Insights on Superintendents: How They Spend Their Time, Stress Levels, and More

By Caitlynn Peetz Stephens — December 15, 2025 1 min read

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The men and women leading the nation’s school districts view their jobs differently and approach decisionmaking in different ways. Superintendents also say they spend most of their time dealing with finances, but few consider that to be among their strengths.

A new study of superintendents from across the country by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, highlighted these and other insights about the changing nature of serving as a school superintendent, differences in how men and woman approach the job, job satisfaction, and longevity in the top district leadership role.

The survey, conducted from Sept. 16-Oct. 18, 2024, included 1,095 responses from superintendents in 49 states. AASA released it earlier this month.

Here are some takeaways from the study, by the numbers.

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Who they are

52.7

YEARS

Average age

The average age of the superintendents surveyed.

5-12

YEARS

Classroom experience

Average number of years of classroom experience superintendents have before taking their district leadership role. Women tend to have more classroom experience before ascending to the top role.

30.3%

Women leaders

The percent of districts' top administrators who are women, up from 13.1% in 2000.

1 in 10

Diversity

The proportion of districts' superintendents who are people of color.

37.7%

Internal promotions

The percent of superintendents who were internal candidates for their current position. Women were more likely than men to have risen to the job as internal candidates.

How they spend their time

54%

Managing finances

The proportion of superintendents who said managing district finances consumes the majority of their time.

Top growth areas

Areas where superintendents most want to develop as leaders:

Finance & budget planning

Stress management

School reform & improvement

Job preparation

Most relevant courses

Two-thirds of superintendents identified school law as the most relevant course they took in academic leadership preparation programs. A researcher who worked on this report recommended more practical school finance-related lessons for superintendents.

66.7%

School law

61.8%

School finance

57.1%

Leadership theory/research

42.8%

HR/personnel management

Job satisfaction and decisionmaking

89.4%

Job satisfaction

The percent of superintendents who said they were either satisfied or very satisfied in their jobs (down slightly from 92% in 2020).

89.4%

62%

Job stress levels

The percent of superintendents who reported feeling "considerable" or "tremendous" stress in their jobs.

62%

59%

Future plans

The percent of superintendents who said they plan on serving in the top district leadership role for the next five years.

59%

Influences over decisionmaking

Administrative colleagues

56.2%

School board members

52.9%

Women superintendents were more likely to point to school board members and the broader community as the top influences over their decisions.

Biggest challenge

The proportion of superintendents who said inadequate financing inhibited their effectiveness.

3 in 5

Caitlynn Peetz Stephens

Staff Writer, Education Week

Caitlynn Peetz Stephens is a reporter for Education Week who covers school district leadership and management.

Visualization by Laura Baker and Hyon-Young Kim/Education Week
A version of this article appeared in the March 01, 2026 edition of Education Week as Insights on superintendents: How they spend their time, stress levels, and more

Insights on Superintendents: How They Spend Their Time, Stress Levels, and More

Superintendent insights