Our current political landscape is a fraught one. And that might be why, during a Thursday afternoon Thought Leader session at AASA’s national conference, only a sprinkling of audience members held up their hands when asked, “Who here is really passionate about political leadership?”
Jennifer Cheatham, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-chair of the Public Education Leadership Project, followed up the question by saying she hoped the next hour would change a few minds.
Joined by several other prominent leaders, all dedicated to superintendent development, Cheatham led the audience through an hour-long exploration of what it means to be a “politically astute” school leader. The speakers shared their hard-learned lessons on connecting with community members from all walks of life and shared tactics for remaining positive in the face of political challenges.
Despite the crowd’s initial lack of confidence, every seat at the “Political Leadership Leading During Turbulent Times” discussion was filled, with dozens of additional conference members standing at the edge of the room, eager to hear the experts speak.
Cheatham, who earlier served as superintendent in Madison, Wis., began by outlining the evidence. Public education in the United States is under duress. Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, an onslaught of executive orders and actions have taken aim at public schools, from the prioritization of school choice voucher programs to the dismantling of initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion. As the panel took place, President Trump was considering an order to begin the process of dissolving the U.S. Department of Education.
“Now, our federal government is threatening to take away crucial funding if we step out of line on their interpretation of the laws created to protect children from discrimination,” Cheatham said, adding that groups from both the left and right have made it impossible to hold nuanced conversations.
That’s why Cheatham and her colleague Carl Cohn, a professor emeritus and senior research fellow at Claremont Graduate University, formed the Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency. As co-chairs, the pair is focused on creating a research-based framework that equips superintendents “with the political acumen to make positive change in a complex environment,” according to the project’s biography.
The collaborative isn’t trying to sell you anything, Cheatham told audience members at Thursday’s panel. They only want to give school leaders the tools to succeed, which is why the project has gathered dozens of toolkits, guides and research papers on their website, free for the public to access. These resources can help superintendents navigate sensitive issues, from dealing with public relations and news media inquiries to responding to incidents of hate and bias within school districts.
In Thursday's Thought Leader session, panelists acknowledged that the role of superintendent appears to have grown more challenging as political polarization has increased. Speakers offered practical wisdom on how to engage with community members, ensuring that both parents and educators feel their voices are heard.
Some of the tips were as simple as taking an extra five minutes after a difficult meeting, allowing yourself time to breathe and calm down before your next appointment. Kristine Gilmore, AASA associate executive director, suggested bringing a notebook and pen into tense meetings. Taking notes allows people to feel heard, she says, while giving yourself an occasional reprieve from tense conversations.
“I’ve never encountered a challenge in the superintendency where listening better didn't help,” said Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools.
While the panelists remained mostly positive about the role of superintendents in political leadership, they recognized that public education is under attack. But, they said, it’s also worth fighting for.
“I want to end by saying that public education as an institution, as you know, is essential to the fabric of our society,” Cheatham said. “So much of what we want to be true about our country – a strong representative of democracy, racial harmony, shared economic prosperity – depends, at least in part, on a healthy system of public schooling that's available for all.”
(Emily Topping, a freelance journalist in New Orleans, is a reporter with AASA’s Daily Conference Online.)
