintendents were asked to identify their
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 76

education level by indicating if they had a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. Of the 23
surveyed, 39% held a master’s degree and the remaining 41% held a doctoral degree.

Table 7

Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Education

Measure Master’s
Degree
Doctoral
Degree
Total
Number of
Superintendents
9 14 23
Percentage of
Superintendents
39 61 100

Table 8 presents the distribution of the years of experience for the 23 respondents. The
years were categorized in four-year increments. The initial category was fewer than two years
and the last category was 18 or more years. The researcher noted that 30% of the respondents
had fewer than two years’ experience, and 65% of the respondents had less than nine years’
experience. The average years of experience for the respondents were 7.8 years. Additionally,
four of the respondents had 18 or more years of experience.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 77

Table 8
Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Experience

Measure Fewer
than 2
years
2-5 6-9 10-13 14-17 18 or
more
Total
Number of
Superintendents
7 5 3 3 1 4 23
Percentage of
Superintendents
30 22 13 13 4 13 100

Of the 23 superintendents, 65% have less than seven years’ experience in their current
district. The years of experience was distributed over three-year increments with the initial
category of fewer than two years and the last category of over 13 years. Nine percent of the
respondents had between 10-12 years of experience and no one had over 13 years of experience
in their current district. On average, the superintendents reported 3.8 years tenure in their current
district (see Table 9).

Table 9

Quantitative Survey: Superintendent Experience in Current District

Measure Fewer
than 2
years
2-4 5-7 8-10 10-12 13 or
more
Total
Number of
Superintendents
9 6 4 2 2 0 23
Percentage of
Superintendents
39 26 17 9 9 0 100
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 78

Qualitative demographic data. The qualitative data was collected through four
superintendent interviews and the open-ended question included on the survey. The respondents
answered the following open-ended question:
Please list the top three leadership strategies or programs that you believe improved
student achievement for African-American males in your district.
This question yielded 20 responses to the open-ended question. These responses were analyzed
and compared to the interview results.
At the conclusion of the survey, superintendents could elect to participate in a
45-minute interview. Ten superintendents elected to participate and based on geographic
location and availability four interviews were conducted. All four superintendents qualified to
participate in the interview based on at least two years at their current district and over 10,000
students with at least 7% African-American student population.
Table 10 details the demographic data of the superintendents interviewed and
characteristics of the district they lead. The superintendents interviewed all were between the
age of 56-65. Their overall experience as a superintendent ranged from 2 to 21 years with an
average of four years at their current district. Seventy five percent of the superintendents
interviewed held a doctorate degree and gender was equally represented. The superintendents
interviewed had the following ethnicities: Caucasian (two males, one female) and one African-
American (female). All four districts had over 10,000 students and over 70% minority student
populations.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 79

Table 10
Qualitative Interview: Characteristics for Superintendents and Districts

Superintendent Profile District
A Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Age: 56-65
Education: Doctoral degree
Years as superintendent:4
Years in current position:4
Enrollment: 18,877
Free or reduced meals: 62%
Minority: 79%

B Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Age:56-65
Education: Doctoral degree
Years as superintendent: 21
Years in current position:7
Enrollment: 29,883
Free or reduced meals: 68%
Minority: 88%

C Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Age: 56-65
Education: Master’s degree
Years as superintendent: 2.5
Years in current position: 2.5
Enrollment: 10,381
Free or reduced meals: 78%
Minority: 91%

D Gender: Female
Ethnicity: African-
American
Age: 56-65
Education: Doctoral degree
Years as superintendent: 2
Years in current position: 2
Enrollment: 35,692
Free or reduced meals: 75%
Minority: 88%

School districts that participated in the research were identified through the California
Department of Education Dataquest (CDE, 2012) website. Figure 2 displays the participating
districts’ average API assessment score results for 2008 and 2012. The average API scores for
Caucasian students in 2008 was 795 and in 2012 the average score was 832. There was a 41-
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 80

point average growth during the five-year period for the Caucasian students. The average score
for African-American students in 2008 was 670 and in 2012 the average was 715. There was a
45-point average growth during the five-year period for the African-American students. The
difference between API scores for African-American and Caucasian students was 122 points in
2008 and 118 points in 2012. The African-American students had a 6.72% growth while the
Caucasian students experienced a 5.18% growth during the same period in the districts that
participated in the online survey. The gap between the two groups has experienced some
closing; however the gap is closing at a slow rate.

Figure 2: Quantitative Data: Average 2008 and 2012 API Results

670
715
792
833
0
200
400
600
800
1000
2008 2012
Participating Districts' Average 2008
and 2012 API Results
African-Am
Caucasian
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 81

Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research questions:
1. How do effective urban school district superintendents create and sustain leadership
preparation and professional development programs that support the academic
achievement of African-American males?
2. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence, support, and develop
their teacher ranks to meet the academic and social challenges of the African-American
male student?
3. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence the knowledge, beliefs,
and leadership practices of urban school district principals?
4. How do successful urban district superintendents direct resources to insure the success of
African-American males?
Research question 1. How do effective urban school district superintendents create and
sustain leadership preparation, and professional development programs that support the academic
achievement of African-American males?
• Leadership Preparation Rated as Most Significant by the Effective Urban
Superintendents
Personnel preparation. Urban school districts’ leadership preparation programs are an
important component of the organization. Building personnel capacity is an important aspect to
the success of all students. According to the quantitative survey, when asked the importance of
developing instructional leadership capacity of personnel throughout the district, the
superintendents surveyed responded with an average rating of 3.86 out of 4. This high score
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 82

corresponds to the importance of building capacity amongst school district staff as it correlates to
the superintendents’ beliefs of developing instructional leaders. An average rating of 3.45 out of
4 support the superintendents’ desire to provide help, support, and coaching to site principals.
Jim Collins (2001) stressed the importance of getting the right people on the bus at the right time.
The survey questions in Figure 3 align with Jim Collins’ statement, that one must pursue getting
“the right people on the bus, and then the right people in the right seat” (p. 57). Once you have
the right people in the right seat, then you must develop their capacity to meet the needs of the
African-American male students. Urban superintendents strongly emphasize the importance of
hiring effective personnel with a score of 3.64 out of 4.

Figure 3: Personnel

3.86
3.64
3.45
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Develop the instructional leadership capacity of
personnel throughout the district
Emphasize the importance of recruiting effective
teachers and administrators
Support the instructional leadership of principals
by restructuring the central office to provide
help, support, and coaching
Average superintendents reponse (out of 4)
Personnel
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 83

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS),
test was conducted and revealed a very strong correlation coefficient of .890 between developing
instructional leadership capacity throughout the district and providing targeted, effective data-
driven staff development (see Table 11).
The researcher established the criteria of examining only “very strong” and “strong”
correlations to identify significant relationships. All survey statements were analyzed using the
SPSS correlation coefficient test in order to reveal any correlations. The researcher reviewed all
of the results to identify any strong correlations. Salkind (2007) suggested the following
guidelines for determining the strength of the correlations:
• .8 to 1.0 – very strong relationship
• .6 to .8 – strong relationship
• .4 to .6 – moderate relationship
• .2 to .4 – weak relationship
• .0 to .2 – weak or no relationship

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 84

Table 11
SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional Leadership and Staff Development

Survey Statements
17. Provide targeted, effective staff
development
14. Develop the instructional leadership
capacity

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.890

.000

23

Learning environment. All effective urban superintendents had a vision of the schools,
its culture, and its goals. The urban superintendents’ goals main focus was on preparing students
for college and for life. Each superintendent has high expectations that all students can learn
when they are being taught by highly qualified teachers. Creating a learning environment with a
sense of urgency that is inclusive and accepting of African-American males, and all students, is
essential for the students to be successful. “Creating a sense of urgency for improving student
achievement for African-American male students” yielded an average score of 3.86 out of 4.0.
The response ranged from 3.55 to 3.86 for creating a safe, supportive, and positive learning
environment for African-American male students. They also believe that students are more
likely to excel in their studies when they are given rigorous and quality curriculum (see
Figure 4).

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 85

Figure 4: Environment

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .835 between providing a safe learning environment and
reinforcing the need for college access programs for African-American males (see Table 12).

3.55
3.73
3.86
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Provide a safe learning environment for African
American males
Examine school safety policies and procedures for
consistency throughout the school district to make
sure they are not being used for discriminatory
purposes
Create a sense of urgency for improving student
achievement for African American male students
Average superintendents response (out of 4)
Environment
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 86

Table 12

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Safe Learning Environment and the Need for
College Access Programs for African-American Males

Survey Statements
31. Reinforce the need for college access
programs for African-American male students
7. Provide a safe learning environment for
African American males

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.835

.000

23

District leaders are assigned specific schools (buddy schools) to provide direct
support to the principals and the school site (Interview Respondent A). The district buddy
reviews the site plan with the principal, attends school site meetings, participates in principal
walk throughs, and debriefs with the principal afterwards.
• Leadership Professional Development Programs Rated as Most Significant by the
Successful Urban Superintendents
Urban superintendents interviewed indicated that they are diligent about adopting the
California standards for instruction. School districts are providing professional development to
their leadership staff to prepare them for the new California Common Core State Standards.
Urban superintendents are engaging in regular data collaborative sessions with district
personnel and site administrators. The responses by the urban superintendents relating to using
performance data to target intervention strategies scored at 3.82 out of 4. There are three
common methods that successful superintendents use to effectively communicate their
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 87

discussions of student achievement: (a) one-on-one meetings with the principal, (b) district
principal meetings, and (c) leadership team meetings. When the superintendent meets one-on-
one with the principal, the superintendent wants to review the most recent achievement data, and
discuss the principal’s strategy for improving student achievement at his school site. In addition,
the principal will share with the superintendent his strategy for meeting the needs of his neediest
most disadvantaged students (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Data Driven Intervention

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .947 between emphasizing strong instruction techniques and
using performance data to target interventions (see Table 13).

