New research from the Center for the Transformation of Schools at the University of California, Los Angeles, examines the racial representation of administrators at public K-12 schools in California. The analysis shows a slight increase in the number and percentage of Black administrators leading schools throughout the state.
During the 2019–2020 academic year, there were 2,014 Black administrators in California schools, representing 7.62 percent of the state’s administrators overall. By the 2023–2024 school year, the number of Black administrators grew to 2,314, representing 8.04 percent of all administrators in California schools.
Over the same time period, the share of White administrators decreased from 57.6 percent to 53.35 percent, the share of Latine administrators rose from 23.66 percent to 26.34 percent, and the share of Asian administrators grew from 4.38 percent to 4.99 percent.
Notably, there is a greater representation of Black administrators compared to the share of Black students and Black teachers across the state. In the 2023–2024 school year, Black students represented about 5 percent of students overall, while Black teachers represented just 3 percent of teachers overall. Black teachers’ representation in California schools has remained stagnant since the 2019–2020 school year.
According to the authors, the steady increase in Black administrators aligns with prior research that shows the important role administrators have in supporting teachers with mentorship, professional development, and leadership opportunities.
“National research further indicates that such supportive leadership conditions play a critical role in shaping educators’ career trajectories and retention, especially for educators of color,” the authors write. “Together, this evidence suggests that leadership supports may not only improve teacher retention but also strengthen pathways into administrative roles. Also implicit in this finding are possible insights for why lower numbers of Black teachers are leaving the classroom but remain in education while shifting into administrative roles.”
However, the state-wide data regarding California school administrators is not broken down by specific positions. Thus, the report provides no insight into the representation among Black principals versus Black superintendents.
The authors conclude that although “some initiatives seem to be contributing to growth in administrators of color, sustained state investment and closer analysis of leadership pipelines and placement outcomes are needed to expand equitable access to principal and superintendent roles and to strengthen administrators’ impact on teachers, students, and the communities they serve.”
