(Louis Freedberg/EdSource)It is hard to imagine a more “homegrown” school superintendent than Cheryl Cotton, who in June assumed the top post in the West Contra Costa Unified School District on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay. Increasingly, school boards have turned to candidates like Cotton, who are familiar with their districts, as a hedge against the rapid turnover in leadership that has plagued many school districts. “It’s an especially tricky environment for new superintendents,” said Carl Cohn, a veteran California school superintendent and co-chair of the Collaborative on Political Leadership in the SuperintendencyThe superintendent turnover rate in California and nationally accelerated after the pandemic. Between 2024 and 2025, the superintendency in nearly 1 in 5 (18.9%) of California school districts changed hands. With teaching apparently in her genes, she also became a teacher and taught in several Bay Area school districts.