3.82
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Use performance data to target interventions
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Data Driven Intervention
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 88

Table 13

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Strong Instruction and Targeted Interventions

Survey Statements
22. Use performance data to target
interventions
26. Emphasize that strong instruction is
the key to improving student learning

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.947

.000

23

The principal meetings are conducted at regular intervals for superintendents to consult
with principals to develop the shared vision for student achievement. Superintendents use these
meetings to discuss student data district wide. Data is analyzed and discussed to better determine
the next steps to improving student achievement. Principal meetings are also used to provide
collaboration and sharing of strategies amongst principals.
Leadership team meetings, where all district leaders and management personnel are
participating, provide the superintendents an opportunity to outline their vision and goals to their
staff members. The superintendent also outlines who is specifically responsible for the various
duties to help the district be successful with providing students with a quality education.
These three different types of meeting settings give the superintendent an opportunity to
mentor his site leaders. The one-on-one meetings occur two to three times a year, or as needed;
the principals’ meetings are scheduled bi-monthly. The leadership team meetings may occur
quarterly. In all three settings, student achievement is the topic.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 89

Analyzing student data has become a key tool used by superintendents to determine
resource allocations. Interview Respondent D used data analysis to identify language acquisition
as a deficiency for African-American male students. Interview Respondent D stated, “There is
too much research that shows there is a discrepancy between language acquisition and the way
tests are written and the language that is used by African-American male students. Additionally,
Interview Respondent D stated, “With our English learners, we have focus. We have ELD
programs. English Language Development, that’s their focus. We do not have a counterpart for
African American students.” Urban African-American male students need programs that will
provide language acquisition instructions to become successful and close the achievement gap.
The district office reviews district data and allocates specific resources to the neediest areas for
the most gain (see Figure 6). The response range in Figure 6 is from 3.27 to 3.82. The highest
two rated responses by urban superintendents are to allocate funds based on instructional
priorities (3.82) and to secure funds to initiate reforms and launch priorities (3.5). Data is also
used to ensure the district is in compliance with its federal and state programs.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 90

Figure 6: Funding

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .810 between developing instructional leadership capacity
throughout the district and the allocation of funds based on instructional priorities (see Table 14).

3.5
3.82
3.27
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Secure funds to initiate reforms and launch priorities
Allocate funds based on instructional priorities
Increase funding for school counselors and require a
smaller ratio of counselors to students could help to
improve the emotional wellbeing of students
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Funding
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 91

Table 14

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional Leadership and Instructional
Priorities Funding

Survey Statements
20. Allocate funds based on instructional
priorities
14. Develop the instructional leadership
capacity of personnel throughout the district

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.810

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

• Response to the Open-Ended Survey Item by the Successful Urban Superintendents
There must be a sense of urgency by urban city superintendents for addressing the
discrepancy of the African-American male students’ success or achievements. This urgency
must be reflected in the superintendents’ goals for the district with a specific timeline. Urban
superintendents indicating that setting a specific timeline was important for goal setting received
a rating of 3.55 out of 4. Urban superintendents also feel that school principals, with a rating of
3.73, should be involved in developing the non-negotiable goals for the district. Effective urban
superintendents believe that the development of district-wide values of equity, integrity, caring,
collaboration, and personal accountability that have (Survey Respondent 25) been clearly
communicated across the district establishes the foundation of addressing all students’ needs
regardless of their ethnicity, socio-economic status, or ability (Survey Respondent 24). The
district establishes and clearly communicates the non-negotiable for principals, teachers, and
students (see Figure 7). Establishing and communicating explicit data-driven goals and targets
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 92

for student performance that are non-negotiables, rated the highest in the category of non-
negotiable, with a score of 3.86 out of 4.

Figure 7: Non-Negotiables

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .890 between setting timetables for meeting the district’s non-
negotiable goals and allocating funds based on data-driven instructional priorities (see Table 15).

3.86
3.73
3.55
3.32
3.32
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Establish explicit goals and targets for student
performance that are non-negotiable
Include school principals in the development of the
non-negotiable goals for the district
Set specific time-tables for meeting the non-
negotiable goals
Include key community members in the non-
negotiable goal setting process
Adopt a 5-year non-negotiable plan for achievement
and instruction
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Non-Negotiables
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 93

Table 15

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Non-Negotiable and Instructional Priorities
Funding

Survey Statements
20. Allocate funds based on instructional
priorities
11. Set specific time-tables for meeting the
nonnegotiable goals

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.853

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

There is a targeted and effective intervention, and effective professional development for
teachers with on-going support in the classroom. The improvement of African-American male
students was small but positive. There is a need for additional resources in order to support
accelerated and significant growth. Effective superintendents must focus on culturally relevant
pedagogy, parental involvement, and mentoring programs for the African-American male
students (Interview Respondent D).
There is a growing movement to work with stakeholders in developing the belief that all
students can and will learn when a learning environment is developed to meet their needs using
achievement gap data to highlight the specific needs of the students (see Figure 8). Proper
analysis of data will allow the educator to identify specific areas a student may be struggling in
ELA or mathematics. Developing instructional techniques that will improve the student’s ability
to retain skills learned in the classroom and provide early data-driven interventions are seen as
important techniques, with a rating of 3.86 out of 4, by the urban superintendents. Student
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 94

intervention is more targeted. Targeted data-driven intervention requires less time to get the
student back on grade level, and it is less frustrating for the student, which leads to a higher level
of motivation for the African-American male student (Survey Respondent 38). In addition,
urban superintendents view providing strong data-driven instruction as the key to improving
African-American male students learning, with a high rating of 3.91 out of 4.

Figure 8: General Student Learning

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .947 between developing instructional leadership capacity
throughout the district and using performance data to target interventions (see Table 16 and
Figure 9).

3.91
3.86
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Emphasize that strong instruction is the key to
improving student learning
Help students retain skills learned and provide early
interventions as needed
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
General Student Learning
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 95

Table 16
SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional Leadership and Target Intervention

Survey Statements
22. Use performance data to target
interventions
14. Develop the instructional leadership
capacity of personnel throughout the district

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.947

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Figure 9: Culturally Relevant Curriculum

3.73
3.77
3.59
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Teachers trained with culturally responsive pedagogy
Replace culturally exclusionary curriculum
Utilize curriculum designed to help students
understand historical events from perspectives of
various racial, ethnic and cultural groups
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Culturally Relevant Curriculum
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 96

The initial focus should be on all students. Developing a coherent and viable core
curriculum is the first step to developing an effective intervention program that will meet the
needs of African-American male students. To that end, providing staff development in culturally
relevant pedagogy to teachers and administrators will provide stakeholders with the tools
necessary to support African-American male students in the classroom. Urban superintendents
rated training teachers and administrators in culturally relevant techniques with an average score
of 3.73 out of 4; they see a need to address the culturally exclusionary curriculum as important
with a rating of 3.77 out of 4.
The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed the highest
correlation coefficient of 1.000 between developing instructional leadership capacity throughout
the district and utilizing curriculum designed to help students understand historical events from
the perspective of various racial, ethnic and cultural groups (see Table 17).

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 97

Table 17
SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional Leadership and Cultural
Curriculum

Survey Statements
25. Utilize curriculum designed to help
students understand historical events from
perspectives of various racial, ethnic and
cultural groups
14. Develop the instructional leadership
capacity of personnel throughout the district

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

1.000

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Disciplinary equity. Effective urban superintendents use data to identify and address the
disproportionate disciplinary actions taken against African-American males in their schools.
Some superintendents have allocated resources to monitor each school site’s disciplinary
activities and that information is reported out in the superintendents’ cabinet and to the principal
of the school. The principal is contacted and asked to justify why their suspension rates are
higher for one group when compared to another. In addition, they may be asked to develop a
proactive plan to address and correct this trend. Monthly and annual analyses are conducted to
determine increases or decreases in the suspension rates.
One district leader shared that he pulled up the latest data on the district’s discipline.
According to the data, as of November, 2012 there were 1220 incidents that required students to
be sent to the office (Interview Respondent A). Of the 1220 incidents, 731 were directed at
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 98

