Additional Resources
These helpful resources are continually curated by our collaborative.
Toolkits & Guides
Common Ground: How Public K-12 Schools are Navigating Pandemic Disruptions and Political Trends
Bellweather
January 2023
This document is the first of a semi-annual “stocktaking” publication to analyze various political trends impacting education and young people.
Communications & Public Relations Resources
AASA: The Superintendents Association
CPLS member organization, AASA, offers resources to help school leaders navigate school and community communications, public relations and media inquiries.
Culturally Responsive Leadership: A Framework for School & School System Leaders
The Leadership Academy
Built from and aligned with national education leadership standards, the framework integrates the specific skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed to lead for equity.
Dangerous Speech: A Practical Guide
The Dangerous Speech Project
April 19, 2021
Defines dangerous speech, explains how to determine which messages are indeed dangerous, and illustrates why the concept is useful for preventing violence.
Equity at Work: A Strategic Action Planning Guide
The Leadership Academy.
This guide supports school system leaders in developing and implementing strategic action plans for closing persistent achievement and opportunity gaps.
Know your Rights: A Back-to-School Guide
National Education Association
August 18, 2022
In this guide, the NEA offers guidance to help promote and build a safe and welcoming school year for all students in response to the wave of book bans, limited discussions about racism and the history of People of Color, and attacks on anti-LGBTQ+ students.
Opportunity to Learn, Responsibility to Lead
Aspen Institute
September 14, 2022
A set of principles to undergird a new, positive, bipartisan agenda for improving public education. These principles cover essential elements of the student experience, the learning conditions schools are responsible for, and the unique role of state leadership in making opportunities real. Produced by CPLS member organization, the Aspen Institute’s Education and Society Program.
Public Engagement Approaches: Reflective, Proactive, and Responsive Approaches.
Leading Now
CPLS member organization, Leading Now, offers a series of key approaches for different modes of communication, including reflective, proactive, and responsive.
Responding to Hate and Bias at School: A Guide for Administrators, Counselors, and Teachers
Learning for Justice
The guide is divided into three sections: Before a crisis occurs, when there’s a crisis and after the worst is over.
Social Media: Best Practices for K-12 Districts
Leading Now
CPLS member organization, Leading Now, offers a series of best practices for education leaders so they can leverage social media to build a sense of trust and community in their districts.
Tough Conversations: Strategies for Educational Leaders to Build Common Ground
Leading Now
CPLS member organization, Leading Now, offers a series of strategies for navigating contentious topics in an intentional way that generates productive dialogue.
Articles & Research
Assessing Voters’ and Parents’ Perspectives on Current Threats to Public Education
Hough, H., Marsh, J., Estrada-Miller, J., Polikoff, M., Myung, J.
August, 2022
Provides background information on public perceptions of politicization of public education. Co-written by CPLS Member, Julie Marsh.
The Conflict Campaign: Exploring Local Experiences of the Campaign to Ban “Critical Race Theory” in Public K–12 Education in the U.S., 2020–2021
Pollock, M., Rogers, J., Kwako, A., Matschiner, A., Kendall, R., Bingener, C., Reece, E., Kennedy, B., & Howard, J.
2022
This report centers on local efforts to restrict teaching and learning and on national patterns in those localized efforts. Co-written by CPLS Member, John Rogers.
Exposing the White Innocence Playbook of School District Leaders
Bertrand, M. & Sampson, C.
January 18, 2022
Based on a study of school board meetings (pre-COVID), this article examines the role of district leaders’ in enacting whiteness to avoid addressing inequities in the district. Co-written by CPLS Member Carrie Sampson.
An Impossible Position
Cohn, C.
AASA: The Superintendents Association
September, 2021
An article highlighting the ways in which national and local politics are putting pressure on superintendents, leading to increased turnover. Written by CPLS Co-Chair, Carl Cohn.
“Outsiders with Deep Pockets”: The Nationalization of Local School Board Elections
Reckhow, S. Henig, J. Jacobsen, R., & Alter Litt, J.
August 10, 2016
This study “links two dynamic fields that are rarely studied together: (1) the behavior of wealthy donors in a changing national campaign finance system and (2) the evolving politics of urban education.” Co-written by CPLS Member Jeffrey Henig.
Political Battles in Suburbia
White, R., Evans, M., & Malin, J.
Kappan
Jan 30, 2023
A national survey shows suburban superintendents face more political tensions than leaders in other districts.
Public Schools as Contested Spaces
Cohn, C.
AASA: The Superintendents Association
February 01, 2023
An article detailing how health practices, racial equity initiatives and school library holdings move into the heated center of cultural conflict, raising pivotal considerations for leadership. Written by CPLS Co-Chair, Carl Cohn.
School Board Elections Could Make (or Break) Our Democracy.
Marsh, J., Rodriguez, M., & Noguera, P.
