The collaborative—a combination of superintendents, education politics scholars, and leaders of organizations that train superintendents—aims to establish a shared understanding of the superintendent’s political role and equip district leaders with the skills to confidently navigate political issues that arise, rather than shy away from them. These skills are critical for current and up-and-coming superintendents in districts of all sizes, who have in recent years increasingly witnessed political debates crop up in their jobs about issues across the board, from the content of school library collections to instruction on race and gender. Past research has confirmed a reticence by superintendents to engage in politics, and an overwhelming majority of superintendents reported in a national survey last year that politics was the top source of stress in their jobs. Carl Cohn, a former California superintendent who helps lead the collaborative, emphasized the importance of establishing “safe spaces” for superintendents to discuss and reflect on the tense issues that arise in their communities. So members of the Collaborative on Political Leadership in the Superintendency, for example, meet routinely to “sensemake”—essentially debrief about local and national issues and receive emotional support.