African-American students. There were only 197 incidents by Caucasian students that required
the students to be sent to the office. In this school district, 60% of the district’s discipline was
committed by African-American students, while the African-American population represented
only 24% of the total student population. There were two areas of concern that really stood out
for disciplinary action for the African-American students. Those areas were 262 referrals for
defiance and 217 referrals for classroom disturbance. Both “defiance” and “classroom
disturbance” are very subjective terms and broad descriptors of a student’s offensive actions that
are being used to remove him from the learning environment. Addressing the referrals
discrepancy and removing African-American students from the learning environment is a
concern that all districts must address. It is imperative that the site principals carefully examine
the data, including the infractions, referral sources, and details of the incident to help determine
whether there was sufficient justification for the disciplinary referral. The principal works with
the teacher and provides training and support to help ensure the teacher possesses the tools to
adequately negotiate urban city discipline issues when working with the students before
situations are elevated to the level of written a referral.
Parental involvement. Open enrollment is becoming an effective tool for parents to seek
out schools that are more supportive of their African-American students. Parents are no longer
restricted by their geographic location or school attendance zones when selecting a school for
their child to attend. They gain access to and research the schools’ records such as academic
success rates and discipline data to determine if the school is a good fit for their child. More
specifically, parents can access research of how many times African-American males are
referred to the office and the likelihood they are going to be suspended from that school. In
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 99

addition, parents can research if there are activities that their child has an interest in, thereby
increasing the chances their child will be more motivated in attending that school. A positive
academic environment, positive activities, and positive cultural experiences could produce
students who will be more successful.
Urban superintendents focus on making curriculum relevant to all students. Link
Learning, as a program, has significant impacts on student achievement at the high school level
(Interview Respondent A and Interview Respondent B). It is a rigorous core academic program
with a technical component that introduces the students to career-themed programs. Based on
the student’s participation in the program, they may be offered a job that is related to their career
goals. Additionally, an intensive intervention program is offered during the summer as support
to help all students achieve academic and career success. The Link Learning program allows the
students to select the program they want to participate in regardless of the school site of the
students’ home school designation. The students and the parents are involved with the research
and the selection of the academy they want to attend. The parents are required to participate in
the selection of the student’s academy, as evidenced by signing the application (Interview
Responded A). Conceivably, this may lead to a higher level of motivation and student
engagement, and a reduced number of disciplinary incidents.
Community organizations involvement. Urban superintendents are looking to the
business community to provide support and resources to support their school districts.
Superintendents shared with me that Chevron has made commitments to provide substantial
financial support, manpower resources, and other resources that could be made available for their
district’s Link Learning Program if needed. Interview Respondent B shared that Chevron has
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 100

made a multi-million dollar commitment to support revitalization in some parts of a depressed
community that his school district serves. He also shared that Chevron has committed to provide
multi-millions of dollars to his school district to support the development of educational
programs that specifically address the needs of disadvantaged students to improve the learning
environment and close the achievement gap.
In one of the school districts, local lawyers and judges sat on their advisory committee for
their Linked Learning Law program (Interview Respondent A). The lawyers and judges
conducted workshops for the students and parents. The high school students are provided the
opportunity to interact with people who are working in the law profession. The lawyers and
judges in turn learned firsthand about important factors that have led to the school systems’
success, as well as some of the struggles. The Law Academies Program in Interview Respondent
B’s school district’s law program provides summer employment opportunities. The students are
motivated by this opportunity to have a job over the summer and to attend a university during
their summer break.
Effective superintendents have also reached out to form relationships with the local
colleges and universities. Through a University of California campus, the university and the
school district established a partnership towards preparing students for a career in the field of law
(Interview Respondent B). A California State University campus has established a relationship
with another district to work with that district in developing their professional development
programs for administrators and teachers (Interview Respondent A). Effective urban
superintendents view these types of programs as being very important in that they stress college
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 101

preparation and early access to college programs. Providing college access and preparation
programs to students is important, which received a rating of 3.82 out of 4.
The Tobacco-Use Prevention Education Program (TUPE) is a program that is delivered
to the local school districts through the county office of education. The TUPE program provides
for programs in grades six through twelve, through a competitive application process, for
tobacco-specific student instruction, reinforcement activities, special events, and intervention and
cessation programs for students. Interview Respondent A indicated that there are TUPE
programs at four middle schools, three high schools, and two alternative high schools in his
district. TUPE, an important school-based drug prevention program, is rated at 3.14 out of 4 by
urban superintendents.
Interview Respondent A further stated each school has a TUPE site coordinator who
implements and manages the TUPE program. Site coordinators provide training for Project Alert
curriculum, which addresses tobacco prevention, intervention, and cessation throughout the
school site in collaboration with Peer Educators. Moreover, they facilitate student participation
in peer presentations and field trips for such events as the Teens Tackle Tobacco conference, a
yearly event that educates teens on the hazards of tobacco use. The site coordinators also work
with site administrators to provide brief presentations at staff meetings regarding tobacco-use
prevention, intervention and cessation programs, and the referral process (see Figure 10).
Although TUPE is a tobacco prevention and interventions program, it also provides substance
abuse referrals for other illegal drug use. Superintendents are keenly aware the education system
does more for the community than provide traditional academics; it provides social intervention
and education for our students.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 102

Figure 10: Programs

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .850 between creating a sense of urgency for improving student
achievement for African-American males and providing a safe learning environment for African-
American males (see Table 18).

3.82
3.14
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Provide college access programs that
emphasize college preparation and funding for
higher education
Provide school-based drug prevention
programs that encourage peer participation
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Programs
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 103

Table 18

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Urgency and Learning Environment

Survey Statements
7. Provide a safe learning environment for
African-American males
36. Create a sense of urgency for improving
student achievement for African-American
males

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.850

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Research question 2. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence,
support, and develop their teacher ranks to meet the academic and social challenges of the
African-American male student?
• Leadership Influence for Teachers to Meet Both Academic and Social Challenges Rated
as Most Significant by the Effective Urban Superintendents
Teachers have access to a variety of assessment data. Teachers use assessment
information strategically to guide instructional decisions across grade levels, across
departments, and across all schools in the district (see Figure 11). The addition of instructional
coaches inside and outside the classroom provides support to improve instructional techniques.
The coaches work in concert with the teachers to address the needs of all students, particularly
addressing the needs of African-American male students. With the support of the site
administrator and the coaches, teachers can move towards implementing literacy programs that
are rigorous and meaningful to the students. In addition, working with coaches and peers,
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 104

analyzing student data, personalized data-driven intervention programs can be developed and
implemented at the site level (Survey Respondent 29)

Figure 11: Professional Development

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .890 between developing instructional leadership capacity
throughout the district and providing targeted, effective staff development (see Table 19).

3.86
3.68
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Provide targeted, effective staff development
Provide targeted Professional Development for
teachers on relationship building with emphasis
on African American males
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Professional Development
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 105

Table 19

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Instructional Leadership and Targeted Staff
Development

Survey Statements
17. Provide targeted, effective staff
development
14. Develop the instructional leadership
capacity of personnel throughout the district

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.890

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Teachers monitor what students are actually learning by analyzing each student’s
performance on district benchmark exams, quarterly and monthly exams, as well as the school’s
skills exams. Teachers discuss the data information with the site administrator and develop a
plan of intervention for students who did not achieve benchmark scores established by the
district. The intervention plan identifies the students’ areas of weakness and methods necessary
to assist the students in becoming successful such as re-teaching, assigning intervention
teaching, collaborating with colleagues, and arranging before- or after-school tutoring. The
intervention plan is implemented over a period of time after which, culminates in post-
assessments to determine the effectiveness of the interventions provided (see Figure 12).
Teachers also take on the role of intervention specialists. For example, teachers provide
extra time for learning opportunities for lower-achieving students struggling to comprehend
curriculum content. Requiring additional time is considered important by the urban
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 106

superintendents with a rating of 3.36 score. Many districts use pacing guides for uniformity in
instructional delivery of the districts’ curriculum; remediation time is built into the pacing guide
for re-teaching of specific concepts for the weak to struggling students, according to their needs.
Additionally, many school districts have provided after-school programs that are being taught
by highly qualified teachers in an intervention capacity to support the students’ regular day
learning (Survey Respondent 5). The after-school program provides a safe learning
environment where students can receive more instructional time to access additional help in
their academic subject areas, structured group-activity time to help develop their social skills,
and focused recreation time for arts and crafts and physical activities. The after-school
programs provided are designed to reduce isolation time for students and keep them actively
engaged in organized social activities. This type of program received 3.41 out of 4 in this study.
• Leadership Support for Teachers to Meet Both Academic and Social Challenges Rated as
Most Significant by the Effective Urban Superintendents
Teachers are preparing for the California Common Core Standards for instruction, and
developing creative ways to teach curriculum content to their students. With daily and weekly
formative assessments in the classroom, and weekly and quarterly summative assessments,
teachers are monitoring what and how students learn on a regular basis. If the student scores
below proficiency level then he is sent to tutoring where there is a full time resource tutor.
Teachers participate in professional development programs that focus on urban students’
home cultures and diversity differences to better work with students who are coming from the
urban setting. The professional development programs center on urban students’ home cultures
and diversity differences. Teachers need to develop an understanding of the urban culture and its
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 107

unique challenges in order to develop effective strategies that can help African-American male
students be successful.

Figure 12: Programs Specific for African-American Males

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed the highest
possible correlation coefficient score of 1.000 between establishing explicit goals and targets for
student performance as non-negotiable and developing the instructional leadership capacity of
personnel throughout the school district (see Table 20).

