A superintendent's leadership of state-initiated reform in a high-poverty school district in Texas

The purpose of this research was to examine the superintendent’s leadership of state-initiated reform in the context of a high-poverty school district in Texas. Specifically, the study was designed to identify the leadership acts and leadership strategies employed by the superintendent to implement the state accountability system, to increase student performance, and to achieve excellence and equity for all students. Three research questions guided the research process:

1. What are the strategies and leadership acts used by the superintendent to influence change in the district? 2) What is the perceived effectiveness of the superintendent’s strategies and leadership acts strategies? 3) How are the strategies and leadership acts linked to student performance? This study used qualitative methods to examine the strategies and leadership acts of the superintendent of Mariposa ISD. Data for this study were collected through a series of one-on-one interviews, observations, documents, and archival records. The resulting data were coded and emerging categories recognized through Grounded Theory qualitative procedures. The data analysis allowed for the emergence of categories that provided answers to the research questions posed in this study. Based on the findings of the study, the superintendent used specific leadership acts and strategies to create the organizational conditions receptive to system-wide change and to design an approach to reform that promoted student success. The superintendent’s interpretation of the reform policies, along with his assessment of the needs and pressures for change affecting the school district, gave rise to the leadership acts and strategies he employed and formed the targets for the restructuring plan. The superintendent’s plan for restructuring included the following components: transforming district culture; a district focus on performance; organizational restructuring of roles, responsibilities, and relationships; decentralization of authority; and systems of accountability. His unique interpretation and implementation of the policies of reform in relation to the culture and context of the school community resulted in system-wide change and brought reform to scale across the entire school district. The findings of this study enhance our understanding of the superintendent’s leadership in contextualized settings and how state-initiated reform policies can be used to leverage change and increase student performance in high-poverty, urban school districts.