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March/April 2019

Stress, stressors, superintendents, and school boards

By Adam Ehrman and Lora Wolff 

Adam Ehrman, Ed.D., began the superintendency at the age of 29 and is currently the superintendent of schools at the New Berlin CUSD 16. Lora Wolff, Ph.D., served as superintendent for the Keokuk, Iowa School District and is currently an associate professor of Educational Leadership at Western Illinois University.

 

When the doctor asked Adam how long he had had high blood pressure, it was like a punch to the gut. The second punch landed when the doctor asked about his weight.

Then there’s Lora, who was trudging along in the local Walmart late one evening after a particularly challenging day as superintendent. A person seemed to be following her from aisle to aisle. Eventually, the constituent approached her and said, “I’m so sorry about your illness.” Taken aback, Lora replied something like, “Oh, I’m fine. Just tired.”

Although we had two very different experiences, each of the authors had to confront the fact that the stress of being a superintendent was having negative effects. Our experiences eventually served as the basis for an interest in, and the study of, the impact of superintendent stress.

Although the topic of superintendent stress may be perceived as a recent development, over 60 years ago W.B. Spaulding noted that “superintendents have more anxiety than any other people who I have tested outside of mental institutions.” Research indicates ongoing stress impacts one’s health — causing detrimental diagnoses in physical health such as high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke; and mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety.

 If the research on stress is accurate, will superintendent longevity be a growing concern for districts and school boards? Will superintendents leave the position entirely? Will the candidate pool for open positions be shallower?

Stress and stressors

Although the word “stress” is commonly used in everyday conversations, its definition is a bit elusive. For the purposes of the study, the definition was based on the Harvard Medical Dictionary: an innate survival response. The definition also includes the release of hormones, physical symptoms (e.g., increased blood flow to the heart or brain), an energy surge, and ultimately damage as the result of ongoing chronic stress. In addition to stress, the study explored stressors, the things that cause superintendent stress.

Superintendents and their administrative assistants

To explore the impact of superintendent stress, 177 superintendents across central Illinois (from the Two Rivers, Abe Lincoln, Western, Central Illinois Valley, and Illini divisions) were surveyed. Each superintendent’s administrative assistant was also invited to respond to a parallel survey on their superintendent’s stress. The administrative assistants were included to compare the superintendent’s perceptions with the perceptions of someone who worked closely with the superintendent. In other words, do the perceptions match?

Of the 177 surveys sent, 149 superintendents and 146 administrative assistants responded. When the superintendents and administrative assistants were matched, there were 131 exact pairs.

Personal demographics (e.g., age, gender, marital status, number of children) of the responding superintendents were requested. The majority of superintendent respondents were male (75 percent), white (99 percent), married but never divorced (75 percent) with two children (46 percent).

Additionally, each district’s demographics were also collected. The majority of responses were from unit district superintendents (78 percent ) with over two-thirds from districts under 1,000 students. Over 60 percent of superintendents had only been a superintendent in one district with the largest percentage (35 percent) of superintendents having served between five and eight years.

Perceptions of the level of stress of the superintendency

If the research is accurate and the superintendency is a stressful position, are superintendents entering the role fully aware of the level of stress they are likely to experience? Forty percent of the superintendents in the study moderately underestimated the amount of stress that comes with the position. However, almost 19 percent greatly underestimated the amount of stress. That means a whopping 59 percent of superintendent underestimated the stress of the position.

Stress on the superintendents’ personal and professional lives

The impact of stress on the superintendents’ personal and professional lives was also an area of exploration. Based on the survey, 47 percent of superintendents have considered changing their career due to stress and over 76 percent stated that the superintendency has affected their sleep patterns and has negatively impacted their health. Sixty-three percent of superintendents noted concern about how the job is negatively impacting their current lives while 46 percent are concerned about the long-term impact.

Sources of superintendent stress

Given that superintendents are considering career changes as well as having sleep and health issues, the sources of the stress are important to consider. ...

It is interesting to note that the potential sources of stress of the matched pairs revealed that the responses from the administrative assistants consistently rated the source of stress as having less impact than did their corresponding superintendent. While the superintendents considered the 13 stressors as almost “a moderate amount of stress”, their administrative assistants considered the stressors as closer to “a little amount of stress.”

The top five stressors noted by the matched pairs (superintendents and their administrative assistants) were

  • Regularly changing state and federal regulations;

  • Inadequate school finances;

  • Time required by the job;

  • ESSA (The federal Every Student Succeeds Act); and

  • School board members.