3.41
3.73
3.36
3.27
3.55
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Sponsor mentoring programs that are designed to
reduce isolation among school-age African-…
Reinforce the need for college access programs for
African-American male students
Provide programs in your district that systematically
provide additional time and support to African …
Develop programs designed to expand opportunities
for African American males to work with adult role …
Provide programs that support African American
male students
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Programs Specific AA Males
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 108

Table 20

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Explicit Goals and Instructional Leadership

Survey Statements
14. Develop the instructional leadership
capacity of personnel throughout the
district
9. Establish explicit goals and targets for
student performance that are nonnegotiable

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

1.000

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Research question 3. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence
the knowledge, beliefs, and leadership practices of urban school district principals?
• Leadership Influences the Knowledge of Urban School District Principals
Effective strategies for improving the learning environment of all students include
frequent and consistent visits to the classrooms. Principals must develop high functioning teams
at their sites. The essential component of an effective team is a culture of collaboration and
collective responsibility amongst the team members for ensuring the success of the students they
have in common. Principals also develop an objective approach, using current research and
current data, in the operation of the school site, its culture, goals, and objectives. In addition,
principals are focusing on developing and training their staff for the effective use of technology
as an educational tool in the classroom. These principals are also mindful of the importance of
parents and community organizations in educating the African-American male student
(Anderson, & Minke, 2007). Furthermore, these effective principals are setting non-negotiable
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 109

norms to mandate success for all students, especially the African-American male student, the
neediest of all subgroups.
Staff development offerings over the past few years have increased for principals with
regard to academic achievement (coaches, common core standards), working with presenters to
understand diversity issues (National Coalition of Building Institute, NCBI, personal
conversation in August 2009; Will Walker, personal conversation in August, 2008), behavioral
concerns (Noah Salzman, personal conversation, August, 2009) and fidelity to best practices.
Principals were trained in what to look for during their walk throughs, how to hold courageous
conversations, holding teachers accountable to the core curriculum, instructional delivery, and
student engagement (behavior, motivation, etc.).
Principals and District leadership developed site goals and objectives (school site plan) at
the beginning of the year. The school site plan is reviewed mid-year, with the principal;
feedback/progress report is issued during the meeting with the superintendent. The final meeting
is the end-of-the-year evaluation. Principals are held accountable for adhering to the school site
plan and the academic successes of their students. Principals are particularly being looked at for
raising test scores for their most needy students, African-American male students, using the most
current data available to them as the year progresses while concurrently closing the achievement
gap.
Principal meetings are used for training purposes so that they can work collaboratively
with other grade-level principals to share ideas. The principal meeting and staff development
offering are determined and designed by the leadership and direction of the superintendent.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 110

They may be given a mandate to read professional articles that will help them develop cultural
awareness of the African-American male student, as part of their professional development.
• Leadership Influences the Beliefs of Urban School District Principals
Principals are working with their teachers to create high expectations for all students.
Teachers’ high expectation is rated at 3.59 out 4 by urban superintendents. Principals work with
the staff and provide evidence that all students can succeed even if it means revisiting and/or
refining the original plan. All students, including the African-American male students, can
become successful when there are high expectations. The principal monitors students’
assessments, provides opportunities for collaboration amongst the site staff, and encourages the
teachers to develop improved, effective classroom instructions that will increase the academic
achievement of African-American male students (see Figure 13).

Figure 13: Staff Expectations for African-American Males
3.59
3.36
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Expect staff members to do whatever it takes
to make sure that African American males in
particular are achieving
Have staff work in teams to plan and
implement improvement strategies for African
American males
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Staff Expectations for AA Males
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 111

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .895 between team collaboration to plan and implement
improvement strategies for African-American males and creating a sense of urgency for
improving student achievement for African-American males (see Table 21).

Table 21

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Team Improvement Strategies and Urgency for
Improving

Survey Statements
36. Create a sense of urgency for improving
student achievement for African-American
males
28. Have staff work in teams to plan and
implement improvement strategies for
African- American males

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.895

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Principals of effective schools have a positive relationship with the parent community.
These principals welcome parents onto the school campus and solicit their suggestions. They
recruit parents to participate with the development of the school site plan, volunteering on
campus, or supervising homework clubs.
• Leadership Influences the Leadership Practices of Urban School District Principals
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 112

Through the alignment of the district’s goals to the individual School Site Plans targeting
the achievement levels for all students with an emphasis on the African-American male student
will support and encourage principals to develop individual site programs that are data driven
(Survey Respondent 25). The urban superintendent and the principal will have periodic meetings
to disaggregate data, discuss the strengths and needs for all subgroups, review the areas of
concern among African-American males, and provide strategies for moving each group forward
(Survey Respondent 35). Principals, in turn, task their teachers with clear instructional
expectations as a guide to accountability as outlined through a district rubric (Survey Respondent
23). Principals encourage their teachers to work collaboratively to develop grade-level plans.
Each teacher is responsible for developing their class lesson plan which indicates the standards
and skills that are being addressed (Fortune, 2012). Effective leadership strategies influence all
levels of the organization from the district office to the teachers in the classroom.
Research question 4. How do successful urban district superintendents direct resources
to insure the success of African-American males?
• Leadership Allocation of Resources Insures the Success of African-American Males
Effective urban district superintendents use Title 1 section 1118 funding and categorical
funding to address family and community engagement activities. Title 1 defines the goal of
parent involvement as building “the capabilities of parents to work with the school in a way that
supports their children’s well being, growth, and development” (Mizell, 1980, p. 2 as cited in
Mapp, 2011, p. 5).
1

1
Permission to cite from “Title I and Parent Involvement: Lessons from the Past,
Recommendations for the Future” received on February 11, 2013 (see Appendix E).
Parent involvement (PI) has been associated with a variety of positive
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 113

academic outcomes, including higher grade-point averages (Dearing, Kreider, Simpkins, &
Weiss, 2006 as cited in Hill & Tyson, 2009; Hampton, Mumford, & Bond, 1998 as cited in Hill
& Tyson, 2009; Hara, 1998 as cited in Hill & Tyson, 2009), increased achievement in reading
(Senechal & LeFevre, 2002), writing (Epstein,Simon, & Salinas, 1997), and mathematics (Izzo,
Weissberg, Kasprow, & Fendrich, 1999; Anderson & Minke, 2007). Additionally, increasing the
support of students’ through parent involvement will help improve the students’ school behavior
(Anderson & Minke, 2007). Increasing the involvement of African-American parents in their
child’s learning experiences at the school site is rated at 3.52 out of 4 by urban superintendents.
There must be a sense of urgency to get more African-American parents involved in their child’s
educational experiences at the school site. Interview Respondent C shared that parents that
insure their students are at school on time daily was considered positive parental involvement.
Successful school districts acknowledge that parents and the school district are partners in the
education of their children. There is no such thing as providing a quality education without
including parents in the learning process. Effective student learning continues beyond the time
the student is in school; student learning continues while the student is at home with the parents.
The school district provides training to help parents obtain the skills necessary for motivating
their children to become responsible students and lifelong learners (see Figure 14).

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 114

Figure 14: Parental Support

The Pearson correlation coefficient, or SPSS test, was conducted and revealed a very
strong correlation coefficient of .958 between Increasing African-American parental involvement
in their child’s learning and encouraging African-American parental involvement in decision
making (see Table 22).

3.5
3.52
3 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4
Create a sense of urgency for improving student
achievement for African American male students
Increase attention on African American parent
involvement in their child's learning experiences
at the school site
Average superintendent response (out of 4)
Parental Support
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 115

Table 22

SPSS Output for the Correlation Coefficient of Increase Parent Involvement and Encourage
Parent Involvement in Decision Making

Survey Statements
38. Encourage African-American parent
involvement in school board policy and
decision making
39. Increase attention on African-American
parent involvement in their child’s learning
experiences at the school site

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

.958

.000

23
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

One superintendent described parent involvement as being able to get their child to
school on time, and being responsive to school official’s phone calls, text messages, and emails
as various ways that parents should get credit for parent involvement (Interview Respondent C).
Interview Respondent D has developed a program called, African American Parent Advisory
Committees (AAPAC). This program is similar to English Language Advisory Committee
(ELAC); currently there are eight AAPACs in their district. There are 37 schools in our district
and all 37 schools have an ELAC for the English Language Advisory Committee; it is the
district’s goal to have this program in all 37 schools as well (Interview Respondent D). This
program place where African-American parents come together and talk about issues related to
the African American and importance of their roles in supporting the academics of their children.
Respondent 37 administrators and counseling department reviewed their data of their
African-American students and decided to hold an African-American back-to-school night to
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 116

specifically address the needs of their African-American students. The high school that was
holding the event advertised it as being sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU). The
workshop gave parents suggestions for when their child should do their homework, how they can
support their child’s studies, how to contact their child’s teacher, how to read and understand
their child’s report card, and how to communicate with the school. Their first African-American
back-to-school night drew in over 75 families, and those families were asking site administrators
if the African-American back-to-school night could become an annual event.
Summary
The significant findings associated with this study contributes to the body of scholarly
literature by identifying the strategies used by effective superintendents responding to the
demands of No Child Left Behind (NCLB, U. S. Department of Education, 2001), and the
African-American male student. Urban superintendents are under extraordinary pressure to
fulfill the education requirements of NCLB to continually raise the test scores of all students and
to close the academic gap between the African-American students and the Caucasian students.
Research question one asked, “How do effective urban school district superintendents
create and sustain leadership preparation and professional development programs that support
the academic achievement of African-American males?” Several urban superintendents
identified traits that were similar to each other that stem from the superintendents’ vision,
culture, and goals for the district. The vision of creating an inclusive learning environment for
African-American male students with rigorous and relevant curriculum for the 21st century was
a common theme. Data driven curriculum that addressed the present and future educational
needs of all students requires on-going professional development for district leaders.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 117

