The Role of Superintendents in Leading Districts to Cultural Proficiency 241
Blankstein (2004) noted that educators at high performing schools realized that what each
person does on campus contributes to the learning of each student and that all students can
perform at high levels. He suggested that a common failure was the school community’s refusal
to take direct responsibility for the learning of each student. All five of the superintendents
echoed Blankstein’s comments. One superintendent described how he and his staff had to
refocus the thinking of district personnel and make the paradigm shift toward cultural
proficiency. They had to focus district training toward meeting the needs of the students. He said
that today staff development is continually implemented which focuses on the goals of cultural
awareness and student achievement. District educators are “in a state of constant book study.
Some studies deal exclusively and directly with these issues (cultural awareness). All of our
(book) studies, at a minimum, address such issues peripherally.”
One superintendent explained that staff development in cultural proficiency is now a district
priority. Included within his district staff development is a continual process in which teachers
receive periodic updates either in direct training opportunities which stress cultural learning
styles or indirectly as part of other staff development. The superintendent said, “It is just a part of
the process—we had 365 different workshops last year for our faculty, and areas of cultural
diversity were a part of it.”
Another superintendent stressed that his district not only had to “teach” the teachers to use a
new curriculum, but they also had to implement a staff development program that specifically
addressed the cultural changes the teachers were experiencing. He noted that the staff
development department needed to be “strong and well-planned.”
As superintendents shared the staff development strategies implemented in their districts, all
five pointed out the realization that by focusing on the needs of individual minority students, the
needs of all students were better met. Consequently, the superintendents all agreed that the only
way to address the vision and changing multicultural nature of the districts was through staff
development that targeted the needs of the individual student.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Numerous studies (Aseltine, Faryniarz, & Rigazio-DiGilio, 2006; Houston, 2001; Lashway,
2002), have revealed that the superintendent has the role and the responsibility to lead the district
by establishing a vision for the district and then working with the school board to implement
policy to support the vision. Through interviews, the study participants confirmed and expressed
their belief in the position of the superintendent as key to providing educational opportunities to
all students by encouraging the spread of culturally proficient understanding in the district.
The first research question in this study focused on the role of the superintendent in leading
the school district to become more culturally proficient. Findings suggested that superintendents
whose vision recognizes the importance of cultural proficiency and who hire accordingly will be
effective in leading their district when it has a growing diverse population. Therefore,
developers of superintendent training programs should include courses that directly address
cultural diversity, and the changing demographics of schools in the United States using readings,
case studies and simulations.
The second research question investigated the strategies a superintendent implemented to
address diversity in the district. Superintendents in districts with rapidly growing diverse
populations who were change agents were likely to lead their districts effectively in becoming
more culturally proficient. It was evident that understanding of the change process was also
pivotal to the process of leading a school district toward cultural proficiency. This emphasizes
the importance for university programs and superintendent training coursework to emphasize the