DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF EVERGREEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS (WA)
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Dr. Kishimoto
I have with me today, Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong. How exciting to have a chance to sit down and talk as colleagues and friends who work both in the Pacific Northwest. We love our region of the country. But we also have perspectives to talk about nationally. Thanks for joining us, Kimberlee.
Dr. Armstrong
Absolutely. It’s an honor to sit with you, virtually Christina, and I look forward to the conversation.
Dr. Kishimoto
So, you’re the Chief Academic Officer in the Portland Public Schools, a wonderful public school system. How is that going?
Dr. Armstrong
Oh, it’s amazing! I must first start off by saying we’re under the leadership of Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero, who is now entering his seventh year as superintendent in Portland. And the work that he has started has taken root. We have so many wonderful things to celebrate. So it’s amazing to be part of his leadership team and helping to lift learning across the city.
Dr. Kishimoto
Portland has a great team, love your Superintendent, love your work there, and your colleagues there. And I wish you a great new school year as you start off this year. I want to talk a little bit about what’s happening in Oregon and what has been happening for the last few years. There’s been a lot of conversation about women in leadership and women of color in leadership, and the fact that it isn’t very representative of our population. What are your thoughts on the kinds of things we should be doing to attract more women and women of color into executive leadership in the state of Oregon?
Dr. Armstrong
That’s a wonderful question. I’m really excited about the leadership of Dr. Charlene Williams at the helm of education for the state of Oregon. And I know that there’s been some recent hires as well as some existing leaders, females, females of color, and I think one of the things that really stands out about that is for those of us who are aspiring to one day occupy the superintendent space, to see that there’s some intentional focus on diversifying Oregon is pretty significant. When I go to conferences in Oregon, and I’m able to see the different faces and individuals and hear the different stories of those who lead across Oregon, I think it’s safe to say that it’s not as diverse as the student population across the state. But I do believe that the conversations are happening about what it means to lead for equity, what it may mean to pay attention to intersectionality, or what it may mean to have a workforce that thrives and to not only retain individuals, but to support them until they get to where they wish to be in their employment journey. And so that’s all promising and super exciting to see.
Dr. Kishimoto
This is a conversation that we need to have across our entire nation. This is not just an Oregon issue. We still are about 28-29% women in the superintendent seat nationally. And we know that the majority of our teachers, and even the majority of our principals today are women. And so, this is not a pipeline issue, now this is an access issue.
I am excited about continuing to watch your journey. Because of course, you know, in your role as chief academic officer, and as a former superintendent myself, I’m gonna say, okay, when are you going to be answering that call to pursue the seat and how can I support you? Because it’s important for women to support one another in this journey.
Dr. Armstrong
Absolutely. And we all pay attention to who’s where. As I sit in my role as Chief Academic Officer here in Oregon, I sit between two states, my home state of California and my work state of Washington. I like to follow what’s happening in both of those states. And as of now, that I know of, as of the last couple of months, there isn’t an African American woman superintendent in the state of Washington, and that’s disappointing. We’ve had some retirements and some amazing black women who are doing great things in the state consulting and supporting systems, but in terms of directly leading a system, there isn’t anyone in that chair. And in California, there’s been a lot of stories about women coming into the position and losing those seats after some time; a year or two. And that’s definitely something that’s concerning. But I think what’s been inspiring is the conversation isn’t just happening at the aspiring superintendent level, but it’s starting to happen in those conferences with school board members and what that means to not only attract but to support diverse candidates.
I will say that Washington has done a better job of increasing their diversity for Latina women in the state and the superintendency. I’m excited to see how that work just goes up and down the I-5 corridor across three states.
Dr. Kishimoto
The work that has to happen to bring in more women and more women of color into the top seat has to be very intentional. And so, there’s a lot of work we need to do across organizations, from search firms, to working with boards, to working with communities to be aware that there’s a need to have more representative leadership, because our students are much more diverse in our nation. 54% of our students in public education are students of color today. So, there’s work that needs to be done here.
Dr. Armstrong
Absolutely, I agree. And we know that it starts at those pipeline conversations, that mentorship, the sponsorship that we hear individuals talking about a little more. It’s getting in those first early positions in education and being intentional about the way in which we grow employees, the way we assist through the employee work cycle. And in envisioning the individuals that we bring into positions that maybe they don’t even yet imagine or envision for themselves. I think it’s that type of intentional focus, that type of sponsorship, that type of mentorship that helps our future be ready, honestly.
Dr. Kishimoto
You have a background in sports, and girls in sports, and particularly in basketball. And we know the research says that when our young ladies are involved in sports and teams, there’s an opportunity for them to develop a different way of looking at one another, to uplift one another, to work together, to value one another, rather than to feel that they are in in competition with one another. What is that work that you’ve done through sports?
Dr. Armstrong
Yeah, absolutely. As you were saying that I was just thinking of how, when you’re an athlete, and then transitioning to coach, I did both, but when you’re an athlete, you truly begin to understand that concept of, there’s no I in team. There isn’t any glory putting yourself above others. You’re in it together. Being an athlete, and truly understanding what it means to be interdependent on one another, to come together to accomplish one goal, which is a championship, of course, and to work hard together to see those goals be realized and get you closer to where you ultimately want to be. It’s something that was instilled in me. When I became a head girls basketball coach, it was something that I wanted to instill in the athletes. So, it wasn’t just about the experience, and those game time situations, which mostly it is, but I remember bringing in, for instance, Adia Barnes (Arizona Women’s Head Basketball Coach) as a guest speaker to talk about overcoming adversity.
I remember taking the girls to tour University of Washington and Seattle University’s gymnasium and to watch those games because it’s really twofold. It’s the training, it’s the preparation. And then it’s also realizing what the future could look like, not even only from a player standpoint, but from a coaching standpoint, from a referee standpoint, from a personal trainer, from a nutritional aspect. There are so many different ways you can build off of a love for a sport if you want to stay tied to the game. And I really wanted my athletes to see themselves as leaders and not just leaders on the court, but leaders in whatever they choose, whether it’s related to basketball or not. So, I will say that it was definitely foundational in my early start as a leader.
Dr. Kishimoto
It’s so important that the earlier we can get our young ladies to work with one another to understand kind of the collective and collaboration and honoring community, and also seeing themselves as successful individuals and scholars. That’s so impactful to their lives and to their trajectory. I can see your passion as you talk about this. But there’s another passion. You are now a published author! And you talk about intersectionality in this book. I’d love for you to share more about your book that was published just this year. Why this topic?
Dr. Armstrong
I actually happen to have a copy right here. It’s called Intersectional Leadership, Strategies for Building Resilient Workforces. And really, I will say, the seed that was planted was thinking back to my time entering into district leadership and having the opportunity to speak with other female leaders. And I remember being asked the question about how I was intentionally making space for other leaders of color. That sat with me for a while, because at the time I don’t know if I could call out specific strategies I was using to make space. And I will tell you, from that moment on I made sure to be intentional about a variety of things. Whether it was in the hiring practice, maybe it was in the way in which individuals are grouped together to come together in an affinity-type space, the ways we talked about racism and stereotype threat, and how to create environments where every person can feel like they can thrive and that they will thrive.
“And I remember being asked the question about how I was intentionally making space for other leaders of color. That sat with me for a while, because at the time I don’t know if I could call out specific strategies I was using to make space.”
The book has 10 chapters, and each chapter starts off with a theory or a framework, that is research base. And then I give some strategies and there are some questions and some suggested activities that individuals can do to strengthen their understanding of the concept that I’m presenting. I tried to lean into the different parts of an employee lifecycle, from recruitment to the hiring, to the onboarding, to those retention strategies, and to succession planning. And then ultimately, with intersectional leadership wrapped around it, saying that as employees and as leaders of diverse individuals it’s important for us to understand the different intersections that our employees sit in, and how those intersections can bring unique forms of discrimination or harassment or other types of struggle. When we know that and we’re able to speak to that, then we can begin to remove some of those barriers and be intentional about the way we move when saying, hey, I’m here, I’m sponsoring, and this is the way I’m being intentional about making space for other leaders to follow.
Dr. Kishimoto
Love it, love it, we need to talk about these things. And I love your use of the term sponsor and sponsorship. And that happens when you are paying attention to who’s out there, who’s around you. How do you uplift others? How do you introduce others who need to have an introduction into these spaces so they can be considered into these new opportunities and leadership roles? It’s something we need to do as we sit in seats of power. We have a lot more power than we sometimes acknowledge as women in leadership positions, to bring more diversity into the workplace and to have better representation that reflects our students today.
Dr. Armstrong
Absolutely, Christina. I think that’s why the work you’re doing with Voice4Equity is so huge and so important for not only myself but for those who aspire to one day lead a system, for those who are just entering into the classroom or just entering into leadership roles. To see other women be in community. And I love how earlier that you talked about a collective. And we know that many of us are from cultures where we move as a collective, we find energy and we find strength from that collective. And sometimes that collective tends to exist in our personal life. So how amazing is it to have professional networks where that collective is strong and thriving, and even better, being a part of it. I’m just really excited about your work too. I had a chance to attend that first annual conference and I know that it will be something that I attend every year. So, thank you for that!
Dr. Kishimoto
I was thrilled to have you there and so was everyone else as they learned and heard more from you about your book. Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong, we’re going to keep watching you and supporting you and elevating you as you continue to advance through your leadership roles. You’re already having a tremendous impact on our students and our public education systems that you’re serving in. Love your national voice and will continue to elevate you. Thank you for being with us today.
Dr. Armstrong
Absolutely. I appreciate being invited to the conversation and I look forward to staying connected to Voice4Equity.
Dr. Kishimoto
Have a great school year.
Dr. Armstrong
Thank you.