Research question two asked, “How do effective urban school district superintendents
influence, support, and develop their teacher ranks to meet the academic and social challenges of
the African-American male student?” Many urban superintendents’ approach to providing
support was data driven and while accountability was paramount, the commitment for
achievement became systemic. Accountability incorporated commitment, dedication, as well as
shared vision throughout their organization. Urban superintendents have intensified professional
development programs for the classroom teachers both inside and outside of the classroom.
Teachers are being trained to interpret and disaggregate student data. Trained site
administrators, and instructional coaches, work with teachers to develop classroom instruction
techniques that support the learning of all students. Additionally, the on-going mentoring and
coaching for the teachers included frequent feedback, measurable goals, and objectives that focus
on student achievement.
Research question three asked, “How do effective urban school district superintendents
influence the knowledge, beliefs, and leadership practices of urban school district principals?”
Through the alignment of district goals to the school site goals targeting the achievement of
African-American males, the superintendents support and encourage the principals to develop
programs that increase the academic achievement of all students. Urban superintendents are
monitoring and meeting with their leadership teams regularly, with regular one-on-one principal
meetings as needed to allow the superintendent to assess the professional development needs of
the district leaders and the site leaders.
Research question four asked, “How do successful urban district superintendents direct
resources to insure the success of African-American males?” Effective superintendents use data
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 118

analysis to determine the needs of the students. These superintendents also use the classroom
and district assessments to determine the effectiveness of school programs. The evaluation of
the students’ assessments and performances determines the needs of the students towards
meeting the district goals. In addition, developing relationships with the African-American
parents and community will provide additional input into resource allocation for the African-
American male students. Once the needs of the students have being determined then the
superintendents move the districts resources into the area of need. The superintendents’
leadership teams prioritize the needs of the district based on the goals of the district.
Chapter five entails a summary of the research study and recommendations for further
research.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 119

Chapter Five
Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction
The role of an effective urban superintendents, according to Mike Kirst (2003), is to
“have a vision of what good instruction is and know how to execute programs that will improve
teaching and learning” (Education Writers Association, 2003, Effective Superintendents, p. 5).
Additionally, the roles and responsibilities of the urban school superintendent today are more
numerous, complex, and demanding than in the past. In fact, in the education environment of
today, one style does not fit all conditions (Collins, 2001). The high-stakes accountability
provisions of the NCLB Act of 2001 (U.S. Department of Education, 2001) and the California
Public School Accountability Act (PSAA; EdSource, 2003) have greatly increased public
scrutiny of the leadership abilities of urban school district superintendents. Urban
superintendents must be politically savvy at the state government level, the local city government
level, with local school boards of education, and with community stakeholders. All these
political groups are holding California superintendents responsible for their ability to educate all
students; and address the students with the greatest needs effectively. The emphasis on student
achievement and student sub-groups as a result of growing accountability measures — NCLB
and PSAA — have reshaped the responsibilities of the urban superintendent.
Effective urban superintendents’ leadership characteristics, that are required of the urban
education environment, requires a leader to possess a variety of leadership styles that will
complement them as he/she moves the organization through various levels of reform. Glass et
al. (2000) stated that superintendents today find themselves in a leadership position that is
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 120

significantly different from a period of a decade ago. According to Archer (2005), urban
superintendents have begun responding positively to the growing pressure of accountability by
taking on greater roles as instructional leaders.
This chapter includes a summary of the study. It also provides a statement of the
problem, purpose of the study, research questions, a review of the literature and the methodology
used. Additionally, it includes the findings as they relate to the four research questions. In
closing, implications and recommendations for future study will be detailed.
Purpose of the Study
There is substantial literature that identifies school districts and school sites that have
successful leadership. In addition, there are a growing number of articles that outline successful
programs for African-American male students. African-American males have historically scored
lowest on most standardized assessment exams, a challenge that continues to persevere in our
educational system today. The purpose of this study was to determine the effective functions,
practices, and strategies that California urban superintendents use to improve the academic
achievement for African-American males. This study identified effective urban superintendents’
strategies and processes that are used in districts where there is steady growth and on-going
academic improvement that other urban superintendents could learn and use in their own
districts.
This study is significant because the NCLB Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2001)
states that 100% of all students will be proficient in English language arts and mathematics by
the school year 2013-2014. California has established very clear cut scores on the California
High School Exit Exam (Grade 9-12) and on the California Standards Test (Grades 2-8), that
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 121

determines the proficiency level for California students. According to the 2011 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001a) report,
only 20% of African-American students, in California, are at proficient or above at the fourth-
grade level in mathematics (see Table 23). The percentage of students in California who
performed at or above the NAEP’s (National Assessment of Educational Progress, n.d.) Basic
Level in reading at the 8th-grade level was 65% in 2011. This percentage was smaller than the
nation at 75% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011b).
This study presented mixed results for the academic performance of African-American
students when reviewing the requirements of NCLB (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). The
research has discovered an increase in the performance of the African-American students in all
42 school districts that qualified to participate in this study. However, not all 42 school districts’
CST data indicated a closing of the achievement gap.
All 42 districts showed academic growth for African-American students of which nearly
half are males on average. The data also revealed 26 of the 42 (62%) school districts’ trend
closed the achievement gap over the time period 2008-2012. There were 14 of the 42 (33%)
school districts that revealed a widening of the achievement gap between African-American
students and Caucasian students over the same time period; two of the 42 (5%) showed no
change in the achievement gap over the same time period between African-American students
and Caucasian students.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 122

Table 23
African-American NAEP California 4 Grade Report Card

Percentage of
Avg. Percentages at or above Percentage at
Reporting Group Student Score Basic Proficient Advance
Race / Ethnicity
White 25 252 92 57 12
Black 7 225 68 19 1
Hispanic 54 222 62 17 1
Asian 12 256 92 64 19
American
Indian/Alaska # ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥
Native Hawaiian /
Pacific Islander
1 ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥

Gender
Male 50 235 75 35 7
Female 50 234 73 33 6

National Lunch Program
Eligible 58 222 63 18 1
Not Eligible 41 251 89 56 14
# Rounds to Zero ¥ Reporting Standards not met

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (2011a). Retrieved from
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/stt2011/2012451CA4.pdf

NAEP’s (n.d.) average mathematic score sorted by race/ethnicity for fourth-grade
students in California reported trends for 2009 and 2011. The average score for Caucasian
students in 2009 was 247. The average score for African-American students was 217. In 2011,
the average score for Caucasian students grew to 252, an increase of 5 points. The average score
for African-American students grew to 225, an increase of 8 points. In summary, between 2009
and 2011 the African-American group closed the achievement gap by 3 points (National Center
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 123

for Statistics, 2011c). Although the achievement gap closed, it is too small of a closure rate to
meet the 2013/2014 deadline set by NCLB (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). There must
be an enhanced sense of urgency displayed by our California superintendents.
Research Questions
The study focused on four research questions:
1. How do effective urban school district superintendents create and sustain leadership
preparation and professional development programs that support the academic
achievement of African-American males?
2. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence, support, and develop
their teacher ranks to meet the academic and social challenges of the African-American
male student?
3. How do effective urban school district superintendents influence the knowledge, beliefs,
and leadership practices of urban school district principals?
4. How do successful urban district superintendents direct resources to insure the success of
African-American males?
Methodology
This study utilized a mixed-methods approach in order to collect data from the
42 California urban school districts qualified to participate in this study. Of the 42 California
urban school superintendents qualified to participate in this study, 23 superintendents completed
the online survey. The researcher utilized Qualtrics, an online survey software, to distribute the
survey and disaggregate the data collected from the superintendents’ survey responses. Only
superintendents who indicated a desire to participate in a 45-minute interview and met the
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 124

criteria of at least two years in the position with at least two years at the same school site were
able to participate in the interview portion of the study. Four of those superintendents surveyed
participated in qualitative, one-on-one interviews. All superintendents who participated in the
study were informed that their responses would be confidential and anonymous.
The 40-item survey included six demographic items and 33 Likert-scale items that asked
the superintendents to rate the importance of each leadership strategy and practice as it related to
their overall effort to improve student achievement in their districts. Superintendents rated each
item using a 5-point Likert-type scale (4=very significant aspect, 3=somewhat significant aspect,
2=somewhat insignificant aspect, 1=very insignificant aspect, and 0=not used at all). In
addition, the survey included a qualitative open-ended question that asked respondents to
identify additional leadership strategies and practices that they believed promoted student
achievement in their districts.
Subsequently, an interview protocol composed of eight questions was developed.
Follow-up questions were also used to probe and clarify information provided. Quantitative data
was analyzed using SPSS while qualitative data was examined for specific themes that may be
related to the four research questions guiding this study.
Findings
Research question one asked, “How do effective urban school district superintendents
create and sustain leadership preparation and professional development programs that support
the academic achievement of African-American males?” Correlations were run among the
survey statements and statistical significance was found between many traits. Several urban
superintendents that were interviewed and that provided survey responses identified traits that
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 125

