The Glass Ceiling in Education
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: One Woman's Journey from Teacher to Superintendent
According to the Pew Research Center, education is a female-dominated profession. I think that is obvious. Most people also know at least one female elementary school principal. As a result, there is a perception that there is no “glass ceiling” for women in the field. I disagree, and so does the Pew Research Center. In 2020–21, while the education workforce was 77% female, women were:
- Only 55% of K–12 principals, and
- Only one-third of K–12 superintendents.
Those figures represent an improvement. When I became interested in school administration in the late 1980s, the numbers were far lower. In 1980, women were only 7% of superintendents and 25% of principals.
When I started college in 1965 in Utah, women—while there were exceptions—typically majored in English, nursing, or education. English was often seen as a path to secretarial work or, for some, to law school. After meeting my future husband, and to the disappointment of my parents, I decided to become a teacher. Like many women, according to the School Boards Association, I chose teaching because it could accommodate raising a family. I taught for two years, then spent five years as a stay-at-home mother, and returned to teaching when my youngest child was three.
Unlike many teachers, I loved teaching. The Pew Research Center reports that only one-third of teachers say they are extremely or very satisfied with their jobs. I can understand why. Many teachers spend their entire careers teaching the same grade level at the same school. I taught third through sixth grades at several different schools. I often told people that I changed grade levels and schools because it was good “to earn your reputation” all over again.
I became interested in administration when my principal became ill and missed most of the school year. Early in his absence, the secretary called him and asked what to do about a particular issue. He told her, “Ask Susan; she can handle it.” For most of that year, I ran between teaching my sixth-grade class and acting as the principal. By the end of the year, I had discovered that I liked his job better than mine. I went back to school, earned a master’s degree in educational administration, and became the principal of a K–6 school with about 500 students.
When my husband took a job in California in 1992, I applied for and was hired as the principal of John Gill Elementary School in Redwood City. I experimented with different ideas. I started K–2 classrooms, which became very popular. I also started a K–1 Spanish immersion class for the 1993–94 school year. That class became the precursor to what is now Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School. For the 1996–97 school year, the superintendent moved me to Roy Cloud School, a K–8 magnet school. During my time there, we earned a California Distinguished School Award. In 1997–98, at the superintendent’s direction, I also started a school for high-achieving students. I designed the program, hired the staff, and personally recruited every student. The school opened in the fall of 1998 and was named North Star Academy. After launching the school, I returned to Utah to work for Davis School District and the University of Utah.
While I loved working at the University of Utah, my husband was still in California. I applied for a curriculum position with Pacifica School District. That job opened the door to meaningful curriculum improvement. With the support of teachers, I implemented several major changes, including Writers Workshop and performance-based math. I also negotiated contracts with both the teachers’ union and the classified employees’ union.
When the superintendent retired, the board hired the business manager—a man—as superintendent. The School Boards Association reports that many superintendents come from the business side of education rather than the curriculum side. I had not expressed interest to the board in becoming superintendent. Even so, several principals voiced surprise when the business manager was appointed. One remarked that they had always seen district leadership as the “Michele and Susan show.”
Later, the business manager-turned-superintendent left Pacifica to become superintendent of the Sequoia Union High School District. Without a search, I was appointed superintendent. After several years, I decided to retire in July 2010. At my retirement dinner, the former business manager, now superintendent at Sequoia, said he was without an assistant superintendent for personnel. He suggested that I come back and help open school for him. I planned to extend my retirement by three months. Three months turned into two years.
In the end, I became a superintendent by navigating around many of the very barriers the School Boards Association says often keep women from the role. I taught elementary school. I worked in curriculum. I took time off to raise my children. And I still became a superintendent.