While the matched pairs (superintendent and their administrative assistants) ranked the top five stressors in almost the same order, the overall difference in the average of the means was 0.54. The average of the top five means for the administrative assistants would put the top five stressors in the “moderate amount of stress” category, whereas the average of the top five means for the superintendents would put the top five stressors in the “considerable amount of stress” category.

Both superintendents and their administrative assistants were asked how well the superintendent managed stress. Overall, the administrative assistants reported their superintendent was about average (32 percent) or better than average (25 percent) at managing stress. Forty-nine percent of superintendents felt they were about average in managing stress; just over 15 percent felt that they were below average at managing stress.

What does this mean for school boards?

With school boards identified in the top five stressors for both the superintendents and their administrative assistants, it is important to consider what the findings mean for school boards, their superintendents, and their districts. By examining the stressors, it may be possible to positively affect superintendent longevity.

The research, including that of Waters and Marzano, is clear that there is a relationship between the longevity of the superintendent and academic achievement and the operation of the district.   The longer a superintendent’s tenure, the higher the student achievement and the smoother the operations of the district. Based on that, and the results of our study, changes to the superintendency could improve the performance, longevity, and quality of the lives of superintendents who are tasked with leading K–12 public educational institutions.

The first step is for superintendents, individuals going into the superintendency, and school boards along with the public to recognize that the superintendency is an exceptionally stressful position and one in which stress is unavoidable. It was clear from the survey data that the majority of superintendents acknowledged they are currently stressed.

The next step is for those working closely with the superintendent to be aware of the level of stress related to the position. With 63 percent of the superintendents concerned about how stress was negatively impacting their lives, it is troubling that only 21 percent of the administrative assistants were concerned with how the stress of the superintendency was negatively impacting the superintendents’ lives. It makes one wonder if others close to the superintendent (e.g., school board, administrative team, central office staff, or immediate family members) , do not perceive the impact of stress. A potential disparity of perception of the negative impacts of stress between the superintendent and the school board is particularly problematic.

Could superintendents believe that if they admit to the board that they are overly stressed, there will be negative consequences? Will the superintendent be seen as weak? Unfit for the position? Or do school boards and administrative assistants assume that superintendents are well-compensated for the stress that they are under? Or is the “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” mentality in play?

In examining the list of stressors with the greatest impact, several are beyond the control of the superintendent and school board (e.g., changing regulations, inadequate school finances, and ESSA). Three areas, though, are within the scope of superintendents and school boards to address: the time required by the job, school board members, and the number of insignificant demands. How can superintendents and school boards address the time required by the superintendency? Might these be addressed by assigning responsibilities to others and prioritizing responsibilities?

Additionally, conversations about how school boards may inadvertently be adding to the stress need to occur in an open and honest environment without fear of repercussions. As Nita Hawk and Barbara Martin stated in “Understanding and Reducing Stress in the Superintendency,” boards of education must recognize the challenges facing their superintendents and provide essential programs to sustain the wellness of these leaders. Finally, the insignificant demands on the superintendent should be addressed. Priorities need to be set jointly by superintendents and school boards to provide a focus for the district’s work. School boards need to carefully review their requests for information and reports. Furthermore, an analysis of the demands by staff, parents, and constituents need to be reviewed and prioritized by school boards and the superintendent.

Almost half of the superintendents in the study had considered changing their career due to stress. The stressors discussed above are likely to contribute to the consideration of a career change. It is of interest to note that fewer than 20 percent of the administrative assistants believed that their superintendents had considered changing their career due to stress. This suggests that superintendents may be concealing the impact stress is having on their lives. Superintendents should not minimize or conceal the impacts of stress because ignoring the problem can lead to significant negative repercussions for the superintendent, the district, and the school board.

Boards of education need to acknowledge that superintendents are not machines that can continually absorb the increasing demands of the profession without negative consequences. As Thomas E. Glass and Louis A. Franceschini concluded in The State of the American School Superintendency: A Mid-Decade Study, “Coping, understanding, and reducing superintendent stress should be a high priority for school boards and professional associations.” According to several studies, chronically stressed superintendents will eventually succumb to the negative impacts of stress, such as anxiety, burnout, depression, high blood pressure, heart attack, obesity, and stroke. If boards of education do not recognize the superintendent’s stress and look for ways to provide opportunities for superintendents to manage the stressors that come with the position, district performance may suffer, superintendent turnover will increase, and a shallower pool of candidates will be available to fill a critical leadership role.

The rest of the story

We began the article with our personal stories related to superintendent stress. The rest of the story is that Adam took up swimming, biking, and running to manage the stress of the superintendency and completed his first Ironman (2.1-mile swim, 112 miles on the bike, and a marathon run). Lora took the path of many superintendents and chose to leave the superintendency at 54. She now focuses her energies on preparing future principals and superintendents.