K-12 School District Leaders Convene in San Diego for Inaugural National Instructional Leader Academy Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alexandria, Va. and San Diego, Calif. – January 26, 2022 – Superintendents and other educational leaders gathering in San Diego, Calif., January 27-29, will be part of the National Instructional Leader Academy kick off, hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).

The academy is a timely opportunity for district instructional leaders to refresh and challenge their skills and capabilities, while building successful communities of practice to grow as impactful educators.

“Relying on best practices of the past is no longer acceptable if we’re going to create equity-based and forward-thinking classroom instruction to the more than 50 million students learning and growing in our public schools,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “We’re pleased to be partnering with AVID, an organization fueling efforts to close the opportunity gap, which is a huge component of this new program. I congratulate the outstanding leaders joining us as they foster new inroads to enhance their professional growth, which ultimately leads to student success.”

“In today’s education landscape, the importance of addressing the individual needs of our students cannot be overstated if we expect our young learners to compete in later life,” said Sandy Husk, chief executive officer, AVID. “This initiative is serving as a timely opportunity for educators to refresh their leadership skills and knowledge by looking through the lens of instruction, culture and systems as they grow to be impactful leaders.”

Themed Leading Student-Centered, Equity-Focused Culture, Ray McNulty, president of the National Dropout Prevent Center and the Successful Practices Network, will serve as a keynote speaker at the three-day event.

The National Instructional Leader Academy offers educational system leaders who lead instruction, assessment and/or technology a community of thought leader practitioners with whom to learn and grow, enhance professional learning and build collective impact.

Objectives of the program include:

• Develop and engage in communities of practice focused on the essential role of district instructional leadership in supporting equitable opportunities for all students.
• Examine each leader’s current district goals, practices and instructional systems through the lens of Leadership, Culture, Instruction and Systems.
• Implement processes to support district-level culture, provide leadership, guide instruction, and align and integrate systems which will ensure outcomes of college and career readiness for all students.
• Empowerment to address change, troubleshoot challenges and barriers, and identify the drivers leaders need to explicitly plan and lay a foundation for the conditions that will support equitable opportunities for our young learners.

Successful completion of the program will provide leaders with valuable, targeted professional learning to turn possibilities into probabilities for schools. For more information, visit the AASA website. Please contact Valerie Truesdale at vtruesdale@aasa.org or Denise Wren at dwren@avid.org with any questions regarding the National Instructional Leader Academy.
 
About AASA
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.

About AVID
AVID is a nonprofit organization that changes lives by helping schools shift to a more equitable, student-centered approach. To close the opportunity gap, AVID trains 85,000 educators annually so they can prepare all students for college, career, and life. More than 7,500 schools rely on AVID to transform the lives of more than 2 million students each year. To learn more, visit www.AVID.org
 
Media Contacts:
James Minichello
AASA
703-774-6953 (cell)
jminichello@aasa.org

Lynn Kepp
AVID
408-781-0909 (cell)
lkepp@avid.org