Join us for an insightful discussion with Dr. Rachel White, a third-generation school board member, former board member in a small district in Ohio, and the founder of the Superintendent Lab. As a professor at the University of Texas at Austin specializing in superintendents, district leadership, and education governance, Dr. White brings a unique blend of scholarly research and lived experience to the table. In this episode, we delve into critical topics like the nuances of superintendent recruitment and compensation, how to measure success for district leadership, practical strategies for boards and superintendents to support each other’s professional well-being, and the essential, often delicate, task of clearly defining roles and responsibilities to ensure effective school district leadership. Find the episode on Apple, Spotify, and Substack under Seats of Change: The Future of School Boards.
Resources:
Bridgeforth, J., & White, R. (2025). School boards. Association of Education Finance and Policy Live Handbook. https://livehandbook.org/k-12-education/governance-of-schools/school-boards/.
Collins, J., Gottlieb, D., Knight-Abowitz, K., Murray, B., Saultz, A., Schneider, J. & White, R. (2023). Democracy in action: School districts must function as democratic institutions to preserve American ideals of democracy. American School Board Journal, October. https://www.nsba.org/ASBJ/2023/october/democracy-in-action.
The Superintendent Lab https://thesuperintendentlab.com/
Rogers, J., White, R., Shand, R., & Kahne, R. (2024). https://idea.gseis.ucla.edu/publications/files/costs-of-conflict-report. UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access; School of Education.
White, R. & Jerman, J. (2025). Illustrating the complexity and power of a national longitudinal superintendent database through exploring national trends in superintendent mobility. Journal of Educational Administration, 63(4), 302–314. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-07-2024-0211.
