Dr. April L. Peters is a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Her research interests focus on: (a) examining the ways that districts provide mentoring and support for early career administrators; (b) women in school leadership; (c) leadership and urban small school reform; and (d) effective university and district partnerships. Her research has been published in such academic periodicals as Journal of School Leadership; Teachers College Record; Leadership and Policy in Schools; Educational Administration Quarterly; Journal of Educational Administration; Urban Education; Peabody Journal of Education, and The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.
She earned a B.S. Ed. from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, an MSW from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. Educational Policy and Leadership from The Ohio State University in Educational Policy and Leadership. She has worked in urban school contexts in several capacities, including teacher, school social worker, and administrator. Dr. Peters began her career as a TFA teacher in Elizabeth, NJ. Subsequently, she was a founding faculty member of the North Star Academy Charter School of Newark, NJ, where she was Dean of Students. Upon completing her Ph.D., she became the inaugural principal of a small high school in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Peters is a Past President of the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA), a consortium of higher education institutions committed to advancing the preparation and practice of educational leaders for the benefit of schools and children.
- Mentoring and support for early-career administrators in K-12 settings
- Women in school leadership roles
- Leadership and urban small school reform
- University and district partnerships
Peters, A.L., Grooms, A.A., Childs, J.C., Martinez, E., Duran, S. (2025). All education is local, except when it is not: How a superintendent navigates and advocates for educational equity. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership.
Grooms, A.A., Childs, J.C., Peters, A.L., Martinez, E., Lopez, E., & Ogden, K. (2025). When past is present and future: How considering a city’s historical context can shape the development of equity-focused principal pipelines. The Urban Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-025-00738-8
Peters, A., Childs, J., Grooms, A.A., & Martinez, E. (2025). Contextualizing education reform: How urban school districts design equity-focused leadership pathways. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 33 (10). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8565
Grooms, A. A., Peters, A. L., Childs, J. C., & Martinez, E. (Eds.) (2024). Succession planning in educational leadership: Advancing diversity in the principalship and equity-oriented leadership practices. Frontiers in Education. [Editors of Special Issue Frontiers in Education].
Molle, D., Handsman, E., Peters, A., Jones, W., Diamond, J., Nott, E., Choi, Y., White, M., Greer, C., Jordan, M., & Halverson, R. (2024). Dynamics in district-university partnerships focused on leadership for equity. Education Sciences, 14(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14111221
National Science Foundation (NSF), “Authentic Community-Engaged Scholarship in STEM Education.” Postdoc Training Program ($1,222,108 requested, Funded; Co-PI).
Wallace Foundation Equity Centered Principal Pipelines Research Studies, “The Organizational and Historical Approaches of School Districts: Developing Equity-Centered Principal Pipelines” ($1,800,000 requested, Funded; co-PI).
- Best Diversity Paper Award, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) – 2026
- University of Houston, President’s Circle Awards Scholar – 2026
- University of Houston, College of Education, Faculty Research Excellence Award – 2026
- University of Houston, President’s Circle Awards Scholar – 2025
- Chair Designate, AERA Professional Development and Training Committee (2026-2027)
- Co-editor in Chief, Journal of Research on Leadership Education (2018-2026)