were similar to each other stemmed from the superintendents’ vision, culture, and goals for the
district. The superintendents recorded a mean score of 3.55 for providing a safe and inclusive
learning environment for African-American male students. The vision of creating an inclusive
learning environment for African-American male students with rigorous and relevant curriculum
for the 21st century was a common theme. The superintendents interviewed also felt that
replacing culturally-exclusionary curriculum was extremely important and gave it a mean score
of 3.77. Data-driven curriculum that addressed the present and future educational needs of all
students requires on-going professional development for district leaders.
Research question two asked, “How do effective urban school district superintendents
influence, support, and develop their teacher ranks to meet the academic and social challenges
of the African-American male student?” Many urban superintendents’ approach to providing
support was data driven, which received a high mean score of 3.82 out of four superintendents
interviewed, and while accountability was paramount, the commitment for achievement became
systemic. Accountability incorporated commitment, dedication, as well as shared vision
throughout their organizations. Urban superintendents have intensified professional
development programs for the classroom teachers, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Teachers are being trained to interpret and disaggregate student data. Trained-site administrators
and instructional coaches work with teachers to develop classroom instruction techniques that
support the learning of all students. Additionally, the on-going mentoring and coaching for the
teachers included frequent feedback, measurable goals, and objectives that focus on student
achievement. Providing targeted, effective staff development was reviewed as very important as
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 126

it received a very high mean score of 3.86 out of the four superintendents surveyed and
interviewed.
Research question three asked, “How do effective urban school district superintendents
influence the knowledge, beliefs, and leadership practices of urban school district principals?”
Through the alignment of district goals to the school site goals targeting the achievement of
African-American males, the superintendents support and encourage the principals to develop
programs that increase the academic achievement of all students. Urban superintendents are
monitoring and meeting with their leadership teams regularly, regular principal meetings, and
one-on-one principal meetings as needed. These meetings allow the superintendent to assess
professional development needs of the district leaders and the site leaders. Effective
superintendents view developing team work to plan and implement improvement strategies for
African-American male students as an important process in improving their success. Of the four
superintendents surveyed and interviewed, this area of concern earned a mean score of 3.59.
Research question four asked, “How do successful urban district superintendents direct
resources to insure the success of African-American males?” Effective superintendents establish
explicit goals and targets for student performance that are non-negotiable. Demands to establish
goals and students’ performance targets were amongst the highest with a score of 3.86 on the
qualitative survey of four superintendents. Goals and the setting, and the district’s effectiveness
of meeting the goals, need to be measureable. The four superintendents viewed establishing
goals and targets for students’ performance with an established timeline as being extremely
important to the success of African-American males. Effective superintendents use data analysis
to determine the needs of the students. These superintendents use the classroom assessment
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 127

devices and district assessment tools to determine the effectiveness of school programs. The
evaluation of the students’ assessments and performances determines the needs of the students
towards meeting the district goals. Once the needs of the students have being determined, then
the superintendents move the districts’ resources into the area of need. The superintendents’
leadership teams prioritize the needs of the district based on the goals of the district.
Implications
The significant findings associated with this study contribute to the research of effective
strategies urban superintendents use that improve the academic achievement for African-
American male students. This study provides an insight of what successful urban
superintendents are embarking on to make change in their districts to improve the academic
success of their students and how they are successfully allocating resources to support the
academic achievement of their most needy students.
Although successful models are hard to duplicate, this study suggests that many
superintendents are engaging in many of the same strategies. The identification of common
strategies can provide support and guidance for superintendents who are moving to make
systemic changes in their organization to improve the academic achievement of African-
American male students. However, this study also indicates that many of the urban
superintendents are lacking a sense of urgency in developing specific programs that will address
the particular needs of the African-American male students. There is a need for urgency. There
is a need for boldness in leadership to identify the neediest students and provide the resources
necessary to help these students become as successful as the most gifted students in the school
district.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 128

Recommendations
The study had important implications for urban superintendents developing effective
strategies that can be used to improve the academic achievement for African-American males.
The following are actions that should be taken to increase the academic success of the African-
American male student.
1. Find educators who really believe that the African-American male student can be
successful. Get the right people on the bus (Collins, 2001). Provide professional
development that supports instructional leadership of principals and teachers.
2. Create a strong sense of urgency: a) Look at the academic data; b) Look at the discipline
data; c) Develop a strategic plan for success.
3. Develop culturally relevant pedagogy.
4. Provide the district and school site resources necessary to make the African-American
students successful.
Recommendations for Future Study
The needs for highly talented and skilled urban superintendents in an ever changing
educational environment have brought about concerns from the community, politicians, and
parents. Urban superintendents must possess and develop effective strategies that will continue
supporting the success of African-American male students in the 21st century.
The emphasis on student achievement and student sub-groups as a result of growing
accountability measures—NCLB and PSAA—has reshaped the responsibilities of the urban
superintendent. To that end, superintendents must be cognizant of these measures and their
potential outcomes. Urban superintendents will need to prepare for the Common Core State
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 129

Standards (CCSS) and the anticipated revised NCLB Act. The following are possible research
topics needed to enhance current strategies of urban superintendents’ leadership capacity
building:
1. How will effective urban superintendents allocate their resources to early intervention
and the new CCSS?
2. How will Licensed Social Workers and / or mental health counselors improve the success
of the African-American male student if their sole responsibilities are to provide school-
based health counseling to secondary African-American male students?
3. How do health service programs improve attendance, achievement, and the graduation
rate for African-American male students?
Conclusion
This study examined the effective strategies that urban superintendents use to improve
the academic achievement of African-American male students. Urban superintendents are under
extreme pressure to improve the academic achievement of all students, provide effective
interventions to students before they fall behind, and close the achievement gap of students who
have fallen behind. As a result, today’s urban superintendents have had to make the shift from
being effective managers to effective instructional leaders, community leaders, political leaders,
and strategists in order to become a successful educational leader of a local education agency
(LEA). To prepare our students for the 21st century and the global economy, schools must
become more inclusive, impartial, and effective for our African-American male students to be
successful.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 130

Although there is a dynamic shift in the urban superintendents’ responsibilities to meet
the educational leadership demands of the 21st century, there is a need to develop and/or
research programs relating to how an urban superintendent can effectively develop successful
programs that improve the academic achievement of African-American male students and
maximize the opportunity for the other ethnic groups. Researching and discovering leadership
preparation and professional development programs that foster successful, equitable, and socially
responsible superintendents that can adapt to the challenges of the urban schooling and the
African-American male student experience is essential in today’s educational system (Brown,
2006). NCLB (U.S. Department of Education, 2001) requires the continual growth of all groups
and the closing of the achievement gap. There is a need to address leadership capacity building
that incorporates inner-city culture, redesigning curriculum, and its delivery system for African-
American male students.
I learned that the education system is the responsibility of the states. Setting the
proficiency level is the responsibility of the states and some states lowered their proficiency level
so that they can meet the NCLB (U.S. Department of Education, 2001) requirement.
Research illustrated the importance of data-based decision making in creating positive
outcomes for African-American males. The study also identified how the urban superintendent
directly impacts teachers’ development into effective urban school educators for African-
American male students. The modern day urban superintendent has a need to develop their
political clout and go beyond the boundaries of the schools and be an effective community leader
and transform the existing community into a community that supports the superintendents’ vision
of a successful education organization. Creating a positive environment in the school and the
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 131

community of mentors, positive peers, counselors, and other supportive organizations is essential
for the success of the African-American male students. Finally, the urban superintendent must
create a culture so college can be a reality for the African-American male student — creating a
culture that all African-American male students are expected to go to college. Develop a
relationship with community colleges and universities to enroll them into pre-college programs
that will be a benefit and an introduction of college life to the students and better prepare them
for the rigor of college.
Many superintendents need to become better long-range planners. They must become
better interpreters of the data. They must develop the ability to project the future of education by
understanding research, trends, and data to better prepare the district for the needs of the students
in their district, their community, their state and match the resources accordingly.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 132

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STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 145

Appendix A
Urban Superintendent Leadership
Survey Variable Construct

Variable Function Leadership Practice/Strategy Evidence
Shared
Vision/Setting
Direction
• Building a shared vision of the district
• Possession and articulation of an instructional
vision
• Having a vision for instruction
• Shared vision of the organization
• Establish a clear focus on attaining high
standards of student achievement
• Emphasize strong instruction as a key to
improving student learning
• Identifying, articulating, and endorsing a
collective vision that embodies the best
thinking about teaching and learning
• Facilitate and nurture a shared meaning
among all educational stakeholders about
the district vision
• Creating a sense of urgency for the
improvement of student achievement
• Maintaining a clear focus and vision for
improvement
• Establishing a district-wide vision centered
on meeting the learning needs of all students
and tying district goals for student performance
to the vision
• Leithwood, 1994
• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Leithwood et al.
• Murphy & Hallinger,
1988
• Leithwood et al.

