Superintendents’ strategic leadership for just and equitable systemic change

Purpose This study aims to share strategies for how current superintendents can lead just and equitable systemic change in their school systems, given their precarious political environments, without losing their jobs. Design/methodology/approach We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 superintendents of urban, suburban, and rural districts. After arriving at themes that describe superintendents' strategies for addressing systemic inequities, we leveraged a micropolitical framework to unpack the strategies further. Findings Most superintendents utilized five strategies to lead and accomplish just and equitable systemic change in their conflict-charged environments: (1) being strategic about communication, (2) involving multiple constituents, (3) understanding different constituents, (4) centering students, and (5) ensuring equitable resources. Additionally, we explicate how each strategy is both equity and political work. For instance, understanding different constituents is more than building community. Our superintendents described these actions as intentional micropolitical strategies. Moreover, many strategies utilized more than one political skill. Originality/value Equity work meant political work for the superintendents in our study. They demonstrated how they must be savvy political actors, using multiple strategies and political skills to advocate for marginalized children in their school systems.