Leading in Change: Superintendent Leadership During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 4:55 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Superintendent and Central Office Administrator Perspectives (Table 23)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted P-12 public schools in the United States. School district superintendents were forced immediately into managing a crisis and leading organizational adaptation. This doctoral research study examined the lived experience of fifteen New York State P-12 public school superintendents. This constructivist grounded theory study found that existing theories of crisis leadership and adaptive leadership were inadequate. Superintendents took on new and expanded roles and did not change leadership styles. A new theoretical model of Leading in Change is proposed, in which superintendent leadership and organizational management together and independently result in four primary domains of superintendent practice: (a) adaptation, (b) collaboration, (c) communication, and (d) community building. Topics: Superintendent Leadership, Change Leadership, COVID-19 pandemic

Author

• Theodore Love, Rome City School District