• Hoyle et al., 2005
• Leithwood &
Riehl,
2003

• Asera et al., 1999

• Aesera et al.
• Cudeiro, 2005
Board Relations

• Ensure that the board of education remains
committed to the non-negotiable goals
• Establish agreement with the board president
on the district goals and on the type
and nature of non-negotiable goals
• Establish agreement with the board president
on the nature of instructional strategies
to be used in the district
• Provide professional development for board
members

• Reporting data to the board on regular basis
• Collaboration between board and
superintendent
• Waters & Marzano,
2007

• JLARC, 2004

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 146

• Work with the board to analyze factors
affecting student achievement
• Work with the board to assess the strengths
and weaknesses of the district
• Work with the board to consider district
options and strategies
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

Collaboration and
Shared Decision-
Making Processes
• Collaboratively develop goals with the
school board
• Involve the community in goal setting
• Meaningful collaboration with others
• Build collaborative processes
• Collaboration between superintendent and
school board
• Using shared decision-making to foster an
environment that places academic achievement
as the top-priority
• Build shared decision-making power by
developing site-based management capacity
of schools within the district
• Collaboration between superintendent and
board is paramount
• Include all relevant stakeholders—the central
office staff, building-level administrators,
and board members—in establishing
non-negotiable goals for the district
• Petersen & Barnett,
2005

• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Spillane & Sherer,
2004
• Hoyle et al., 2005
• JLARC, 2004

• Asera et al. 1999

• Mullins & Keedy,
1998
• JLARC, 2004
• Waters & Marzano,
2007
Non-Negotiable
Goals for
Achievement and
Instruction

• Creating and aligning district goals
• Articulating clear goals for curriculum and
instruction
• Explicit goals and targets for student
performance
• Foster acceptance of group goals
• Establish shared goals that are non-negotiable
• Develop a shared vision for the goal setting
process
• Using the goal setting process to set goals
developed jointly by the board and
administration
• Communicating expectations to central
office and principals
• Establish clear priorities among the
instructional
goals and objectives
• Incorporating a variety of instructional
strategies that allow for differences in
• Leithwood, 1994
• Murphy & Hallinger,
1986
• Murphy & Hallinger,
1988
• Hoyle et al. 2005
• Waters & Marzano,
2007

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 147

learning styles
• Adopting a 5-year non-negotiable plan for
achievement and instruction
• Ensuring that the preferred instructional
strategies are proficiently implemented
• District use goals to build consensus and
rally support
• Districts set specific time-tables for meeting
goals and targets

• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

Selling Reform • Listens extensively to community needs
• Exclaim urgency, high standards, and no
excuses
• Creating a sense of urgency for the
improvement of academic achievement
• Communicating expectations to central
office and principals
• Communicating district expectations
• Effectively communicate with diverse
stakeholders
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Asera et al, 1999

• Waters & Marzano,
2007
• Petersen, 2005
• Hoyle et al., 2005
Developing People
through
Professional
Development and
Support
• Providing individualized support and
development
opportunities
• Development of instructional personnel
• Developing instructional practices
• Develop leadership capacity of people
• Develop instructional capacity of schools
and the district
• Develop professional development that
moves beyond traditional one-day workshops
• Intellectual stimulation and modeling shared
beliefs
• Develop principals as instructional leaders
• Develop a uniform professional development
built on curriculum
• Focuses professional development on
classroom
practices
• Provide teacher support when needed
• Training for teachers and principals on
using performance data
• Induction program for new teachers
• Leithwood, 1994

• Herman, 1990
• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Spillane & Sherer,
2004
• Leithwood et al., 2004
• Leithwood et al. 2004;
Togneri & Anderson,
2003
• Leithwood & Riehl,
2003
• Cudeiro, 2005
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Archer, 2005
Selecting Personnel • Control over who is assigned what position
• Recruiting and hiring effective teachers and
administrators
• Petersen, 1984
• Murphy & Hallinger,
1986
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 148

• Assignment of instructional personnel
• Selecting personnel
• Using data to assign personnel
• Herman, 1990
• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Massell, 2000
Creating
Accountability
• District goes beyond the state accountability
system
• Senior staff are placed on performance
contracts tied to district goals
• School principals are placed on performance
contracts tied to district goals
• Create a system of rewards and recognition
for progress on goals and targets
• Establish high expectations for student and
adult learning
• Output control through student achievement
testing
• Supervising and evaluating principals
• Monitoring the district’s goals for curriculum
and instruction
• Assessment and evaluation of personnel and
instructional programs
• Evaluating instructional effectiveness
• Evaluate and monitoring
• Extend performance standards beyond
schools and students to include areas of
reform such as instruction, principal leadership,
and professional development
• Directly involved in monitoring the
performance
of their schools by visiting school
sites and meeting with principals
• Holding principals accountable for
instructional
leadership by implementing site visits
and walkthroughs which are followed with
feedback
• Monitoring goals for achievement and
instruction
• Using an instructional evaluation program
• Monitoring achievement through feedback
from the instructional program
• Annual evaluating principals
• Reporting evaluation data to the school
board on a regular basis
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Leithwood, 1994

• Peterson, 1984
• Murphy & Hallinger,
1986
• Murphy & Hallinger,
1986
• Petersen, 1998

• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Murphy & Hallinger,
1988

• Cudeiro, 2005

• Waters & Marzano,
2007

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 149

• Observing classrooms during school visits
• Instructional Walkthroughs
• Archer, 2005
Using Data • Uses data extensively to monitor system and
school progress
• Assesses student progress throughout the
school year
• Disaggregates data in numerous ways
• Provides training in interpretation and use of
test score results
• Uses data to target professional development
• Uses data to target interventions
• Spend considerable amounts of time, effort,
and money to develop district capacity to
assess the performance of students, teachers,
and schools
• Develop and use assessments to inform
decision-making about areas of need and
strategies for improvement
• Use data to plan professional development,
identify achievement gaps, align curriculum
and instruction, assign and evaluate personnel,
target interventions, and evaluate programs
• Adjusts instruction based on district-wide
assessments
• Administer own district-wide assessments
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Leithwood et al. 2004

• Massell, 2000

• Archer, 2005
Unifying
Curriculum and
Instruction
• Develops and adopts uniform curriculum or
frameworks for instruction
• Uses more prescriptive reading and math
curriculum or tight frameworks
• Differentiates instruction and provides
extended
time
• District curriculum is explicitly aligned to
state standards and assessment
• Has clear grade-to-grade alignment in
curriculum
• Use scientifically-based reading curriculum
• Develops and uses pacing guides for
classroom
teachers
• Planning for the instructional program
• Planning for instruction
• Establish district-wide curricula and
instructional
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Herman, 1990
• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Leithwood et al., 2004
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 150

strategies
• Common district curriculum
• Same mathematics program across the
district
• Same reading program across the district
• Archer, 2005
Improving
Operations
• Revamps business office to be more effective
• Central office develops a new sense of
customer
service with schools
• Create organizational structures that support
authentic shared decision-making
• Creation of organizational structures that
support the district instructional vision
• Decentralize considerable autonomy to
individual sites
• Changing the role of the central office from
managerial to that of support provider
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Leithwood, 1994

• Petersen, 1998

• Leithwood et al., 2004
• Asera et al., 1999
Facilitating
Instruction through
the Budget
• Pursues funds to initiate reforms and launch
priorities
• Shifts funds into instructional priorities
• Financial planning for instruction
• Facilitating instruction through the budget
• Long-term investment in developing the
instructional capacity of the district
• Ensure that the necessary resources including
time, money, personnel, and materials
are allocated to accomplish the district’s
goals
• Controlling resource allocation
• Adopting a resource management system
that supports the instructional philosophy of
the district
• Togneri & Anderson,
2003

• Murphy & Hallinger,
1986
• Petersen & Barnett,
2005
• Leithwood et al., 2004
• Waters & Marzano,
2007
Defined Autonomy • Provide autonomy to principals to lead their
schools, but expect alignment of district
goals and use of resources for professional
development
• Develop a shared vision and understanding
of defined autonomy
• Using standards for content and instruction
as the basic design principles
• Screening, interviewing, and selecting
teachers along with principals
• Establishing teacher evaluations as priority
for principals
• Waters & Marzano,
2007; Leithwood et al.,
2004
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 151

• Maintaining high expectations for school
performance
• Expecting principals to fulfill instructional
leadership responsibilities
• Developing principals awareness of district
goals and actions directed at goal
accomplishment
(Gibbings, G. M., 2008. pp. 179-185)

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 152

Appendix B
Effective Strategies Urban Superintendents Utilize that
Improve the Academic Achievement for African-American Males

Survey

Thank you for taking 20 minutes to complete this survey about effective strategies and programs
you utilize to improve student achievement with emphasis on African-American males in your
district. Please read each statement carefully. Your response to each question will help develop a
comprehensive framework of leadership strategies and programs for improving student
achievement for African-American males. Your responses will remain strictly confidential.
Survey responses will be disaggregated so that your responses cannot be identified to you or
your school district.
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Please complete the following:
1. Years of experience as a school superintendent: __________
2. Years of experience as the superintendent of your current school district: __________
3. Gender: ____Male ____ Female
4. Age: ____ ≤35 ____ 36-45 ____46-55 ____56-65 ____ ≥66
5. Highest degree held: _____Masters _____Doctorate
6. School District Name: ____________ Student enrollment:____________
II. Superintendent Leadership Strategies and Programs Utilized to Improve Student
Achievement for African-Americans

Please rate the importance of the following leadership strategies and programs as they relate to
your overall effort as the superintendent to improve student achievement in your current school
district.
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 153

0=Do Not Use
1=Very Insignificant Aspect
2=Somewhat Insignificant Aspect
3=Somewhat Significant Aspect
4=Very Significant Aspect
Very
Insignificant
1
Somewhat
Insignificant
2
Somewhat
Significant
3
Very
Significant
4
Do Not
Use
0
7. Provide a safe learning
environment for African-
American males

8. Examine school safety
policies and procedures
for consistency
throughout the school
district to make sure they
are not being used for
discriminatory purposes.

