Politics Is the Top Reason Superintendents Are Stressed

Selected Findings from the Spring 2023 American School District Panel Survey

Heather L. Schwartz, Melissa Kay Diliberti

ResearchPublished Jul 12, 2023

How stressed are school superintendents? What are the reasons for their stress? To find out, authors surveyed 150 superintendents in American School District Panel member districts.

In spring 2023, 79 percent of superintendents reported that their jobs were "often" or "always" stressful. Superintendents most commonly cited the intrusion of political issues or opinions into schooling as a source of that stress. However, most superintendents said their jobs are worth the stress and disappointments, and one-half said they are coping "well" with stress.

These results provide valuable insights that may be useful to school boards, school board and superintendent associations, and other education organizations to inform professional development opportunities and leadership preparation programs to better focus on well-being.

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Schwartz, Heather L. and Melissa Kay Diliberti, Politics Is the Top Reason Superintendents Are Stressed: Selected Findings from the Spring 2023 American School District Panel Survey, RAND Corporation, RR-A956-17, 2023. As of October 6, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-17.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Schwartz, Heather L. and Melissa Kay Diliberti, Politics Is the Top Reason Superintendents Are Stressed: Selected Findings from the Spring 2023 American School District Panel Survey. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-17.html.
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The research described in this report was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and conducted by RAND Education and Labor.

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