Chapter 10: Taking a Leap of Faith: Latinas Gaining Access to the Superintendency

This chapter presents the stories of seven extraordinary Latina educational leaders in Texas who took the leap of faith to pursue their ultimate career goal: becoming school district superintendents. These women strategically pursued superintendent positions and successfully ascended the educational administrative career ladder. All seven chose a career path that is atypical for women generally, and for women of color particularly; a career path that “has been defined and institutionalized as men’s work” (Tallerico & Blount, 2004, p. 642). However, all seven were determined to obtain a superintendency position to effect positive systemic changes in schools. These Latinas¹, who were all Mexican American, exemplify an exclusive group of women who mastered a profession traditionally dominated by White males. However, Latinas’ representation in the superintendent role is still not proportionate to that of their White female counterparts (Couch, 2007; Kowalski & Brunner, 2011; Rodriguez, 2018).