Webinar: The Transformation Gap: Why Motivated District Leaders Pursue Incremental Change

Many superintendents say they want to lead transformative change in their districts—but how does this desire translate into results? A new study from the Center on Reinventing Public Education draws on 307 survey responses and 47 in-depth interviews with superintendents across the six New England states to understand what kind of ambitious changes leaders decide to pursue—and how they make those decisions. The main takeaway: nearly all leaders report feeling motivated to lead this kind of transformational change, yet most current district efforts strengthen existing structures rather than redesign them. This webinar panel discussion, featuring CRPE researchers, two superintendents, and the Barr Foundation, unpacks how (with the right support) leaders can deepen their understanding of what transformational systems change involves and build stronger skills to pursue it effectively. The research finds that this is not about asking leaders to do more, but about reshaping the conditions that enable ambitious leadership.