Rolle, R. Anthony2018-02-152018-02-15December 22017-12December 2http://hdl.handle.net/10657/2101Background: "The intersection of what needs to be done … varies from school to school but … the superintendency is the only job title with the positional authority to orchestrate the intentional meshing of actors and script toward future improvement” (Bird, Dunaway, Hancock, & Wang, 2013, pp. 77-78). Superintendents each year were held accountable for their students’ academic achievement that led to a district’s accreditation status. The students’ results on state assessments were scored, disaggregated, and categorized to assign school districts a state accountability rating. The commissioner of education used schools’ accountability ratings as one indicator to assign districts an accreditation status. Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine what influence superintendents’ instructional leadership decisions had on student academic achievement that led to an accredited district. Methods: The research method for this qualitative case study was in-depth interviews with three superintendents who were purposefully selected. These superintendents, each named superintendent of the year by an organization, were interviewed face-to-face and one-on-one in their district offices. The data from their interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative method to construct themes. Results: Five themes emerged from the analyzed data of these superintendents’ interview transcripts: 1) they established a vision for their students, 2) they collaborated with individuals, 3) they continuously evaluated student data, (4) they focused on hiring the right people, and (5) they led with a care for others. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the possible key to instructional leadership decisions that influenced student academic achievement and aided in district accreditation was an ethic of care.application/pdfengThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).Superintendents2018-02-15Thesisborn digital