#  Introducing ISCL - Q&A with Jen Cheatham 

 





The work of the Initiative is led by Harvard Graduate School of Education Senior Lecturer, Jennifer Perry Cheatham. In this Q&A, Dr. Cheatham shares more about ISCL's development and offerings.



 

April 22, 2026

 

 

 ![Jen headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum12921/files/2026-04/Jen%20headshot.jpg)

 

**How did the Initiative at HGSE come to exist?**

JC: The job of the superintendent has always been demanding with pressure to improve academic outcomes in a resource-constrained environment. Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen a shift in demographics, new technologies, and partisan politics. This shift calls on superintendents, their boards, and their teams to lead with political acumen as well as instructional and operational expertise.

Building on the work of the [Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency](https://ccl-s.org), which I co-led with Carl Cohn, the Initiative on Superintendent as Civic Leader integrates research, practice, and public voice to ensure that superintendents are equipped to rise to this moment and shape the future of public education.

**How does ISCL differ from existing superintendent preparation programs and support associations?**

JC: ISCL aims to be a field connector that brings together existing superintendent preparation and support programs in ways that catalyze change in our field. We want ISCL to be a hub for field-building and partnership that focuses on three mutually reinforcing strategies: executive learning, research-based tool development, and field transformation.

**Can you tell us more about these three reinforcing strategies?**

JC: We offer a suite of [state-of-the-art executive learning opportunities](https://scl.gse.harvard.edu/executive-learning), drawing on expertise across Harvard’s professional schools and our partners, to strengthen local superintendent leadership as well as the leadership of their boards and their teams in rural, suburban, and urban communities.

ISCL also functions as a design lab and knowledge engine. Our [library of resources and tools](https://scl.gse.harvard.edu/research-based-tools) are developed and tested by superintendents across the country and offered as open-source resources for the field.

Because we aim to build connections across the field, ISCL engages in [field transformation](https://scl.gse.harvard.edu/field-transformation) by regularly convening aligned organizations and institutions to learn together about innovative approaches to superintendent leadership and development.

**Who leads ISCL?**

JC: [Our Steering Committee](https://scl.gse.harvard.edu/our-team-steering-committee) is composed of leaders whose organizations directly serve and support superintendents – and other system-level education leaders– nation-wide. Many of them are former high-impact superintendents themselves.

We are also working with [affiliated faculty](https://scl.gse.harvard.edu/our-team-affiliated-harvard-faculty) from across Harvard schools, including the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. We are thrilled that they will provide thought leadership and expertise to support the work of the Initiative.

*To learn more about the Initiative on Superintendent as Civic Leader, please* [*visit our website*](https://iscl.gse.harvard.edu/) *or contact us at* [*iscl@gse.harvard.edu*](mailto:iscl@gse.harvard.edu)*.*



 

 

 



 

 

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