9. Create a sense of
urgency for improving
student achievement for
African-American males

10. Establish explicit
goals and targets for
student performance that
are non-negotiable

11. Include school
principals in the
development of the non-
negotiable goals for the
district

12. Set specific time-
tables for meeting the
nonnegotiable goals

13. Include key
community members in
the nonnegotiable goal
setting process

14. Adopt a 5-year
nonnegotiable plan for
achievement and
instruction

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 154

Very
Insignificant
1
Somewhat
Insignificant
2
Somewhat
Significant
3
Very
Significant
4
Do Not
Use
0
15. Develop the
instructional leadership
capacity of personnel
throughout the district

16. Emphasize the
importance of recruiting
effective teachers and
administrators

17. Support the
instructional leadership
of principals by
restructuring the central
office to provide help,
support, and coaching

18. Provide targeted,
effective staff
development

19. Provide targeted
Professional
Development for
teachers on relationship
building with emphasis
on African-American
males.

20. Secure funds to
initiate reforms and
launch priorities

21. Allocate funds based
on instructional priorities

22. Increase funding for
school counselors and
require a smaller ratio of
counselors to students
which could help to
improve the emotional
wellbeing of students.

23. Use performance
data to target
interventions

24. Teachers trained with
culturally responsive
pedagogy

25. Replace culturally
exclusionary curriculum

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 155

Very
Insignificant
1
Somewhat
Insignificant
2
Somewhat
Significant
3
Very
Significant
4
Do Not
Use
0
26. Utilize curriculum
designed to help students
understand historical
events from perspectives
of various racial, ethnic
and cultural groups

27. Emphasize that
strong instruction is the
key to improving student
learning

28. Expect staff members
to do whatever it takes to
make sure that African-
American males are
achieving.

29. Have staff work
in teams to plan and
implement improvement
strategies for African-
American males

30. Help students retain
skills learned

31. Sponsor mentoring
programs that are
designed to reduce
isolation among school-
age African-American
males

32. Reinforce the need
for college access
programs for African-
American male students

33. College access
programs that emphasize
college preparation and
funding for higher
education

34. Have programs in
your district that
systematically provide
additional time and
support to African-
American males who are
experiencing difficulties
learning

35. Have school-based
drug prevention
programs that encourage
peer participation

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 156

Very
Insignificant
1
Somewhat
Insignificant
2
Somewhat
Significant
3
Very
Significant
4
Do Not
Use
0
36. Develop programs
designed to expand
opportunities for
African-American males
to work with adult role
models.

37. Provide programs
that support African-
American male students

38. Encourage African-
American parent
involvement in school
policy and decision-
making.

39. Increase attention on
African-American parent
involvement in their
child’s learning
experiences at school.

Open-Ended Question
40. Please list the top three leadership strategies or programs that you believe improved student
achievement for African-American males in your district.

Please indicate your willingness to participate in a one-on-one interview. This interview will
last approximately 45 minutes. Yes______ No _______

Thank you for participating in this survey.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 157

Appendix C
Survey Cover Letter
Dear Superintendent:
My name is Lushandra Prioleau and my dissertation partner is Cardenas Shackelford. We are
currently doctoral students at the University of Southern California pursuing an Ed.D. degree in
K-12 leadership, under the leadership of Dr. Pedro Garcia and Dr. Rudy Castruita. The purpose
of our study is to identify the effective strategies urban superintendents utilize to improve the
academic achievement for African-American males. Dr. Garcia and Dr. Castruita have identified
you as a successful leader in your district and we would appreciate your assistance with our
research endeavors. Collecting data from highly effective leaders is essential for the success of
our research.
We are very aware of your time constraints as a superintendent, and if it would be possible for
you to assist us with our research, please click on the enclosed link to fill out the survey. The
survey is designed to take no more than 20 minutes. At the conclusion of the survey, if you
decide to participate in a one-on-one interview, please indicate your willingness by marking the
appropriate box. The one-on-one interview will be approximately 45 minutes.
Participation in this survey is voluntary. This research study has been reviewed and approved by
the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research.
The IRB believes that the research procedures protect your privacy, welfare, civil liberties,
anonymity, and rights. Please be assured that your voluntary participation and answers will be
kept confidential and anonymous. In no way will any data be presented in any manner where
any individual can be identified. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at
prioleau@usc.edu or shackelc@usc.edu.
Please kindly click the following link to take the survey at your earliest convenience:
Thank you very much for your time and kind assistance.

Sincerely,

Lushandra Prioleau & Cardenas Shackelford,
Ed.D. candidates USC
STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 158

Appendix D
Information Letter
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089

INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR NON-MEDICAL
RESEARCH

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS UTILIZE THAT IMPROVE THE
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study was to determine the effective strategies that urban superintendents in
California utilized to increase academic achievement for African-American males. This study
will examine urban school districts in California that are successfully improving academic
achievement for African-American males and the programs they utilized to sustain academic
growth.
Completion of the online survey will constitute consent to participate in this research project.
PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study you will be asked to complete a 40 question survey
that consists of six demographic items, 34 items that ask you to rate the importance of each
leadership strategies and practices as it relates to your overall efforts to improve student
achievement for African-American males in your district and one open ended question that asks
you if there are any additional leadership strategies or practices that you have used to improve
student achievement that was not included in the survey.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 159

POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
There are no foreseeable risks to you for participating in this study. Any discomforts that you
may experience with questions may be managed by simply not answering the question.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SUBJECT AND/OR TO SOCIETY
Your participation in this study will add to the professional knowledge and understanding about
the leadership strategies and practices used to improve student achievement for African-
American males. The findings will benefit other superintendents who strive to improve teaching
and learning in their districts.
PAYMENT FOR PARTICIPATION
You will not be paid for your participation in this study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified to you
will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission or as requested by law.
Only the researcher will have access to the data associated with this study. The data will be
stored in the investigator’s office in a locked file cabinet and on a password protected computer.
The data will be stored for three years after the study has been completed and then destroyed.
When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no information will
be included that would reveal your identity.
The members of the research team, the funding agency and the University of Southern
California’s Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data.
The HSPP reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research
subjects.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
You can choose whether to participate in this study or not. If you volunteer to be in this study,
you may withdraw at any time without consequence of any kind. You may also refuse to answer
any questions you do not want to answer and still remain in the study. The investigator may
withdraw you from this research if circumstances arise which warrant doing so.

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 160

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel to contact Lushandra
Prioleau at prioleau@usc.edu, Cardenas Shackelford at shackelc@usc.edu or Dr. Pedro Garcia,
Faculty Sponsor, at pegarcia@usc.edu
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park IRB, Office of the Vice Provost for Research Advancement, Stonier Hall, Room
224a, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1146, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu

STRATEGIES OF URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS 161

Appendix E
Permission to Cite

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The roles of urban superintendents are crucial to improving the educational outlook for the neediest students, specifically the African-American males. The roles and responsibilities of the urban school superintendent today are more numerous, complex, and demanding than in the past. The expectations of today’s urban superintendents are to be an instructional leader, curriculum reformer, engineer of teacher development, a promoter of academic gains and a politician. This study examined the effective strategies, professional development, resources, and programs urban superintendents utilize to improve the academic achievement for African-American males. This study employed a mixed-methods design to answer the four research questions regarding urban superintendents and the academic achievement for African-American males. Data was collected through a quantitative survey of 23 superintendents and a qualitative interview of four superintendents that was used to support the four research findings. The research study resulted in several key findings. First, urban superintendents need to create a safe, inclusive learning environment for African-American male students with rigorous and relevant curriculum. Second, urban superintendents must provide data-driven, on-going professional development for district leaders, principals, and teachers. Third, urban superintendents are mentoring, monitoring, and meeting with their leadership teams regularly, regular principal meetings, and on-on-one principal meetings as needed. Fourth, effective superintendents establish explicit goals, and targets for African-American male students’ performance that are non-negotiable.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Shackelford, Cardenas (author)

Core Title Effective strategies that urban superintendents use that improve the academic achievement for African-American males

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Defense Date 02/11/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag effective urban superintendents,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor García, Pedro Enrique (committee chair), Castruita, Rudy Max (committee member), Cole, Darnell G. (committee member)

Creator Email carden8s@pacbell.net

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-224523

Unique identifier UC11293365

Identifier usctheses-c3-224523 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Shackelfor-1467.pdf

Dmrecord 224523

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Shackelford, Cardenas

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA