Border Crossing: A Black Woman Superintendent Builds Democratic Community in Unfamiliar Territory

• In Event: Roundtable Session 18.
  In Roundtable Session: A Nested View of Democratic Leadership and Community: Agents of Change for the Public Good

Abstract

Much of the earlier research on women in leadership has told the stories of White women. Since there are very low numbers of superintendents of color both male and female nationwide, there have been very few stories reported of women leaders of color (Brunner & Grogan, 2007). This paper describes the leadership issues involved when one Black woman crossed a border (geographically and culturally) to lead a school district. Delia (pseudonym) became the first woman and the first person of color to lead a small, suburban school district whose population was very different from what she was and what she knew. Delia was a participant in a study I designed to investigate how women school superintendents promote and support social justice and democratic community building in their school districts. Six women participated in that study: three were African American, one was American Indian, and two women were White. This paper briefly describes that study and then focuses on Delia, one participant in the study who took a risk to apply for her first superintendency in a district not far from her old district in miles, but miles apart in population, ideology, and community values.
This paper begins with a brief review of literature on leadership for social justice, and continues with an introduction documenting the need for research that investigates women in the superintendency, particularly women of color in the position. The paper’s main focus is on Delia, who was the first woman and first person of color to lead a small, suburban school district. The term border crossing describes Delia’s venture into a district whose student population was very different from the school district where she had spent 24 years as a teacher and administrator. Delia was motivated to take action against practices she considered unjust in order to create democratic community in her district. Her leadership strategies invited all voices to take part in decision-making and ultimately created a culture of inclusivity for all district members.
The frameworks used for this study (feminist standpoint theory, border crossing, and community building) are described. Feminist standpoint theory requires researchers to place women at the center of the research process building knowledge from women’s actual, or concrete, life experiences. Feminist standpoint theory provided a lens to see how Delia acknowledged issues of social justice practices that were unjust in her district and the community. Delia embodied the border crossing metaphor when she saw barriers for a marginalized group’s participation in their school community. Delia worked to establish community and developed her own sense of self in unfamiliar territory. Learning from examples of Delia’s border crossing, women in the pipeline for the position of superintendent could think about their own borders that might be real or perceived barriers impeding their desire and motivation to apply for the superintendency.

Author

• Susan J. Katz, Roosevelt University