Route to the Top Job

Type: Infographic
Topics: Access & Opportunity, School Administrator Magazine

May 01, 2026

STATE OF THE SUPERINTENDENCY

Infographic showing different paths to the superintendency broken down by genderMen are more likely to advance to the job of superintendent while serving as a high school or middle principal, while women more commonly move into the district’s top post from another central-office administrative berth.

A survey completed by 469 superintendents in New York state in 2025 showed that 54 percent of male superintendents had come directly from a principalship, while only 28 percent of women could claim that career route. The advance from central office to the superintendency was the path followed by 61 percent of women and by 41 percent of men.

Source: New York State Council of School Superintendents.

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