The Progressive Magazine
November 01, 2023
This article explains how attacks on school boards are part of a strategic, deliberate, and well-funded effort to erode public schools and advance a broader political agenda. Co-written by CPLS Member, Julie Marsh.
“The State Pulled a Fast One on Us”: A Critical Policy Analysis of State- Level Policies Affecting English Learners From District-Level Perspectives
Sampson, C.
October 23, 2018
Based on a multi-case study, this article illustrates the influence of state-level policy on issues of equity (in this case, English Learners) and the responses of district leaders to navigate these policies. Written by CPLS Member, Carrie Sampson.
Superintendents Struggle During Pandemic: Panic Attacks, Strokes & Threats of Violence Meet Prayer, Exercise, Meditation, and Booze.
The National Superintendents Roundtable
September 2021
A national survey shows suburban superintendents face more political tensions than leaders in other districts.
Transgender students: Navigating the Politics
Collins, J.
Kappan
October 30, 2023
CPLS Member, Jonathan Collins describes how a superintendent addresses policies targeting LGBTQ+ students and families.
Superintendent turnover is increasing: How bad is it?
Sawchuk, S.
February 28, 2022
Provides an overview of trends in superintendent turnover across the country and the need for more data to track this issue.
Superintendent turnover is increasing and gender gaps are barely budging, but accurately assessing the consequences remains a challenge.
White, R.
May 15, 2023
Provides an overview of trends in superintendent turnover and a superintendent database which provides causes for turnover.
Survey: Americans broadly support teaching about (most) controversial topics in the classroom.
Brookings
A summary of results from the Understanding America Study survey to a nationally representative sample of 3,751 adults conducted in August/Sept. 2022.
Media
Askwith Education Forum Tackles Polarization in Education.
Ryan Nagelhout
Harvard Graduate School of Education
February 28, 2024
HGSE panel offered advice for educators in divided times. Featuring CPLS Co-Chair Jennifer Perry Cheatham.
Askwith Education Forum Reflects on Two Decades of Change in Chicago Public Schools
Harvard Graduate School of Education
December 1, 2023
A conversation about sustainability of change in a turbulent environment featured past and present Chicago Public Schools leaders moderated by CPLS Co-Chair, Jennifer Cheatham.
CB School Board Approves $700,000-Plus Severance for Superintendent
Doyle, E.
TAP into Doylestown
November 15, 2023
Provides overview of controversial actions taken by an outgoing Republican-majority school board in PA following an election that flipped the board to majority-Democrat.
Decoding Leadership: Dr. Jennifer Cheatham’s Playbook for Reflective and Transformative Practices.
An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast
October 31, 2023
In this podcast episode, CPLS Co-Chair, Jennifer Cheatham provides advice on superintendent evaluation and offers an after-action review on her own political leadership.
Hostile conditions are pushing school leaders out of their jobs
CNN
August 26, 2023
Highlights ways in which local districts are enmeshed in state and national politics, including partisan tactics and culture wars.
Educators, Students, and Parents Sue Temecula School Board for Violating Constitutional Rights After Curriculum Censorship
Public Counsel
August 2, 2023
Provides an overview of a lawsuit brought against the Board of Trustees of the Temecula Valley Unified School District over its enactment of a resolution banning the teaching of concepts related to race, gender, and sexuality.
Protesters brawl as Southern California school district decides whether to recognize Pride Month
AP
June 7, 2023
Describes altercations between different groups across the political spectrum in a school district in California that disagreed about whether the school district should recognize Pride month.
Activist moms spy on each other in culture wars over schooling
Reeve, E. & Guff, S.
CNN
May 20, 2023
Provides insight into parents’ rights groups across the political spectrum are leading campaigns for or against different positions related to schooling.
Chaos at the School Board: Unraveling America’s School Board Unrest
Carr, N.
Propublica
May 13, 2023
A six-part series that highlights how political culture-wars are leading to unrest at school board meetings across the country.
Christian activists are fighting to glorify God in a suburban Texas school district.
Hixenbaugh, M., & Hylton, A.
NBC NEWS
May 2, 2023
The bitter division in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district is emblematic of a nationwide battle over LGBTQ inclusion in education and the role of public schools in imparting religious values.
Man who threatened Conejo superintendent sentenced to probation, released from jail
Wilson, K.
VC Star
May 2, 2023
Describes an incident of a superintendent being threatened over claims that circulated in right-leaning websites.
Middle school student allegedly sent home for refusing to change shirt that said ‘There are only two genders’
Carnahan, A.
FOX NEWS
April 30, 2023
Coverage of a middle school student who was sent home after complaints were made to school staff. The student addressed the school board about his concerns.
What a House GOP messaging bill could spell for 2024 culture war campaign.
Barbara Sprunt
NPR
March 24, 2023
Highlights ways in which local districts are enmeshed in state and national politics, including partisan tactics and culture wars.
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