The Power of the Collective: A Conversation with Dr. Sharon Contreras
In this podcast, we focus our attention on the life and career of Guilford County’s Superintendent, Dr. Sharon Contreras. The former student of Professor Boyce-Davies discusses her upbringing as one of seven children growing up in Uniondale, NY. A late 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Hargrove, inspired Superintendent Contreras to explore interests not only in literary studies but scholarship as well. After pursuing both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the State University of New York at Binghamton, she earned her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At Wisconsin, Dr. Contreras worked with scholars like Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings who research the racial achievement gap in the United States. After graduate school, Dr. Contreras was on a mission to improve K-12 education for marginalized students through her leadership as a superintendent. This desire to help individuals less fortunate stems from her selfless mother who was a social worker. With over 30 years of leadership experiences spanning from Syracuse, New York to Guilford County, North Carolina Dr. Contreras discusses how she leverages her scholarship with public policy to ensure that every student has equal opportunities to receive an equitable education. Finally, Dr. Contreras offers advice to the next generation of leaders. According to the superintendent, young women that want to navigate political institutions must build coalitions with other women that are “co-conspirators” not simply allies. Through this discussion, we learn how Dr. Contreras, an Afro-Latina woman, embraces the power in the collective through coalition building and sisterhood.
My goal with this interview was to expand our understanding of political leadership. We often tend to equate political leadership to congress representatives, mayors, or other elected officials. Dr. Contreras refers to this as “pure politics” towards the end of the interview. Although pure politics is quite important and relevant it isn’t the only site of political action. I wanted to interview a superintendent because educational policies are crafted typically by legislators and mediated by superintendents. Superintendents hold a unique role where they are leaders in both educational spaces as well as their local government. I believe Dr. Contreras’ career and educational experiences speak to this exceptional role. My biggest takeaway from this interview was seeing how much Dr. Contreras cares about the youth. I anticipated that a leader like her would have stayed in academia where her intellectual strength would be more appreciated amongst other academics. However, as Professor Boyce Davies mentioned, she was set on going into K-12 education rather than seeking tenure. Her commitment to improving educational opportunities, especially for Black and Brown families, is quite evident throughout this brief podcast episode. I am truly grateful for her work in Syracuse while I was a student there and she has inspired me to seek political leadership.
Lawrence_Solomon BlackWomenLead Summary
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Image: Marquita, Brown. “New Guilford Superintendent Brings 25 Years of Education Experience (Video).” Greensboro News and Record, https://greensboro.com/news/new-guilford-superintendent-brings-25-years-of-education-experience-video/article_5a7376eb-3d52-5239-a807-c8b34df56183.html. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.
Audio: Creative Minds | Corporate Royalty Free Music Motivational. https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/creative-minds. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.